Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd Shines in Loss to Michigan, Denard Robinson

I haven’t watched the full game yet, but I caught most of the 2nd quarter as well as the rest of the Michigan-Notre Dame game and I have to say, I came away really impressed with some guys.

As you could imagine by the final score of the game (35-31) there wasn’t much notable on the defensive side of the ball, though I did see Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o flying around, and there were a multitude of turnovers, mostly the fault of poor decisions by the offense. The best defender in the game by far was Te’o, and he showed me some solid speed chasing down a wide receiver late in the game even though it was on the back end of a huge play for Michigan.

Star Watch

Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd

Floyd was absolutely outstanding, and continued to show why he is one of the best wide receiver prospects in all of college football. He does a great job of using his size to shield defenders, and he knows how to post up in the short passing game. He has noticeably gotten in better shape and has great explosion off the line, and is much more effective after the catch. You can tell that even though he is the focal point of the Notre Dame offense, he still finds ways to get open and he always attracts a crowd. If he keeps his head on straight, he is going to be a star in the NFL.

Notre Dame RB Cierre Wood

The 6’0″ 215 pound junior has had a really good start to the season, racking up over 100 yards in each of Notre Dame’s first two contests, including a 134 yard performance on Saturday night. Wood is a very solid combination of power and quickness, and he rarely goes down after initial contact. I need to do more of a film study on this guy, because he is a powerhouse and Brian Kelly’s offense is not really known for being running back friendly.

Michigan QB Denard Robinson

Robinson was all over the place at times, but this guy is probably the most fun player to watch in all of college football. He is such a fire ball at the quarterback position and his unpredictability makes Michigan such an enticing team. He is so fast, and he has a much stronger arm than he is given credit. I don’t want to compare him to Michael Vick, but if he learns the QB position the right way, that’s who he will remind people of. He finished the night with only 11 completions, but those 11 completions went for a whopping 338 yards and four touchdowns, including a perfectly thrown ball to win the game with two seconds at the end of regulation. He also had 108 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Michigan WR Junior Hemingway

Hemingway was not really on his game against Western Michigan last week, only catching one pass for 37 yards. However, tonight he was really into it, and caught three passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, showing off big play ability. He is a 6’1″ 225 pound senior who really exploited the weak Notre Dame secondary, and he is one of my favorite Michigan NFL prospects.