Devin Gardner

Devin Jaymes Gardner (born December 14, 1991) is an American former football player. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally in Japan for two seasons.

At the University of Michigan, Gardner was the starting quarterback for the Wolverines from 2012 to 2014. Early in the 2013 season, Gardner was awarded Tom Harmon's Michigan Football Legends jersey, becoming the first Michigan player to wear No. 98 in over 70 years. Through the first seven games of the 2013 season, Gardner had 1,779 passing yards, 660 rushing yards, and 22 touchdowns (13 passing, 9 rushing). On October 19, 2013, Gardner broke John Navarre's Michigan single-game record with 503 passing yards. He also broke Denard Robinson's Michigan single-game record with 584 yards of total offense.

As a high school senior, Gardner was rated as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the United States by Rivals.com and the No. 5 quarterback by ESPNU. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in January 2010 and saw limited action in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. During the first half of the 2012 season, he converted to the wide receiver position, but switched back to quarterback after Denard Robinson sustained an elbow injury.

Early life

University of Detroit Jesuit High School As a sophomore in 2007, Gardner played football for the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. He missed five games during his sophomore year because of disciplinary issues, but returned for the final four games of the season. Gardner described the problems he experienced in his sophomore year as a turning point: "I had never sat out before, and that hurt a lot. It was a bad feeling, and I did a lot of growing up. I just knew I had to get better."

Inkster High School Prior to his junior season, Gardner transferred to Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan. He also helped lead Inkster's basketball team to the state semifinals in March 2009.

As a senior in 2009, Gardner again led Inkster to the state finals game. In the second game of the season, Gardner compiled 340 yards passing and 101 yards rushing against East Kentwood High School.

After the win over Steubenville, Gardner led Inkster to four straight wins in the playoffs, including a 51–19 win over Dearborn Edsel Ford High School, a 50–28 win over Redford Thurston High School, and a 35–7 win over Southgate Anderson High School. Gardner led Inkster to its second straight state finals game. Inkster averaged 31 points per game in the 12 games before the final, but lost 27–6 against Lowell High School in the Division 2 title game. Gardner compiled only 134 passing yards in the title game and minus-26 rushing yards after being sacked three times. Gardner earned counselor awards for best footwork and work in the classroom at the Elite 11 camp. and added, "He may not be as big or fast as current Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, but he is a close second." He was ranked as the No. 4 quarterback nationally by Scout.com and the No. 5 quarterback in the ESPNU 150. In November 2009, Allen Trieu of Scout.com said of Gardner:"He is considered one of the top handful of quarterbacks in the country and is firmly entrenched as a five-star prospect. As far as upside goes, I don't see many quarterbacks that have his potential. He has improved as a passer, but I think what is overlooked is that he has gotten faster and has broken longer runs. We've also seen several times where he has put this team on his shoulders and pulled out victories in tough situations." After his appearance in the All-America Game, Gardner said, "It was the greatest experience of my life. Even greater than the Steubenville win that (Inkster) had (during the regular season) – which was a monumental for the city of Inkster and the U.S. state of Michigan, even. This is just another monumental event."

Former NFL head coach Sam Wyche coached the opposing Black team and praised Gardner after the game. Wyche said, "Devin is going to be a big-time player at Michigan....Devin has a great smile. He is going to sell a lot of product for somebody. He's got a great personality. He's smart – you can change directions with him and it doesn't bother him at all. He is ready to go." Gardner received offers from more than 15 colleges, including Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oregon, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida and LSU.

2010 season Gardner enrolled early in January 2010.

In December 2009, Tom Luginbill, national recruiting director of ESPN Scouts Inc., said he believed Gardner would compete for Michigan's starting quarterback job in 2010. Luginbill said, "There's no doubt he's got the physical tools to do so." When the Detroit Free Press asked Gardner in December 2009 whether he saw himself starting as a freshman, Gardner said, "Of course I see myself doing that."

Following an injury to Denard Robinson's throwing arm in the eighth game of the season against Nebraska, Gardner returned to the quarterback position. He received his first start as Michigan's quarterback against Minnesota on November 3, 2012. Gardner ran for a touchdown and completed 12 of 18 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns as Michigan defeated the Golden Gophers, 35–13. Four of the touchdown drives were longer than 75 yards.

In his second start at quarterback, Gardner led Michigan to a fourth-quarter comeback and a 38–31 overtime victory against Northwestern. He ran for 47 yards and two touchdowns and completed 16 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. With two seconds remaining in the game, Roy Roundtree caught a 53-yard pass from Gardner to set up a game-tying field goal. Gardner scored the winning touchdown in overtime on a one-yard run.

In the final home game of the 2012 season, Gardner accounted for a career-high six touchdowns in a 42–17 victory over Iowa. Gardner completed 18 of 23 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 37 yards and scored three touchdowns. Gardner became the second quarterback in Michigan history to account for six touchdowns in a game, Steve Smith having accomplished the feat in 1981 and again in 1983.

2013 season Gardner was named the starting quarterback for the 2013 Michigan Wolverines football team. Through the first seven games of the 2013 season, Gardner had 1,779 passing yards, 660 rushing yards, and 22 touchdowns (13 passing, nine rushing).

In the season opener against Central Michigan, Gardner completed 10 of 15 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, though he also threw two interceptions.

Prior to the 2013 Notre Dame game, Gardner was awarded the No. 98 Michigan Football Legends jersey in honor of Tom Harmon. He became the first player to wear the No. 98 jersey since Harmon's graduation after the 1940 season. In his first game wearing Harmon's jersey, Gardner led Michigan to a 41–30 victory over Notre Dame. Gardner completed 21 of 33 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns while throwing one interception. Gardner contributed 376 yards of total offense against Notre Dame, eleventh best in Michigan history.

On October 19, 2013, against Indiana, Gardner broke John Navarre's Michigan single-game record with 503 passing yards. He also broke Denard Robinson's Michigan single-game record with 584 yards of total offense. Gardner and Robinson hold nine of the top ten positions on Michigan's all-time, single-game total yardage list (Jake Rudock has the other).

Statistics Passing Rushing Season Team GP Comp Att Comp % Yards Yards/Att TD INT Att Yards Ave TD 2010 Michigan 4 7 10 70.0 85 8.5 1 0 7 21 3.0 1 2011 Michigan 9 11 23 47.8 176 7.7 1 1 25 53 2.1 1 2012 Michigan 13 75 126 59.5 1,219 9.7 11 5 47 101 2.1 7 2013 Michigan 12 208 345 60.3 2,960 8.6 21 11 165 483 2.9 11 2014 Michigan 12 174 283 61.5 1,896 6.7 10 15 98 258 2.6 4 Career 50 475 787 60.4 6,336 8.05 44 32 342 916 2.7 24

Professional career

New England Patriots After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft, Gardner agreed to a contract with the New England Patriots.

Gardner was released by the Patriots on May 18, 2015.

Pittsburgh Steelers Gardner was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers on May 19, 2015. The Steelers practiced with Gardner as a quarterback instead of wide receiver. He did not make the team, and was released on August 17, 2015.

Nojima Sagamihara Rise Gardner played for the Nojima Sagamihara Rise of Japan's X-League. The Rise would finish the season third in the Central division missing out on a playoff berth. Gardner however finished the season passing for 1,746 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had eight rushing touchdowns on 70 carries for 397 yards. For his efforts, he was awarded the 2016 X-League Rookie of the Year award.

Saskatchewan Roughriders Gardner was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 27, 2018. He was released by the team on August 15, 2018.

Media career In September 2019 it was announced that Gardner had joined Bally Sports Detroit to be part of their High School Football coverage. He also provides regional color commentary for Fox Sports 1's college football coverage.

Personal Gardner appeared in the Faces in the Crowd section of the November 16, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in Afro-American and African studies and is enrolled in the university's Master of Social Work Program.