![8193374455_9d02066e09_z1_thumb1_thumb[1]](http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Devin-Gardners-Redshirt-Granted_E7B6/8193374455_9d02066e09_z1_thumb1_thumb1.jpg "8193374455_9d02066e09_z1_thumb1_thumb[1]")
Officially official according to the umich twitter feed and their grainy unembeddable video thing. Devin channels his inner Mr. Burns at this news, and so should you.
It is obviously huge to have Gardner around for a fifth year in 2014, when Brady Hoke's OL recruiting will be emerging into upper-class years, Derrick Green is a sophomore, and Drake Harris is wearing the #1*. Getting a fifth year out of any starting QB is big time, especially one with as much upside as Gardner. Since he's pretty raw right now, he should use it unless he absolutely blows up in 2013—a problem I will take if it goes down like that.
Also a bonus is this presumably pushes the Morris/Speight/true freshman battle out to 2015, when Morris is (probably) a redshirt sophomore and Speight a redshirt freshman. Not starting a freshman QB is a nice thing.
*[Projection based on awesome dream. Also, Drake Harris is made of of mushroom marshmallows, the offensive line mutates into candybears, and Michigan beats East Magellanic Cloud for the Universe Title. Suck it, Bama.]