Denard Robinson OWI Arrest Video Shows Ex-QB Passed Out Behind Wheel

Former Univ. of Michigan star Denard Robinson was passed out behind the wheel after cops say he crashed into a street sign just before he was arrested for OWI earlier this year ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports , shows.

The footage was captured at around 3:05 AM on April 15 by the Ann Arbor Police Department ... a short time after Robinson allegedly got drunk and drove on a roadway near the Wolverines' headquarters in Michigan.

You can see in the video ... as officers approached his wrecked SUV, Robinson appeared to be sound asleep in the driver's seat.

Law enforcement officers repeatedly struck his car to try to wake him up, but for several minutes, he remained unresponsive.

When the former quarterback finally got up ... it looked like he was disoriented as he struggled to answer cops' basic questions. He seemed to be slurring his words too.

When he got out of the vehicle, the 33-year-old tried to deny he had crashed his car ... even though the front of his vehicle was clearly wedged into a pole.

DENARD ROBINSON ON THE FIELD

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"Sir," one of the officers told him. "There's big damage right here and you just knocked this pole down. How you going to say you didn't crash?"

"I literally just parked," Robinson said.

"You call this parking?!" the officer responded.

Later during the stop, Robinson performed several field sobriety tests ... and appeared to bomb them all. He wobbled constantly while trying to walk in a straight line ... before he struggled to stand on one foot.

Minutes later, after refusing a breathalyzer, Robinson -- who had a Michigan lanyard attached to his car keys -- was placed into handcuffs and taken to a nearby jail. While there, police video shows he fell asleep in a cell.

According to a police report obtained by MLive , Robinson ultimately took a blood test ... which showed a BAC of .158 -- nearly two times the legal limit in Michigan.

Robinson -- nicknamed "Shoelace" -- is now facing one charge of OWI over the matter ... but he already pled not guilty at a hearing late last month. He's due in court for another hearing in the case in three weeks.

Robinson starred for the Univ. of Michigan from 2009 to 2012 ... and he later went on to play several seasons in the NFL. Following retirement, he returned to the Wolverines to be the team's assistant director of player personnel -- but he departed from the job shortly after news of his April arrest broke .