Tate Forcier is a confused young man and I feel bad about his situation, not for the decisions he has made.
He was groomed early on to be a QB. He liked the recruiting process but wanted to be a Michigan QB and got an offer, enrolled early, lite up the Spring Game and caused the starter from the year before to transfer. Home School to High School Football to Michigan’s starting QB in a couple of months.
He starts the season and has a nice comeback win against ND and overnight had become a media sweetheart. This is where it all fell apart with Tate on the field and off. He became a superstar and as Michigan’s season turned bad, it seems his life off the field didn’t. After the season, there was rumors he hadn’t worked out with his teammates at all. Troy Woolfolk threw him under the bus at the Big Ten Media Days and Tate didn’t even have “Wings” on his helmet as he started fall practice.
To his credit he worked hard to get back in his teammates and coaches good graces but during the first games of the season Devin Gardner seemed to be the #2 QB not Tate. By mid-season Tate was clearly the #2 and even led Michigan to a win over Illinois which made Michigan eligible for a bowl game.
Rumors swirled he was having issues in the classroom and that he might not make it to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. He does a story with the Free Press saying things were good in the classroom and he was attending class. He was sent home two days later and didn’t play in the game.
The next day, RR at the Gator Bowl Press Conference basically said, he didn’t know what Tate’s status was at U of M as student. The rumor was he wasn’t going to class at all, which of course could not be confirmed.
Brady Hoke is hired and within days Tate is not welcomed back to the team after he goes to the media saying he wanted to stay at Michigan and that Michigan didn’t want him. After a couple of visits, Tate picks University of Miami as his next school.
Today we learn that Tate is not expected to transfer to Miami due to personal issues and that he hasn’t been on campus since his recruiting visit. This is another sad example of a talented kid with the wrong priorities. Seems ironic that Tate and Denard were in the same recruiting class and are complete opposites.
- Michigan – ND Night Game will be televised on ESPN 8:00PM kickoff.
