Exit Tate Forcier Comment Count

Tim

forcier.jpg

Via weird Twitter release (@qbforce) last night:

-Immediate Press/Sports Release: January 20, 2011- Robert “Tate” Forcier University Of Michigan Sophomore Quarterback

Why do we all wait until we are at our lowest point to seek God’s help?

I’ve been kicked, pushed, knocked down, publicly berated, belittled, emasculated and more. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to give up or feel the victim. The humility of it all is indescribable and that is exactly my point. I had to reach rock bottom in order to see the light, and for that, I am thankful. It was not until then, I realized that it was my lack of accountability and maturity and not to pass blame.

I do hope all my young fans forgive me and benefit from my lessons that I have learned. Be grateful for what you have and be humble for your successes. Don’t wait to ask God into your life as he will help you see things clearer.

In summary, I believe, I will become a better student and a person of stronger character from these experiences at Michigan. I can proudly state,“I worked hard on the practice field, in the film room and at meetings” after all, football is my passion. I had fun celebrating with the fans. I even competed hard while injured as a true freshman through the last (8) games in 2009, but I always played the game giving it my all.

I am proud to have been part of Michigan Football history and will always cherish the memory. The last few weeks I worked extremely hard to catch back up. I really wanted to stay. I was not giving up on Michigan, but in the end, it was made clear they had given up on me.

With that being said, its time for me to go. I promise the Michigan family and fans I will make you proud again.

Tate Forcier #5 - A Michigan Man Forever - Go Blue

This has been rumored for weeks, and confirmed, in part, by David Brandon at the Brady Hoke introductory presser. From the looks of things, his dad's statement that he'd try to return to the team is no longer an option, and Tate is permanently gone.

This makes Michigan's need for quarterbacks in the 2011 and 2012 classes enormous, as Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner are the only signal-callers left on the roster. An elite player is reasonable (and necessary) in the 2012 class.

Comments

.ghost.

January 20th, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^

Sorry to see him go, really.  I will always love the "stars" on our worst teams, and Tate bought in from the get-go.  He obviously matured, going from petulant child to great teammate, and when he was needed to go into the game, he usually made good things happen.

Section 1

January 20th, 2011 at 10:03 AM ^

or not.  It should not be merely rhetorical.

It is a perfectly good, legitimate question.  What is Forcier's side of the story?  I'd like to give him the benefit of a legitimately fair opportunity to answer, because this team, right now, is a more vulnerable football team without Tate Forcier as a backup option.

Blue_Bull_Run

January 20th, 2011 at 8:43 AM ^

I have so many questions ... Why exactly is he leaving - did he really flunk out or is there more going on?

Also, given the timing of this ... almost looks like drunk texting gone wrong. Except his spelling is better than mine when I'm drunk.

TXmaizeNblue

January 20th, 2011 at 8:44 AM ^

Having only one backup, I wonder what kind of impact this is going to make on Borges calling plays that are designed for Denard to run?  I hope that will not become an excuse to justify not running Denard.

msoccer10

January 20th, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^

And from what he looked like in last years spring game, he might actually be able to run the offense well. I hope it never comes to it but I am actually much more confident in a redshirt junior Kennedy's ability than I was with Threet or Sheridan. Of course, having 10 players around him who are better has a lot to do with that as well.

Geek

January 20th, 2011 at 8:48 AM ^

I am sorry to see him go, but it is clear he will never have the attitude to push forward against adversity.  The victim mentality works great on Oprah.  It doesn't take you far in athletics or other pursuits.   

Bosch

January 20th, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^

Apparently you forgot how much of an emotional disaster you were as a teenager........ and that was without you being QB1 of the Michigan football team as a true freshmen only to be demoted to a distant second string as a sophomore.

Go out and get yourself a pint of Ben & Jerry's, get bundled up in your Snuggie, put in your favorite chick flick, shed some tears, and move on.

ken725

January 20th, 2011 at 3:51 PM ^

FWIW, I'm going to take his word.  It might be true he will now ever have the opportunity to push through adversity at Michigan.  It is unfair to say that he doesn't have the attitude to push through adversity at another institution.  I think Tate deserves the benefit of the doubt that he has matured.  At least I feel like I owe him that for what he has done for our football program. 

Yard Dog

January 20th, 2011 at 8:49 AM ^

I'll miss the excitement of Tate coming into the game and giving us some "oooh" and "aaah" and "oh shit" moments.  He certainly kept it interesting, and I always thought he left it all on the field.

That being said, I hope he can straighten out whatever issues he has and find success.  I will be openly rooting for him wherever he lands.

I do have one question, though - why have all three Forcier brothers now transferred from their original school?

michgoblue

January 20th, 2011 at 10:15 AM ^

I think that the reason that all 3 kids ended up transferring was because of the father.  From everything that I have read, he is an extreme version of a "stage mom," who has been pushing his kids from day 1, micro-managing their football careers, and generally controlling their lives.

The problem with this type of upbringing is that the father always thinks that he knows best, and when the kid isn't being played enough or in such a manner as the father deems appropriate, the father either tries to interfere or looks for another school where he thinks the kid will get the treatment that he deserves.  I think that is part of the issue here.

With Tate, specifically, he was home schooled for a good portion of his high school years.  From what I have read on this blog and others, his high school life was football, and nothing more.  Going from that to a campus with 40,000+ kids his age, half of them girls, with a ton of attention and freedom is a recipe from problems.

msoccer10

January 20th, 2011 at 10:26 AM ^

Obviously the way someone was raised makes a big difference. But the father is probably one of the few reasons Tate hadn't transferred already. Most of this belief comes from reading between the lines but Tate seemed to make statements about leaving a few times and his dad was always there to say Tate isn't going anywhere. If I had to guess the father has been the one convincing Tate to stay this long.

Heinous Wagner

January 20th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^

The tone of Tate's words make me think he's wrestling with something far deeper than football or grades. Whatever that is, we can only hope he solves it and finds a peace that is far more important than athletic success. God speed and fair play to him. 

Rabbit21

January 20th, 2011 at 8:57 AM ^

Best of Luck to him wherever he ends up and as long as it's not someplace awful like tOSU I'll root for him. 

Thanks for Notre Dame and Indiana 09' and Illinois 10'.

Phoenix

January 20th, 2011 at 8:58 AM ^

Tate brought tons of excitement to this fanbase, and is one heck of an accurate passer. He's definitely fun to watch on the field. His freshman year yielded many, many "oh no he didn't" moments (good and bad, of course, but so many good ones).

What bums me the most is that he would have been a GERAT asset moving forward with our transition. When reading Brian's assessment of Al Borges' offense, how can you not think of Tate?

I'd say the prototypical Borges offense is one with an accurate (and not necessarily strong-armed) pocket passer.

Doesn't this suck. Like RR, I wish him nothing but the best and will root for him wherever he ends up (as long as he is not playing us, of course).

Phoenix

January 20th, 2011 at 9:34 AM ^

When Tate threw it, it always seemed to be between the numbers. I was constantly impressed with his accuracy. But maybe that was because I was comparing him to Threet/Sherridan.

I love Denard, but am not in love with his accuracy. Tate DEFINITELY scrambles too much, and needs to stay in the pocket more. But in 2009 he was a true freshman relying on skills that he was able to devour the competition with in high school, and in 2010 he didn't play much. I am not positive he would have learned to stay in the pocket more as an upperclassman, but his accuracy would not have dissapeared.

Clayzer

January 20th, 2011 at 9:00 AM ^

His goodbye message is kind of all over the place. He lists the reasons he's a victim, but then says he isn't playing the victim card. I do like his approach about others learning from his mistakes, and wish him the best going forward. Sounds like there is no ill feelings towards Michigan, although I'm sure there must be some.

I'm not surprise that Tate is gone, but I am disappointed. After reading the Detroit News interview, I thought maybe he'd finally gotten things figured out, only to hear a few days later that he would be missing the bowl game. Hopefully he does get things figured out wherever he goes, and can continue to show that moxie that we had all grown used to

J. Lichty

January 20th, 2011 at 10:41 AM ^

if he doesnt tell what his mistakes were.  At this stage it is shrouded in mystery. 

Tate's problem is that his words never really matched his actions.

I wish him luck and will root for him wherever he ends up.  Kid provided some hope to a beleagured fan-base last year.  Epic games against ND, Indiana, and Illinois this year.  Glad he stuck it out this year. 

APR takes another hit.

The FannMan

January 20th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^

IMHO, the message, especially the end, is really disappointing.  It is easy forTate to spin this as Michigan giving up on him when he knows that the team will not comment.  From what we know, it is clear that he has gotten in trouble this year.  At the start of the year he had the wings taken off his helmet.  Then he was sulking on the sideline durnig the UCon game.  The program worked with him and it looked like he got himself together for awhile.  he played well in a few games.  But, he was ineligible for the bolw game and decided not to enroll in class weeks ago. 

In short, the information available to us suggests that Michigan certainly tried to work with Tate, but he didn't perform in the classroom.  This is not the same thing as the program giving up on him.  I am greatful for his work and the memorial moments.  Unfortunately, I will also remember that he chose to blame the school for what appears to be his mistakes.

bleuadams

January 20th, 2011 at 9:09 AM ^

"but in the end, it was made clear they had given up on me."

 

.....was it rich rodriguez or brady hoke that didn't show up for any of their finals...and then didn't have the balls to tell RR he was going to be inelgible...and then took part in bowl practices, instead of letting the team get it's second qb for the game prepared (could've cost us gardner's RS year)

...or was that tate forcier!?

 

go f*ck yourself tate.  you're a piece of sh*t and you always will be.  you never have been, and never will be a MICHIGAN MAN.

st barth

January 20th, 2011 at 9:06 AM ^

...lack of QB depth,  new coach, patchwork recruiting class, changes in offensive philosophy.  We're inching closer to 2008.

I know that there is a lot of optimism right now.  But with a little bad luck, it might easily be another three win season in 2011.