Mike Forcier on Tate and Transfers
I hate breaking news, or debunking things (see Sam McGuffie transfer), so I don't know what's going to happen with Tate. I spoke to his Dad, and here's some quotes from our conversation. He was adamant that Tate is not transferring. These can all be found on my twitter page, too.
"As Tate's father, and someone who would advise him, a transfer isn't something I want to be a part of. Sometimes you think, man, do they want him there, but we don't think that's the situation. Rich Rodriguez has also been straight with us."
"Tate knows Michigan is the biggest and best stage out there. I know he has mixed emotions, but this is in his blood."
"He was feeling a little like a caged animal on the sidelines. He knew the cameras were on him, and that they were looking for an emotional reaction, so he was trying to hide his face with the towel. He was not pouting. The cameras kept prodding, and egging him on, so he got upset about it."
"This is a good growing experience. The way I see it, it's a long season. You saw today that they're going to need two quarterbacks. The Big Ten schedule is a tough schedule."
"We knew some disciplinary actions were coming down the pipe, so we kind of saw some things that others didn't. Not everyone knows and sees everything that goes on on the inside."
"This is like a boxing match, and the advice I give him is ride it out baby, ride it out. Those who stay will be champions."
"I talked to him after the game briefly, and I think we're ok. All I want to do is think positive of this. Tomorrow is a new day for him."
"I really think Rich Rodriguez is trying to make a true leader out of him on and off the field. Again, no one sees everything that goes on inside. Tate is a competitive, emotional kid that was having mixed emotions. He was happy as hell that they won, but upset he couldn't be in the game."
September 4th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
oh sweet baby jesus, that is one of the best video games ever made. +1
I think you go with 'look behind you! a mouse!' but it has been a long time...
September 5th, 2010 at 12:10 AM ^
You have to give him the red herring
September 5th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
Maybe if we give one to trolls on these boards, they'll go away, too? Might be worth trying.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
If this team can't accept Tate when he is at his worst, they don't deserve him at his best. Sticking here is going to destroy his NFL chances.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:13 PM ^
but that's just me. i'm a fat ass and what do i know?
September 4th, 2010 at 11:17 PM ^
Have you ever watched NFL quarterbacks?? Tate has the ability to possibly be a solid college quarterback, but he does not have the physical skills to be a NFL prospect (that is not a insult on Tate). Wake up!
September 5th, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^
Forcier's play as a college freshman? You've seen how much Denard has improved. Why is that impossible forTate?
I'm glad you feel qualified to specify someone else's limitations. One thing that NFL QBs have is a sense of how to play winning ball. Not all are physical freaks.
September 5th, 2010 at 4:15 AM ^
I am not saying Tate will not play in the NFL (though I would be surprised), but the fact that he essentially has been playing QB full time since high school (home schooling) translates into a lower ceiling. Yes, he will improve, but his ceiling should be lower than that of either Denard or Gardner.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^
been reading too many internet posts! Tate may have less in the way of physical gifts, but that just means that Tate needs to develop the mental aspects of playing more than do those more physically gifted. And that is going to require time and coaching (and the right attitude and discipline from the young QB, of course).
Don't give up so easily!
September 5th, 2010 at 2:06 AM ^
Are you Tate Forcier?
September 5th, 2010 at 2:08 PM ^
It won't.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
I am so thankful that there were no cameras on the sidelines when I played sports! Most of us don't know what its like, and I'd love for that "most of us" to just shut the hell up!
September 4th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^
From Larry Lage's twitter:
Talked to Tate Forcier's dad, who said it is a "150-percent fact" that his son is staying at Michigan
September 4th, 2010 at 11:16 PM ^
Tate, if you or your family read these forums: know that we still support you and anticipate your return to the field. All in, go blue.
September 6th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
You will play this year, and not just in some mop-up duty. In do-or die B10 games.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:19 PM ^
I'm not going to be worried unless Tate isn't given snaps against UMass and BG.
The people who are really taking harsh digs at him should lay off. I'd rather him be a little upset about not getting the chance to play, than to have him be completely indifferent to playing. Should he suck it up and cheer his team on? Sure, but these are kids, and emotions run high.
He went balls-out for us last year; people shouldn't be so quick to throw him under the bus.
(coming from a guy who wore a "Shoelace" shirt today)
September 5th, 2010 at 1:40 AM ^
I'm not going to be worried unless Tate isn't given snaps against UMass and BG.
This. And pretty much your entire post.
I remain stunned that they'd play a true freshman over someone who has just about a full year of playing experience. DG is either that much more athletic than Tate or Tate's deeper in the doghouse than anyone understood, or both.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:27 PM ^
September 4th, 2010 at 11:28 PM ^
Tate's Dad should remind Tate of what went on with one of my favorite Michigan players. Brian Griese was in Coach Carr's dog house one year and leading Michgan to a national championship the next. You never know what will happen, and you will never get a chance to find out unless you stick around.
Also, lets take it easy on the kid. I know how immature I was at 19 to 20 years old and I would hate to see my missteps under a microscope like this. I am sure that the ones who love and care about him will have the hard discussions with him about the error of his ways.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:59 PM ^
Griese almost didn't come back for that 5th year. If not for deciding to stick it out, Brian Griese would have missed out on a pretty nice NFL career (and a pretty nice National Championship).
September 4th, 2010 at 11:30 PM ^
I love Dad Forcier's words. I hope he's rubbing off on Tate.
He stays. I just know it. Sometime this year we will need that arm to get the ball to our fleet of wideouts.
Boy, DR was accurate today, though. Sheee-iiiit (enunciated like that senator from The Wire)
September 5th, 2010 at 12:08 AM ^
+1 for Clay Davis reference
September 5th, 2010 at 9:41 AM ^
as a badass. Imagine having to put yourself in the national spotlight after all the scrutiny. Fortunately, he has only to prove himself to his team and his coaches. I don't think they spend a lot of time dwelling on what we have to say, and even less on the media.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:30 PM ^
I think RichRod put Gardner in today to prove a point to Tate. I think today is the critical date for Tate - they took his wings off his helmet, they called him out, and they let the freshman play over him. Tate either responds or he doesn't, and I think we'll find out soon.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:35 PM ^
"Michael Forcier said his son was simply frustrated when he stood far away from Rodriguez during the game well behind the sideline.
“I talked to Tate briefly and asked him why he was pouting on the sideline with a towel over his head,” he said. “He said he was just trying to get away from the TV cameras that were trying to get him to show some emotion.”"
This makes it sound like he went to the bench with the towels BECAUSE of the cameras, which would be ironic because that's when they started to actually talk about him on ABC. Whether he's being honest or not is debatable, but they did have multiple cameras following him at that point. I would've gotten frustrated that they would turn attention to me during the end of the game too, if I were in his place.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
There's a big trailer where all the camera feeds go. Also in that trailer is the producer, who can communicate to all the camera men and to the talking heads in the booth. I was stunned watching Coach put in Devin. Clearly the producer was stunned and told the camera man to stay on Tate until they had something, and prepped the booth to be ready to make the comment. The comment was going to be made no matter what.
I'm incredibly disappointed with the response against Tate on this board. I don't think it's coming from anyone who has had to be in front of the media, or placed on TV for everyone to scrutinize. We expect these guys to be passionate, but then complain when they show emotion. I don't think his emotional response to that moment was unusual, including not wanting it recorded on camera.
I know it would be great if emotional 19 year olds were perfectly stoic icons of virtue. But I also know I wasn't when I was 19, just no one was filming it.
September 5th, 2010 at 9:59 PM ^
Anyone else remember watching the (I think) Syracuse game in (I think) 1999? Lloyd was doing his "alternate first two quarters then whoever played better plays the second half" deal (can you imagine if he had tried that with the mgocommunity on the job?), and the cameras showed Brady on the sideline as Henson directed the victory in the second half. Brady was scowling, and the announcer said, "That's the look of a quarterback who just lost his starting job."
Lessons: a) It is a TV show, and is made more watchable by injecting drama/controversy. b) those announcers will be in a different city next week, watching a different game, and no one (except some guy 10 years later on a blog) will remember their idle speculation. c) How'd that Brady kid turn out? Not saying that's what's in store for Tate, but he should note that perseverance can work in wonderful ways.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:36 PM ^
Does anybody listen to analysts. Shoelace is the new version of pat White. Now he can run and throw, forcier is out. He should transfer ASAP!! Not that I dislike him but he is not mobile enough for Rich Rod's system. Plus he is very immature, he mouthed off last year skipped workouts this year and is a pothead. Both shoelace and DG work well for this system forcier does not, for his career opportunities he should transfer. Unless there are major mistakes or major injuries he will not start ever...
September 4th, 2010 at 11:41 PM ^
Just STFU and stop making things up. Immature? Mouthed off? Pothead? You're an asshole.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:16 AM ^
Oh hey there Mrs. Forcier, didn't realize you were going to be on tonight. Yeah he's a 'pothead', just ask anyone on campus about his reputation versus Denard's. It's pretty a pretty united front supporting Denard, while Tate's heroics last year fell by the wayside long, long ago.
September 5th, 2010 at 9:21 PM ^
That guy comes off like a big douche, and I don't want to make too big a deal of this, but it's not the first time I've heard that Tate's had some Manningham type problems. Again, if true, I'm not sure it's even really a problem, Michael Phelps can smoke greens and crush everyone in the Olympics- that's all I need to know.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^
Mr. "member for 59 minutes"
Forcier looked acceptable in this system before he tore his god damned labrum last year.
Now, please piss off.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:04 AM ^
"Does anybody listen to analysts."
No. We read MGoBlog. We actually kinda go out of our way to ignore/mock mainstream analysts.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:39 PM ^
As good as Denard played today Tate still deserves a shot. For some reason people forget the leadership and the poise he showed last year when he was healthy (the kid was playing with a torn fuckin' labrum) and don't remember things like the notre dame game or the indiana game when he did the superman dive into the endzone. If Dick Rod (and yeah I said Dick Rod) doesn't stop running shoelace 20+ times a game we will definitely need another QB at some time. When that happens Tate should be our man. Oh I forgot, Dick Rod already wasted Gardner's redshirt ability on 2 fuckin' snaps when Tate should have been in there anyways so they might as well play the freshman.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:01 AM ^
Wow. I'm glad I can enjoy good things. Like winning.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:11 AM ^
September 5th, 2010 at 3:06 AM ^
I'm with Rich Rod on that one. Yeah, it would have been nice if he didn't have to burn DG's redshirt, but Tate's public tantrum coupled with his dad's comments and the known issues about his work ethic probably indicates that there's much more to this story that we're not privy to. If the kid's lost the confidence of his coaches and teammates then he's gotta earn it back if he wants to play, talent and experience notwithstanding. Rich Rod did the respectable thing by not letting him out of the doghouse early, even when it would have been expedient.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:41 PM ^
(1) Great reporting, Tom.
(2) This is really an unfortunate story to come out of a game we badly needed and worked our asses off to win.
(3) Denard was great today. Major props to him for his preparation and work ethic this off season. he looks like a completely different QB.
(4) I have my doubts as to the sustainability of having your QB run 30 times and throw another 22 game in and game out, but Denard's skill set is clearly what Rich Rod wants running his system.
(5) I have completely conflicting feelings toward tate, but it comes down to this: he's clearly been supplanted on the depth chart by Denard as the starter with the classic dual threat skills and Devin Gardner as the future star with freakish physical ability. I would have no problem with Tate choosing to transfer: he could step in as a starter at a number of schools across the country with a valuable year of starting experience with moderate success. While I'm sure we will need a QB with elite passing ability at some point this year, I can't imagine Tate being willing to be a situational QB. As Rod Smith said... they have potentially 3 starters at QB right now. How many coaches have the luxury of keeping that kind of depth on board for any extended period?
(6) I hope whatever is going on gets worked out openly and soon, so this team can move on toward the remainder of what could be a very promising season.
(7) The whole "disciplinary" thing must have some kind of deeper context that we haven't heard. Maybe it was a given that Tate was not going to play today? Who knows.
(8) Go Blue. fuck Notre Dame up.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:28 AM ^
You note: "I would have no problem with Tate choosing to transfer"
We'll be needing Tate later in this season, no question.
September 5th, 2010 at 9:15 AM ^
Let me begin by saying I’m a huge Tate fan—he’s my favorite player. I’m deeply disappointed in what he said/how he acted because even if he doesn’t transfer, he disrespected his team yesterday in a way that will not soon be forgotten. However, to say there won’t come a time this season when we’ll need Tate Forcier is, in my opinion, crazy.
From where I was sitting at the game, I couldn't see him at all/didn't see his alleged towel-hiding, etc. I did notice, however, when the team came out to the student section after their victory, Tate lagged behind in the back talking to Junior Hemingway and then finally half-assed "The Victors" with his team. This left me with a huge sinking feeling in my stomach (again, this is before I knew of how he allegedly behaved throughout the game.) I did notice that after the game, Tate was the second player in the tunnel, and that right before he entered he threw this white towel on the field angrily.
Watching all of this really put a bittersweet tinge on how absolutely ecstatic I was about the win. It made me sad that someone we looked to as a young leader last season, someone with the proven capability to stage dramatic comebacks, someone who in some capacity represented hope for our team and our program would disrespect his team and his role on it when things weren’t going his way. I texted with a friend who pointed out that Tate doesn’t respond well to adversity at all, which I totally agree with. I just remember that last season after Tate had an amazing possession or scored a TD, Denard was often one of the first to congratulate him when he returned back to the sidelines. When he didn’t—when Tate turned the ball over or scrambling in the pocket got the best of him—Denard was STILL there, patting him on the shoulder as if to say, “It’s okay man. Next time.” Denard’s one hell of an athlete, but I would argue his attitude is even more amazing. The optimism and leadership behind that perma-smile will be essential to this team, particularly vis-à-vis all of the adversity we have faced and continue to endure.
September 5th, 2010 at 9:52 AM ^
Here's another fan of Tate who appreciates what he did for the team last year. Here's hoping he gets his head on straight, keeps the big picture in mind, and realizes there will likely be plenty of opportunities for him to contribute this year.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^
Also gives some insight on many of the very positive comments players have made the past 6 months regarding Denard. People are going to respond to his positive attitude and encouragement, and that makes it easier to step into a leadership role.
September 6th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^
He just seems like an awesome kid.
My only critique is that there are not 10 of him.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
hey, i don't doubt that we might need him, but the guy could have 2 seasons as an unquestioned starter elsewhere... i don't begrudge the kid the opportunity to follow his dreams, rather than play second fiddle. obviously the selfish UM homer in me wants him to stick around as the bailout QB, but really... how often do teams have that luxury?
ergo, I would totally understand him taking off for another school. I think any realist would understand that point of view...
September 4th, 2010 at 11:42 PM ^
TV cameras and media exposure are what players like Tate Forcier sign up for when they come to Michigan. If you don't want the cameras focusing on you, go stand with your teammates instead of drawing attention to yourself alone on the bench with a towel over your face. Can't blame the media on this one, Tate isolated himself enough to give them the story.
Adversity is a part of life. Tate Forcier massively failed at dealing with that today. He's a 19 year old kid, he's got some growing up to do. That's to be expected. Hopefully his dad and the coaching staff have a long talk with him to sort this out, determine whether his heart is still in playing for Michigan, and if it's not, help him figure out the best solution to solve that problem.
Also, I think right about now is the right time to shut off the QBForce website.
September 5th, 2010 at 4:15 AM ^
TV cameras and media exposure are what players like Tate Forcier sign up for when they come to Michigan.
They might expect the exposure, but I don't think kids sign up for schools based on how much time they'll be on TV.
Agree that TF shouldn't have sat alone, he should have tried to 'get lost' in the crowd of players.
September 5th, 2010 at 4:17 AM ^
double post fail.
September 5th, 2010 at 3:23 PM ^
I think this is only the second time this has happened; but I agree with everything you just said there. He needs to do some "soul-searching", or something. I hope it works out for the best, and I hope he has a productive career here. Along with Denard, of course.
September 5th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^
were "egging him on" then he should have been on the sideline with the rest of his team cheering on the wolverines.
Comments