Tate making his presence felt
I have read that Tate is getting situated quickly and having a VERY strong impact to the point where senior receivers are claiming his timing and accuracy are way beyond what would be expected of a Freshman QB, especially in the all important quick routes.
Don't be surprised to see him starting if this is true. This kid wants to elevate this team in the worst possible way and that means he will kick others in the butt to elevate their game too.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:21 AM ^
Yeah there was something about in passing drills receivers were getting hit in the head because they weren't ready for his delivery speed. I hope it's true.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:22 AM ^
I know everyone's being cautious about him, but damn I'm excited about this kid. He just seems like a different breed from what we usually recruit and get, I think he finally helps bring UM into the modern age. The Bo era was great, but we need to leave it behind to start getting those NC's.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:27 AM ^
to the article your referring to?
February 7th, 2009 at 1:36 AM ^
no links. Just know that Threet and Sheridan will become better QB's because of the increased level of competition.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:43 AM ^
Let's hope Sheridan is gone forever; if we ever see him on the field now that we have Threet, Forcier, AND D Rob, we are in a world of hurt, like, struggle against Delaware State at home trouble.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:47 PM ^
What do you mean "no links"? Where did you read it?
Big Vagina
February 7th, 2009 at 1:23 AM ^
he comes from a great QB pedigree, just look at the rest of his family. his dad was a college QB and raised 3 more college QB's. on top of that, his dad found tate the right coaches at a young and critical age. tate is finally surrounded by true athletes, unlike in high school. the sky is the limit for both tate and this team.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:30 AM ^
if you haven't seen it, here's a good write-up about him.
http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090205/SPORTS0201/9…
February 7th, 2009 at 8:39 AM ^
It's not surprising to hear the receivers are not accustomed to having the ball delivered on time. Threet looks like Louis Tiant trying to throw a slider with two out and two on in the middle of the third inning.. and suicide kitty well.. I just can't rip on a high school back up.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:22 AM ^
You just did.
February 7th, 2009 at 10:13 AM ^
I still don't understand why some people give Threet such a free ride on this board. He is just as bad as Sheridan. Remember, Sheridan initially beat Threet out for the starting job. How bad do you have to be for that to happen? Threet was QB for the Toledo game and some of our worst losses. He does not fit the system. I think he will be 3rd string this year.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^
I think it's safe to argue that Sheridan IS WORSE than Threet. Sheridan won it coming into the season but practices are different than games. Threet also started in the Wisconsin game. Sheridan has shown that he is bad in the Penn St. game. But I do have to give him props for the Minnesota game. It's close, but I take Threet over Sheridan any day.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:34 AM ^
And don't forget that the best game by a qb last year was Sheridan against Minnesota.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:21 PM ^
Threet played better against ND, in far tougher circumstances, than Sheridan did against Minn.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:27 PM ^
Yeah, because "handoff to McGuffie" is so tough.
Anyway... Sheridan vs. Minnesota 13-30 for 203 yards.
Threet vs. ND 16-23 for 175 yards.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:45 PM ^
Since your memory appears to be faulty, let me refresh it. Against ND, Threet completed 70% of his passes in a downpour in a hostile environment - and this when we had to play virtually the entire game from behind. Those stats also don't mention that Threet had a 40-yard TD to Mathews called incomplete. It's not his fault that we lost. He was responsible for only one of our six turnovers, put the ball right on the money on the "incomplete" pass to Mathews, and had nothing to do with our defense not showing up in the first half. He had a good game by any standard.
Sheridan stunk in the first half against Minnesota. We had consistently good field position (thanks to what was by far our best defensive game of the year) and a good running game, but we continually stalled in the red zone and settled for FGs. Only in the second half did Sheridan play well (and even then he had a couple of frightening near-INTs).
February 8th, 2009 at 12:18 AM ^
But now that I think about it, one could argue that Threet's game (or 2/3 of a game) against PSU was better than either of these: 9-13 passing for 84 yards and 14 carries for 50 yards. Our offense looked great with him in there, against a very good PSU defense on the road. With Sheridan in there? Not so much.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:57 PM ^
I dont think anyone is giving him a pass. Last year we did not have another option at QB. Threet, Sheridan, and ????. They both were horrible. Even for a freshman. Pro style QBs really cannot run this type of O to save their lives. Easy for me to say I guess.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
I don't understand how someone can possibly think Sheridan is better than Threet. Sheridan played terrible, and Threet should have started from the beginning. Sheridan has a decent head for the game, but no physical redeeming qualities whatsoever. At least Threet has an arm.
The bottom line, though, is that both were terrible. Threet has a lot more potential to be a real QB, but I hope we never see that at UM.
As I often say, I hope Threet has a great career at QB- at Adrian College. And I hope Sheridan is on the fast track to grad assistant so that he can follow in his dad's footsteps as a career coach.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:01 AM ^
I live in a SEC state and work a lot so I only get to make it up for one game per year which is traditionally the first game (labor day wkend). Any thoughts on whether or not I will see him play in the fist game this year. I know it may be scary to have a true freshman start in game 1 but Henne did it and it worked out fine for him.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:08 AM ^
Barring any injuries, I think you stand a great chance of seeing him but there's a lot of practices and competition until that first game so your guess is as a good a any one elses. Heck, Sheridan could beat them all out and start for all we know!
February 7th, 2009 at 11:17 AM ^
Dear Lord, NO PLEASE, NO, I am sure that Sheridan is a good kid and all, and I appreciate the contibutions he mad to the team last year, but a starting QB he is not. Same goes for Threet in my opinion. There is a reason Nick was a walk-on 2 years ago.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^
Tate could make some real progress for the team. How many games did Henne win as a freshman? Yeah, that's right. I'll probably get flamed bad, but if Tate is what we think he is, it could be an 8 win season. 9 if the football Gods cut us some slack for a change. If he is not, well, 5 or 6 wins are possible--and tht ain't all bad. Somebody better talk me down before I go all Jimmy Clausen.
Could we see Denard and Tate in the backfied at the same time? That might cause some pucker.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:28 AM ^
If memory serves we won 9 that year with losses to ND (who still had a better coach than now) and OSU. We won the B10 and went to the Rose Bowl where we lost to Tex by 2 points with a final 2 minute score by Vince Young. That was the same team that went on the next year to win the NC against USC. Henne was the first true freshman to ever start in the Rose Bowl. I have learned over the last 2 years to not make predictions about what we would do on the field but this year seems to hold a lot of promise.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:24 PM ^
We lost to Texas by 1 on a wobbly field goal on the last play of the game. Two of our players game within inches of blocking that kick. (In fact, initially I thought we did block it.)
February 7th, 2009 at 11:43 AM ^
when you have Edwards, Breaston and Avant as your wide receivers. Three NFL caliber guys right there and you could just throw it within 10 yards of Edwards and know that he would catch it. Not saying Tate won't have a great year but the WR talent is no where near what Henne got to work with.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:56 AM ^
very true
February 7th, 2009 at 12:00 PM ^
Henne also had a good and experienced line blocking for him. The line this year won't be as bad as last year, but hopefully Tate can buy some time with his legs if he is the starter, which is definitely not a guarantee IMO.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:02 PM ^
at the top of this article is a pic of Tate at a press confrence. any idea where I can go to see this press conf?
February 7th, 2009 at 4:41 PM ^
if you have Rivals access
http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=909121
and probably here in the coming weeks if you don't
http://mgoblue.com/football/page.aspx?id=141290
though that second link probably won't have video. maybe check the multimedia section or try to catch Doug Karsch's Wolverine Sports Magazine. Sooner or later they'll probably do something about the early enrollers.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:18 PM ^
I remember Brian writing about how Tate's homeschooling allowed him to go to weight training and quarterback training several days a week. He had some quarterback guru that he went to for mechanics and such. How could this be that much different than college. Obviously he has to learn new plays and such and the game will be faster, but its not going to have to be broken down to be brought back up again, so to speak.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:47 PM ^
Have you SEEN Tate's highlight videos?
(if you haven't a good example of what I'm talking about is here: http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=5530…)
The kid has a very strong tendency to run 30 yards backwards, then throw up wild passes that are often directed at a crowd of players. Yes he has the arm strength, yes he has the accuracy, yes he is elusive while running, but keep in mind he's still a high school player. He's going to make high school mistakes. If we do get to see Tate this year, I predict a very frustrating outcome.
Also, Chad Henne was a 5-star stud QB with great size and a rocket arm. PLUS he was in a heavily run-based offense (with Mike Hart, no less). PLUS, as was mentioned before, 3 current NFL receivers on the roster. I think the comparisons end at they are both Freshman QB's at Michigan. Wait and see, don't crown Forcier just yet.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:56 PM ^
http://qbforce.com/tate/home.htm
Particularly from under center. Sure, he does what you say he does in some of those videos, but they're on the highlight reel because he pulls them off. I think he's probably well aware of the fact that this won't work so well in college. Yes, he'll make some mistakes, but the fact that he's had so much coaching will make him that much more ready. I'm not anointing him, just saying that it should help that he was homeschooled and all.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:14 PM ^
could have something to do with the fact he didn't have much of an O-line to protect him. But you are right, he's fresh outta high school and will have to prove himself. The main thing is he is far better prepared than the majority of hs qb's coming into their freshman year.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:59 PM ^
Henne had it as a freshman, Clausen did not.
Tate, Threet, Drob, whoever. They could all be servicable at least if there is good O line play and a couple solid backs to carry the load. None of them will be able to carry the team alone.
Also, wide recievers will need to block a lot better than last year. I think they will.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:23 PM ^
Tates not a 5 star QB bc hes only 6 foot or 6'1. If he was 6'3 he'd be a 5 star qb. Thats why Hennne was, hes big and had powerful arm.
Henne= a great passer but not good runner
Forcier= good passer, good runner. Maybe even a great passer?
February 7th, 2009 at 3:28 PM ^
but forcier's arm is about as strong as chad's according to fred jackson
February 7th, 2009 at 4:36 PM ^
Tate has yet to complete a single pass for Michigan, yet this group of Michigan fans is already anointing him the second coming of junior year Henson.
Chad Henne was listed at either 6'2" or 6'3". his offer list was second to none. Tate's offer list is not spectacular. Let's not assume that the only thing holding back his offers is his height.
And Henne's arm strength was among the 3 or 4 best QBs who have played at Michigan since 1990. Henson and Mallett had the strongest arms and Navarre might be there with Henne.
And the comment that he hits receivers in the back of the head could be the fact that Tate's timing sucks, not the WRs.
With the set of expectation this group has for Forcier, there is NO WAY he will live up to them. The kid is a freshman, if he gets to play he will make a lot of mistakes.
Also, his family QB heritage is not the greatest. His brother Jason has never played a meaningful snap in college. He didn't play for Michigan and he has yet to get a start at Stanford. And whether or not Jason is good, has little to do with Tate's complete lack of collegiate experience.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:01 PM ^
"He didn't play for Michigan"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aG-XU2MPFo
UM vs. Indiana Nov. 11, 2006. Skip to the 6:35 mark to see Jason (#19) complete a pass, and pick up a first down with his legs.
February 8th, 2009 at 3:11 AM ^
As I said, he never played a meaningful snap for Michigan. The he didn't play for Michigan comment was a generalize that slight over stepped the facts, but is generally true.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:04 PM ^
Are you seriously arguing that Michigan fans should temper their enthusiasm for Tate because other members of his family have not fared too well in college? Seriously?
I also love this quote: "whether or not Jason is good, has little to do with Tate's complete lack of collegiate experience." Of course it doesn't! THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!
Now, I am not annointing Tate as the Second Coming. But I am cautiously and mildly optimistic. If he can run and throw a spiral, then he's got two attributes that Threet lacked last year.
February 8th, 2009 at 3:12 AM ^
Tate and Jason are two different people. yet several people here claim that his family's QB heritage somehow makes him better. I threw the point about Jason in to further discredit applying the success of one sibling to the other.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:06 PM ^
Actually, Jason did get to at least play in garbage/cleanup time behind Henne. He looked pretty decent, too, from what I remember.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:30 PM ^
He's getting more chicks than Chad did when he was a freshman.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:15 PM ^
You are getting annoying.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:15 PM ^
hell, plus a million
February 7th, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^
We will see when he takes the field.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:42 PM ^
mgoobes, I've heard that too. I wanna believe it. I do believe it.
Especially when foricer tacks on a few pounds. More weight on his feet. From what I remember, Henne was kinda thin his freshmen yr too. Not as thin but yano. Forcier has 8 months to tack on pounds. well more like 6 but ya no. Russel Shepard i heard alrdy gained like 8lbs, so maybe forcier is around thre too.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:25 PM ^
Forcier actually had a pretty strong offer list: Florida, Penn St., Arizona St., Oregon, Stanford, Texas A&M, and Washington St. I'm not sure what you are looking for, but that is pretty strong. Henne's was Penn St., Tennessee, Georgia, and Miami. They seem about equally impressive to me.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:31 PM ^
Yeah not to mention every school is looking for a different type of QB. USC is not going to offer a guy like Tate. 1)Because they can have guys like Barkley and 2) he's perhaps not IDEAL for their system. Henne probably wasn't ideal for some top teams, regardless of his obvious tools and talent.