Forcier Not Close To Being Colt 2
Wednesday - June 22, 2011
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Del.icio.usIt seems former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier has now added UH to the seemingly never-ending list of schools where he one day may take his talents.
And yes, South Beach, aka the University of Miami, is on that list. In fact, he did agree to join the Hurricanes but changed his mind two months later, further keeping alive a family tradition of carpetbagging quarterbacks. His brother Jason played for Michigan before transferring to Stanford. Chris, the second oldest, began his career at UCLA and moved to Furhman after coach Rick Neuheisel recruited Kevin Craft to play the position. Now it’s Little Man Tate’s turn. That’s not a slam, but the film that gave the smallest male family member his nickname.
Considering his academic issues and his journey into self-pity after being benched at Ann Arbor, UH would be best to stand clear of this talented but troubled athlete.
Some have come to call the San Diego native a Colt Brennan part II - meaning an athlete with a troubled past who later finds redemption in a new environment. This comparison makes little sense both athletically and personally.
Forcier has an average arm and enough speed to make him a threat in any offense that doesn’t require him to be a run-first option. Brennan was an extremely accurate pocket passer who ran on occasion with decent success.
But it’s not athletic ability that separates the two as much as their differences away from the field. Forcier’s history of self-interest and academic disinterest are of major concern and why, likely, after being rated one of the top five all-purpose quarterbacks coming out of high school, he remains a player without a team.
The smartest thing Brennan did upon entering the program was to not make himself the center of attention. In a 2006 interview, former UH and now Oakland Raiders center Samson Satele said Brennan was quickly embraced because he remained in the background and allowed his teammates to get used to him. Even after reaching the national stage, he often deferred to his senior classmates. It’s hard seeing Forcier acting in the same manner. Athletic teams are a contradiction in that, by necessity, they are quick to welcome new talent but can also be very insular groups. This is especially true at UH, where the majority of players enter the program with a shared cultural identity. So far, Forcier has shown little ability to simply be one of the boys. That just isn’t their MO.
This is the family that created QBforce.com, a website extolling the virtues and athletic prowess of Tate and his two ball-tossing brothers, complete with philosophical sayings, some attributed to the site itself, and from the likes of Dan Marino and Joe Paterno to go along with the requisite biblical references.
Forcier’s time at Michigan was finished once the offense was handed to Denard Robinson. Forcier stewed on the sidelines, often reacting very little with his team-mates. His final act was to become academically ineligible for the Gator Bowl.
After a couple of years in the lead post, Greg McMackin has put his stamp on the team, and the future looks bright with two young and talented coordinators. He doesn’t need a reclamation project whose expressed interest is based on having no place else to go.
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