Tate Forcier Interview

[tpilews]

Impressive interview by Tom over at mgoblog. Here's the link to the entire article. http://mgoblog.com/diaries/tate-forcier-interview


TOM: Have you talked to any of the other offensive players yet, either current players or commits?

TATE: I have been talking to Willie Haulstead, and I’ve been trying to get him to commit. I’ve talked to him several times, it seems like it’s between Michigan and Florida State. What I’ve been saying to everyone is this is not any other school, this is Michigan. People ask me why I chose Michigan, and the first thing I say is because it’s Michigan. You can’t really ask for anything more than what’s here, it’s the best of everything.

TOM: Your teammate, Brennan Clay, is a Michigan target for next year. Is there anything you’ve said to him about joining you, or is there anything you’ll do in the future?

TATE: I’ve been working on him since day one. He’s getting a lot of attention, he just got offered by USC last week. I want what’s best for him, but I have a good feeling if he was going to come back east, this would be a school he could choose. He’s going to come out for spring ball, so hopefully I can convince him. I know he loves Coach Smith and Rodriguez, and he likes Michigan. Talking with those guys is like extended family, they’re just really cool guys, which helps.

TOM: I know everyone is expecting a lot out of you in your first year, how do you deal with the expectations and pressure that comes along with this experience?

TATE: I’ve watched a lot of freshman play, and Coach Smith talked to me about this. I’m not going to try to do too much. I’m going to manage the team, rather than try to make the big play and taking a sack. The seniors and juniors make the plays, and I’ll just keep moving the chains. Take it one week at a time.

TOM: You’re going to get every chance to compete for the starting job, but it’s not going to be handed to you, what are you going to do to ensure you are the starting quarterback?

TATE: I can’t even answer that, there’s so much I have to do. I don’t care who you are, you have to earn it. I need to learn the playbook; work with the receivers, there’s so much. I can’t answer that until maybe spring ball, because I don’t know how to answer it.


TOM: Have the coaches said anything to you about anything new they want to try, or anything on the offensive side that will change this year?

TATE: Coach Rodriguez says he’s going to be able to open up his offense more with me. With Threet and Sheridan you can’t really run the option with pro style quarterbacks. It’s hard to run the true spread without a dual threat quarterback. He’s going to have me running a lot. I just have to listen and learn.

TOM: Throughout college there’s going to be a lot of adversity. With not being selected to the All American games, and the star rankings you experienced a little already. How do you use that to your advantage?

TATE: That makes me want to prove myself, and nothing against the recruiting services, but the star system is just opinion, it’s not fact. I have a lot to prove, and I’m not sure why I wasn’t rated higher than I am just based on stats. But, I don’t really care what the recruiting services say; I care what the coaches say. I was recruited by Michigan, so that’s proof enough for me. I just want to show everyone a freshman can do it.

TOM: I know you’re not there yet, but what are the keys to success for Michigan this year? Is there anything the coaches have been emphasizing?

TATE: For the team, I need to get more involved to answer that. For myself, it all comes on me, no one’s going to do it for me. I need to study, get all the guys together for drills. I have to go to them, they can’t come to me. Understanding why the coaches have the plays built the way they do is huge.

TOM: So, let’s put a hypothetical out there, or a look into the possible future. Tate Forcier is the starting quarterback, and the Wolverines are about to take the field. Everyone looks to you as the leader, what’s the message you give? How do you command your offense?

TATE: Show confidence. I’m going to have the same swagger as I always have. The quarterback is the leader for a reason. Michigan saw something special in me, and I’ll project that to the team. I want to be the same confident kid that I’ve always been.

[bighousemike84]

See that right there is one BIG reason why going 3-9 in a season is not all bad! Michigan has lacked a player like him for awhile. Sure talent is an important issue but having a decent player who loves the school and wants nothing more than to bring success to the team far out ways a superstar who is looking out for his own interests

[1OSUNUT]

So Pryor is cocky and a prima donna for having a swagger and confidence about himself - and Tate is great for having that same swagger ?

[tpilews]

So Pryor is cocky and a prima donna for having a swagger and confidence about himself - and Tate is great for having that same swagger ?

Where did anyone say anything about Pryor???

I think what most people were turned off about Pryor was that he had to make a spectacle out of the recruiting process with his "press conferences" and "the university of ohio state" and his corvette for prom.

Where's Tate's corvette? His press conferences? The kid has done nothing but worked hard in the classroom to graduate early and even harder on the field to become one of the top qbs in his class.

I think, if you didn't have such a crush for everything UM, or inferiority complex, you wouldn't have commented in this thread, since it has nothing to do with tuos.

[bighousemike84]

So Pryor is cocky and a prima donna for having a swagger and confidence about himself - and Tate is great for having that same swagger ?

TP is exactly right. Pryor was a punk because of how he went about his recruitment, because of the fights he got in to, because of the gifts he received on behalf of an interested party.

Forcier is confident there is a difference. He isnt proclaiming his excellence he isnt a selfish self centered dumbass he is a confident cocky young kid which isnt a bad thing considering he is the QB

[number2]

Im excited for Tate and love that he seemingly loves Michigan as much as most of us do...that is a great combo...talent and an apparent love for the school he chose...it could be special

[blueisbetterthanred]

Man you just got to love the spirit this kid has.

"People ask me why I chose Michigan, and the first thing I say is because it’s Michigan."

"I was recruited by Michigan, so that’s proof enough for me."

This kid "gets it". He's not playing for attention *cough*tp*cough* He's showing he understands the program and is willing to do what is needed to be a leader at the Michigan level.

I can't wait to see what he does with a year under his belt.

[1OSUNUT]

All I'm saying is that to be a leader (QB) you have to have a swagger about yourself. That is a good thing. All the reports about TP coming out of high school were false. He has been a model student and teamate. He works hard and watches tons of film. I'm sure Tate will be a fine QB - but even under RR he will have a huge amount to learn and adjust to. The one HUGE advantage he might have is taking the lions share of the snaps this spring. TP di dnot do that and was sort of thrown into the fire after the USC game. If Tate is named the starter and gets most of the work in the spring he should do very well. Anybody who saw Michigan play last year knows how bad the QB play effected the team. The defense at times was very bad but the QB play was below average all year. Tate should be a drastic improvement.

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

All I'm saying is that to be a leader (QB) you have to have a swagger about yourself. That is a good thing. All the reports about TP coming out of high school were false. He has been a model student and teamate. He works hard and watches tons of film. I'm sure Tate will be a fine QB - but even under RR he will have a huge amount to learn and adjust to. The one HUGE advantage he might have is taking the lions share of the snaps this spring. TP di dnot do that and was sort of thrown into the fire after the USC game. If Tate is named the starter and gets most of the work in the spring he should do very well. Anybody who saw Michigan play last year knows how bad the QB play effected the team. The defense at times was very bad but the QB play was below average all year. Tate should be a drastic improvement.

Thanks for that insightful analysis, keep up the good work.

[Bossgobbler23]

I like this kid's spirit. He knows what he has to do when he gets here and he is going to work his tail off to achieve it. RR's playbook was very limited last year due to pro-style QB's with no experience. It will be good to see him open it up as Tate grows with the system. When the offense stays on the field, the D feeds off of that. One helps the other.

[tpilews]

I think the quotes about RR being able to open up the playbook is enough to conclude that Tate is the early favorite and why me and a few others have been saying that Tate will start from day 1. It's going to be amazing how different the team looks by just changing the qb. All of last year, I think we saw 25% of the playbook, at most.

This is another reason why RR had to implement his system right away, so those inexperienced players in '08, would have an entire year under their belt and would help in the transition of the '09 commits. Like I've said before, this offense next year, will only be limited in how quickly Tate can learn this offense. Looks like he is up to the challenge.

[1OSUNUT]

RR will still be limited in what he can run with Tate. Going from high school to the starting QB at a major college is a HUGE jump up in expectations and skill level. The worst thing you can do is throw to much at him and let it overwhelm him. Playing on a Friday night is a lot different then playing in front of 100,000 plus on Saturday - road games are a a whole different animal. I expect RR to handle him very much like Tressel handled Pryor. He will give him plays that he can run very well to build his confidence while keeping him within his ability level. As the game slows down for him and he gets more comfortable RR will increse the amount of plays. IMO

Tate seems like a good talent and a vast improvement over what you guys had this year. Take it from us Buckeye fans - he will make mistakes. He will look great at times and have you pulling your hair out at others. That is the trade off. If you think RR is going to plug this kid in and win 10 games next year - your going to be unhappy. Michigan has some tough road games next year and still will be a young team learning a new system. I think 5 or 6 wins is going to be what is expected from his team as they grow. It was real easy to sit back and pick apart TP's short comings last year. Next year it will be your turn to watch a true freshman make the mistakes that freshman make. We delt with it this year - next year is your turn.

[BBA1994]

RR will still be limited in what he can run with Tate. Going from high school to the starting QB at a major college is a HUGE jump up in expectations and skill level. The worst thing you can do is throw to much at him and let it overwhelm him. Playing on a Friday night is a lot different then playing in front of 100,000 plus on Saturday - road games are a a whole different animal. I expect RR to handle him very much like Tressel handled Pryor. He will give him plays that he can run very well to build his confidence while keeping him within his ability level. As the game slows down for him and he gets more comfortable RR will increse the amount of plays. IMO

Tate seems like a good talent and a vast improvement over what you guys had this year. Take it from us Buckeye fans - he will make mistakes. He will look great at times and have you pulling your hair out at others. That is the trade off. If you think RR is going to plug this kid in and win 10 games next year - your going to be unhappy. Michigan has some tough road games next year and still will be a young team learning a new system. I think 5 or 6 wins is going to be what is expected from his team as they grow. It was real easy to sit back and pick apart TP's short comings last year. Next year it will be your turn to watch a true freshman make the mistakes that freshman make. We delt with it this year - next year is your turn.

Nutball do us all a favor and take tressy's weasel out of your mouth and think, just think before you post something!

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

RR will still be limited in what he can run with Tate. Going from high school to the starting QB at a major college is a HUGE jump up in expectations and skill level. The worst thing you can do is throw to much at him and let it overwhelm him. Playing on a Friday night is a lot different then playing in front of 100,000 plus on Saturday - road games are a a whole different animal. I expect RR to handle him very much like Tressel handled Pryor. He will give him plays that he can run very well to build his confidence while keeping him within his ability level. As the game slows down for him and he gets more comfortable RR will increse the amount of plays. IMO

Tate seems like a good talent and a vast improvement over what you guys had this year. Take it from us Buckeye fans - he will make mistakes. He will look great at times and have you pulling your hair out at others. That is the trade off. If you think RR is going to plug this kid in and win 10 games next year - your going to be unhappy. Michigan has some tough road games next year and still will be a young team learning a new system. I think 5 or 6 wins is going to be what is expected from his team as they grow. It was real easy to sit back and pick apart TP's short comings last year. Next year it will be your turn to watch a true freshman make the mistakes that freshman make. We delt with it this year - next year is your turn.

why do you spend so much time telling us what we already know? freshman qb really??? growing pains, really??? different than high school, really??? come on man, if you must spend such a large part of your day on this site tell us something that is not so damn obvious. and i think 5 wins would be a massive disappointment next year.

[tpilews]

why do you spend so much time telling us what we already know? freshman qb really??? growing pains, really??? different than high school, really??? come on man, if you must spend such a large part of your day on this site tell us something that is not so damn obvious. and i think 5 wins would be a massive disappointment next year.

I agree, if there hadn't been so much inexperience on offense this past year, UM should've been able to pull out a couple of those losses. ND, without the fumbles. Purdue, UM wins 9 out of 10 games. Chalk that one up to the defense. Toledo, take away the pick 6 and toledo doesn't get in the endzone. Also, a halfway decent offense puts up more than 10 on them.

Maybe the Purdue game is a stretch because the offense played well enough to blow them out. However, the other two games can be attributed to inexperience. Hell, even the NWU game was a failure in offensive execution. The defense played well enough to win, just as they had done in quite a few other games during the year, but the offense just had no chance because of poor qb play. '08 could have been 6-6 at least, and 7-5 at best with just some guys making plays in some situations.

[rickyleach]

1osunut, no pryor is a punk and strung along several universitys ,even though he and the entire osu coaching staff new he was going to ohio state, and dont give me he really wasnt sure crap,, the kid point blank said when heathcock was in the hospital with cancer ,pryor and his family sent the man flowers , they did this in december and early january of 2008 , when asked by the c/bus media, why he did it , his answer was because he was going to be my qb coach , if you recall he didnt commit until almost april, what he did with his coach was very nice but again the boy had already made his mind up and was playing games.. and to get back to tate, the boy has more brains in his pecker then pryor has in his mellon head , he is also going to michigan for a degree, unlike pryor who wants to be a football star

[1OSUNUT]

Just remember Michigan had that record with alot of those games at home. Your on the road next year with a freashman QB.

[Mich97c]

Just remember Michigan had that record with alot of those games at home. Your on the road next year with a freashman QB.

It's You're - you dumbass. We get ND, OSU and Penn St at home THIS year. Other than Wisky and MSU I don't see too many scary stadiums.

[tpilews]

Just remember Michigan had that record with alot of those games at home. Your on the road next year with a freashman QB.

Nut, I think you need to take a look at the schedule again. UM played PSU, tuos, and ND on the road. All tough places to play.
They also played Minn and Purdue on the road. Next year, those first three games are at home and the away games will be Iowa, Illinois, MSU, and Wisci. UM has 8 home games.

MSU sans Ringer/Hoyer, Iowa sans Green. I'd argue that the schedule is much more favorable in 2009 than the 2008 schedule.

[ironhide]

He did a good but not great job this year. The difference being he got thrown to it, so a great job that a senior might do is impossible. But he did as good as anyone could have in his situation and that is a credit to him.
But no one here is sold on the guy because he has not won the big one yet. He is mistake prone right now. We will see what the bowl game brings.
Pryor is confident, but his recruiting was ridiculous, over the top and circus like. I wish RR would have just told him to f--k off after it became clear he was just blowing his horn for attention. We suffered because of Pryor's actions and it never should have been allowed to go that far.
Now the experience has shown he was a great land but he is NOT the best freshman QB ever to grace the grid iron. Maybe his sophmore year will be a real smash success and he will challenge Tebow for the Heisman. But he could also blow a load of choad all over the horseshoe next season. Sophmore jinx.
And by the way, who the f--k gives a crap about Pryor? And who is this 1OSUNUT punk coming over here? Go f--k your stuffed buckeye mascot in the cornhole if you don't like OSU criticism. This is a MICHIGAN website!

[Bossgobbler23]

I think the quotes about RR being able to open up the playbook is enough to conclude that Tate is the early favorite and why me and a few others have been saying that Tate will start from day 1. It's going to be amazing how different the team looks by just changing the qb. All of last year, I think we saw 25% of the playbook, at most.

This is another reason why RR had to implement his system right away, so those inexperienced players in '08, would have an entire year under their belt and would help in the transition of the '09 commits. Like I've said before, this offense next year, will only be limited in how quickly Tate can learn this offense. Looks like he is up to the challenge.

TP, you are right on the money again my man! I think the playbook will be opened up gradually to fit Tate's learning curve. Yes there will some growing pains with a freshman but I see in the neighborhood of 8 wins or so as very realistic providing Tate stays healthy.

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

Just remember Michigan had that record with alot of those games at home. Your on the road next year with a freashman QB.

You really have zero football knowledge, or any knowledge at all that i can tell. do us all a favor and stick to the osu boards atleast you wont be the laughing stock of those sites.

[Blue In Ohio]

Tates got my vote. He sounds like a Michigan man from day one.

[nc wolverine]

Tates got my vote. He sounds like a Michigan man from day one.

he does, and i love it. Not trying to be a pessimist... i just hope he lives up to the hype. If he does look out

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

he does, and i love it. Not trying to be a pessimist... i just hope he lives up to the hype. If he does look out

my concern is not his talent, its how skinny he looks i just hope he doesnt get hurt like pretty much all our QB's did last year.

[nc wolverine]

my concern is not his talent, its how skinny he looks i just hope he doesnt get hurt like pretty much all our QB's did last year.

hes listed at what.... 180. Yeah but hes got 8 months with barwis, hopefully he will put on some pounds. good pounds mind you

[tpilews]

hes listed at what.... 180. Yeah but hes got 8 months with barwis, hopefully he will put on some pounds. good pounds mind you

I'm pretty sure that listing is old and he's up to at least 190. Let's just put it this way: Tate is bigger than Pat White was at the same age. The biggest thing for anyone running the ball is to avoid the big hit. They need to be able to adjust their body quickly to avoid getting hit directly. Threet was awful at this. So was Sam. Sheridan was pretty good at avoiding the big hit.