Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier is leaving Ann Arbor for Coral Gables.
“Miami had the best opportunity,” Forcier told ESPN. “There is so much positive energy around this program and I really want to be apart of it. I love these coaches an feel like they are the right guys for me. I had a great visit and I really want to be a part of the rebirth at Miami.”
Forcier chose UM after considering Arizona, Kansas State, Washington and Montana. He will enroll at Miami in June for the summer semester and will redshirt the 2011 season, with two years of eligibility remaining.
Forcier was a 2009 graduate of Scripps Ranch in San Diego – a four-star recruit and ranked the fifteenth-best quarterback in the nation. Arm strength, accuracy / consistency and running ability / mobility were considered his strengths, with size being the only knock. At six foot and 183 pounds, Forcier doesn’t possess prototypical quarterback height.
Miami was in the running for Dwyer’s Jacoby Brissett until last Friday, when the local produt chose Florida over Miami, Washington and Wisconsin. Brissett wasn’t in ESPN’s Top 150, but was listed a four-star talent by Scout.
Hurricane Faithful were disappointed by the last minute change of heart by Brissett, but ESPN’s Heather Dinich summed up the situation perfectly:
While the Hurricanes likely will end this class without a quarterback, leaving one experienced signal-caller on the roster in 2012, it doesn’t mean they won’t sign one — a good one — in the next class.
Look at it this way: There is a wide-open spot for one of the best quarterbacks in the country in 2012, and Golden and his staff can recruit that player while honestly assuring him of immediate playing time. It also leaves open the possibility a top transfer like Michigan’s Tate Forcier or Rutgers’ Tom Savage can join the team and provide immediate help and depth.
Miami will sign a quarterback in 2012, and there’s a good possibility he’ll be even better than Brissett.
To Dinich’s point, Miami landed a ‘top transfer’ like Forcier and the door is open for Al Golden and staff to spend the next year scouring the nation for the best quarterbacks in the class of 2012.
Until then, it’s all about Stephen Morris and Jacory Harris – who is said to be experiencing a “sense of renewal” due to the new coaching staff.