Missing out on Terrelle Pryor helped Michigan land Tate Forcier
Rich Rodriguez went hard after Terrelle Pryor in his first winter as Michigan coach, but missed out on the five-star quarterback when Pryor committed to Ohio State after signing day.
Rodriguez said Tuesday on the Big Ten coach’s teleconference that, had Pryor gone to Michigan, he still would have recruited current freshmen quarterbacks Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson.
"I don’t know if does a whole lot for us to look at hypothetical situations or things that didn’t happen,” Rodriguez said. “But certainly Tate and Denard Robinson both, irregardless of who we had on the roster at quarterback, we would have actively tried to recruit those two because we liked what we saw on film, we liked what we saw in person and thought they would be great assets to our system and our program.”
Forcier committed to Michigan over Penn State, the Wolverines’ opponent Saturday, in part because Michigan offered the best opportunity at early playing time.
He picked Michigan a day after watching the Wolverines lose to Utah in their season opener.
“When I saw that opportunity (for immediate playing time), I was like, 'I ain’t going to pass this up,'" Forcier said earlier this fall. "Right after that first game I was like, 'I'm coming here.'”
Had Pryor, now a sophomore, gone to Michigan, it's likely Forcier would have ended up a Nittany Lion.
Forcier said Tuesday he took two unofficial visits to Penn State and “if I didn’t come here I probably would have went there.”
“It’ll be interesting to play against them and play against Darryl Clark,” Forcier said. “He’s a great quarterback, and I know Penn State has a great defense, and I’m excited to see what we can do against them.”
More notes from Tuesday’s Big Ten teleconference:
• Though Forcier is “the healthiest he’s been in about three or four weeks,” Rodriguez said he still plans to play Robinson against Penn State.
“He continues to improve each and every week,” Rodriguez said. “For us it’s just kind of a rotation by feel. Some people think we’re maybe pulling one guy, but in reality we’re just rotating guys in there. That’s the way we do it in practice and they’ll both be ready to play.”
• Penn State coach Joe Paterno on Forcier: “He does everything a quarterback can do He throws the ball, he scrambles, he's a great leader, he takes a couple shots. He’s tough. For a kid that is a true freshman, he’s played remarkably well and he’s only going to get better. But I tell you, he’s got a guy chasing him, behind him, No. 16 (Robinson), who’s pretty darn good, too. That combination of competition will make both of them better. They look awfully good to me.
"He looks like a guy you can build a football team around, talking about Forcier."
• Rodriguez said Michigan’s offensive line, which has been inconsistent this season, made great strides with its performance two weeks ago against Iowa. The Wolverines rushed for 195 yards and scored the first three rushing touchdowns of the year against the Hawkeyes.
“I think it gave them a little bit of confidence and they know they’re going to have to have it (this week) because we’re playing we think one of the best front sevens in the entire country,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to be quite a challenge.”
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
Dave
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 2:54 a.m.
Sorry Jeremy, actually it is Willievrine who is mistaken about Colt McCoy.
Dave
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 2:49 a.m.
Jeremy you are mistaken when you say that Colt McCoy showed marked improvement in his soph. year. In his freshman year, 29TD-7int-68.2comp%-161.82rating. His soph. year he has 22TD-18int-65.1comp%-139.16
Dave
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 2:31 a.m.
Also, it would have been interesting to see if Forcier would have signed at Michigan, had Kevin Newsome not decommitted 10 days prior.
Fan
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 8:58 a.m.
Bottom Line: Pryor has a pretty convincing 2008 win over Mich. Until Denard and Tate can beat Pryor, I suggest we let "What ifs" and speculations be just that. If we are to topple OSU's dominance over Mich, we had better do it in 2009; 2010 incoming OSU talent is a marque supporting cast for Pryor. Come on 2009 Mich defense!
wolvie54321
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 6:50 p.m.
Tate-Forcier-is-arrogant, Are you kidding with the race card? Poor TP he is a black QB and everybody is just picking on him. Gimme a break! He threw 2 picks (should have been 4), fumbled twice, and had no business leading the offense against the Purdue Defense. Everyone says its Tressels fault, but take away one run and Terrell had 20 carries and ran or scrambled for -1 yards. Not exactly what I call impressive. And his high school coach thinks he should run more? Talk about bad coaching. TP has heat on him because he is in the middle of his second season, he was touted as one of the best QBs ever out of High School, the "next Vince Young", and he still cant perform any better than average. We all know he has God given talent. Other QBs have improved greatly under Tressel, so maybe TB just doesnt work hard enough for it? Maybe he doesnt want to be a great college QB? Maybe he isnt as good as we all think? For whatever reason, until TB improves his play on the field (which has nothing to do with his race) he will continue to receive the rightly deserved heat! P.s. I am glad he went to OSU. We dodged a bullet there.
willievrine
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 6:12 p.m.
Hey Tater! Hey Theo! Whats up? Man, I miss the good old days. I wish the trolls were still around so I could rub UMs progress in their faces. I never thought Id say this, but (sniff, sniff) I miss the trolls. My take on the Pryor situation is this. I jumped off the Pryor bandwagon after it took him so long to decide where he wanted to go. If he didnt want to be a Wolverine I didnt want him here. I agree that Tressel is not using him effectively. Tressel is the new Lloyd Carr. The game is passing him by. Three yards and a cloud of dust doesnt cut it anymore. He needs to recruit players for the spread offense. I predicted that without Beanie Wells and Brian Robiske that Pryor would be exposed. Pryors main weakness is his long passing game. He jumps in the air on passes more than thirty yards and they are like a high-arching basketball shot for the receiver to run under it. Secondly, he hasnt shown any leadership qualities. He doesnt fight for those tough yards. Its hard to rally around someone who runs out of bounds to avoid contact. I dont buy that sophomore slump stuff either. Tebow won a Heisman as a sophomore and Colt McCoy showed marked improvement in his second year. Pryor is about as good as hes going to get.
jeremy
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 2:43 p.m.
Just to point out something to fans....Not only did michigan miss out on pryor, but for a time last year Tate was courting Michigan but it wasnt reciprocated until Shavodrick Beaver and Kevin Newsome both decommited from Michigan. After those 2 were originally signed they were looking at denard because he could play another position of need. So Tate being here is nothing short of destiny given there were 3 higher rated qbs that spurned michigan....they have an article on espn where Pryor's high school coach is criticizing tressel and his use of pryor....what a circus
rightmind250
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 10:05 a.m.
Holly crap tater. Did you look at the standings in the article above? UM is 1-2 in conference. Same as Purdue. Bleeping UM and Bleeping Purdue 1and 2! Beating DSU isn't like the B10. After this week UM next to last in B10 at 1-3. Mark it down.
81wolverine
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 9:36 a.m.
If Tate HAD gone to PSU, he'd have just sat on the bench there too (in the Terrible Pryor at Michigan scenario). In retrospect, it's looking better for us in the long run not to have TP - although I think he probably would have fit in RR's offense better than Sweatervest's. But, between Tate, Denard, and Devin Gardner coming in next year, we're going to be set. Getting back to TP, I agree with the comments about him being a much better WR prospect. That's where he'll end up in the NFL for sure. Still, he may yet develop into a competent passer before he's through. Right now, I like our chances November 21st.
2000Blue
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 6:39 a.m.
While Pryor is currently playing poorly, he's just a true sophomore. If he plays like this in 1 year, then all of the criticism is warranted. Otherwise, the jury is still out.
InsideTheHall
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 6:28 a.m.
Pryor is not developing. He may be one of those guys who ends up with 1 year experience four times. TP will become the millstone around Little Jimmy's neck. The throwing mechanics are horrid.
11GOBLUE11
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 10:16 p.m.
I'll take Tate over Pryor any day, and D-Rob will show what he's all about AS A QB soon enough. GO BLUE!!
A2D2
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 7:59 p.m.
Just one question and one comment:. 1. What's is it going to take to get Tate and Denard in the same backfield consistently?. 2. Terrelle Pryor is either the best wide receiver playing QB in the Big 10, or he's just an average QB that ought to be a WR
NC Wolverine 20
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 7:48 p.m.
Forcier right now looks like the better QB and I suspect that he will continue to out-perform Pryor in the years to come, but the criticism of Pryor is overblown, just as he was over-hyped last year. We are witnessing Pryor's sophomore slump. I'm afraid that he will break out of it sooner rather than later. I expect to see 3 great duels between Forcier and Pryor before TP graduates to the NFL.
NCMaize&Blue
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 7:26 p.m.
When the season is over we will look back on TP's decision to go to OSU as the best thing that could have happened to Michigan. We would not have Tate and Denard otherwise. I would take Tate head to head against TP right now and Denard by the end of the season. Let's make a statement this week at the expense of Penn State. Go Blue!
gershonpsu
Tue, Oct 20, 2009 : 6:32 p.m.
And if Penn State had not "missed out" on Pryor and Forcier, Kevin Newsome probably would have gone elsewhere. It will certainly be fascinating to watch the progress these three talented qbacks make over the next few years. I know the Nittany Nation is excited about both Kevin and our outstanding 2010 recruiting class. Maybe the BigTen is poised for a return to national respect.