Jim Harbaugh: May the Forcier be with you!

Brian from MGoBlog has posted that backup QB Jason Forcier has decided to transfer to Stanford at the end of the semester. At Stanford, he will play under new Cardinal Head Coach (and former Michigan quarterback) Jim Harbaugh. You can read all the details about the transfer by subscribing to the premium site of Rivals.com. Forcier (So./Fr. in 2006) was widely expected to be #3 on the quarterback depth chart in 2007 behind Chad Henne and true freshman Ryan Mallett. Last season Forcier took snaps in 6 games and completed 3-of-3 passing attempts for 30 yards. He redshirted his freshman season of 2005 which he spent serving as the scout team quarterback. Now he is heading to Palo Alto, CA looking for more playing time at Stanford. This is not the first time in Forcier's career that he has transferred looking for a better playing situation. In high school, he transferred from Santa Ana Mater Dei High School to St. Augustine prior to his senior season. That move worked out for him and hopefully this latest move will as well. It is possible that after sitting out for a season after transferring that Forcier will find more opportunities at Stanford than he did at Michigan. Go Blue!

UPDATE AS OF 5/2/07: The Stanford Daily reports that Jason Forcier was admitted to Stanford University on April 12, 2007 and that due to NCAA transfer rules, Forcier will practice with the team next Fall, but will not be able to play in games. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining, for the 2008 and 2009 campaigns.

*Note: Photo of Jason Forcier (19) from 9/9/06 CMU game by John T. Greilick/The Detroit News

Chad Henne should wear his red practice jersey 24/7 until 9/2/06

Michigan started its Fall Football Practice Schedule this week in preparation for its first game which will be played three weeks from today on Saturday, September 2, 2006 vs. Vanderbilt. So far, so good as there are no new injuries to report out of the first week of fall camp. During practices the quarterbacks wear red jerseys which signify to the other players not to have physical contact with them during any drills. The quarterbacks wear the red jerseys granting them this special exemption because the coaches do not want to run the risk of having a virtually irreplaceable skill position player suffer a season-ending injury in a freak accident during a practice drill. In light of the depth, or more accurately the lack thereof, at the quarterback position this year I believe that starting QB Chad Henne should have to wear his red practice jersey at all times until kickoff for the first game on September 2nd. I do not want anyone on campus accidentally bumping into Chad or dropping something on his foot or having any physical contact with him. It is imperative that Chad remain healthy for this season as the back-ups do NOT appear ready to take the reigns on a moments notice. Chad has started 24 consecutive games for the Wolverines (tied for 7th longest active streak in the NCAA) but even he is not immune to injury. If Chad were to suffer an injury then Coach Carr would be forced to look to the #2 man. The question to be answered during fall practice is will the guy designated #2 be ready?

The early favorite to be #2 on the depth chart was redshirt freshman Jason Forcier. However, after a shaky spring practice, Coach Carr announced that he would wait until true freshman David Cone arrived and then things would be re-evaluated. (See my post of May 29, 2006- 2006 Back-up QB's: Long on Talent, Short on Experience). Well Cone arrived in the summer to start working out with his new teammates and to start picking up the Michigan offense according to a recent news item written by Angelique S. Chengelis (a/k/a "The Angel of the Big House") of the Detroit News. I'm guessing that Cone's summer performance did not overwhelm Coach Carr because on Big Ten Media Day on August 2, 2006, Coach Carr said that he expected Jason Forcier to be Chad Henne's back-up. Thus, Coach Carr did not even wait to observe fall practices to sort out who would be #2 on the depth chart.

People need to remember how Chad Henne got his start. Heading into the 2004 season, it appeared as if Redshirt sophmore Matt Gutierrez was going to be the starter until he got injured in pre-season practice and then all of a sudden then true freshman Chad Henne was elevated to the starting spot. Henne was able to step into that starting role in 2004 and lead Michigan to the Rose Bowl. From all reports that I've read so far both Forcier (redshirt Fr.) and Cone (true Fr.) are still learning the offense. If Henne were to go down it seems doubtful that either back-up QB is ready to duplicate Henne's freshman feat of leading Michigan to the Big Ten title. Therefore, it is imperative that Chad try to avoid injury by wearing his red practice jersey at all times until the season starts. Go Blue!

2006 Back-up QBs: Long on Talent, Short on Experience

The depth chart is looking a little shallow at the QB position once you look beyond starter and All-Big 10 candidate Chad Henne (junior). With Henne firmly entrenched in the starting role, back-up Matt Gutierrez transferred to Division I-AA Idaho State to presumably take over the starting job at that school. The loss of the experienced Gutierrez, who would have been a 5th year senior this year, has left quite a void at the #2 spot on the depth chart. Currently, redshirt Sophmore Jason Forcier, who ran the scout team offense last year, is listed by default as the back-up quarterback. The projected #3 QB on the depth chart is David Cone, a true freshman-to-be, who won't even be enrolled in U-M until August, 2006. After that we have walk-ons including 5th-year senior Jeff Kastl who did see mop-up duty in 2 games last year and threw one incomplete pass. Uh, is it too late to ask Gutierrez to come back if we ask really nicely? Or, maybe, Mallett can take a whole lot of summer classes and graduate REALLY early so he can start at U-M this fall.

Actually, Forcier was pretty heavily recruited coming out of high school and is highly regarded for his running as well as his throwing ability. As the scout team QB last year he focused on playing the role of the opponent each week. The problem is that he did not have very much time to learn the Michigan offense. As their new #2, Forcier has been receiving a crash course this season regarding the main points of U of M's offense. The learning curve has sometimes been steep and the final spring practice was not very encouraging. Coach Carr's comments about Forcier were not exactly reassuring. One of the comments was along the lines of that he will have to re-evaluate things once David Cone arrives. Well who the heck is David Cone and when is he arriving?

David Cone is a lightly recruited QB (read: U-M was only major school to offer) from Statesboro, GA. Cone attended QB Coach Scott Loeffler's quarterbacks' camp last summer. Going into the camp, Cone had not received any major scholarship offers but Loeffler, a legendary judge of QB talent, was impressed with Cone's accuracy and command. According to "The Wolverine", U of M offered Cone a scholarship during the camp and Cone officially signed his letter of intent in February, 2006. He will enroll in U-M in August of this year. Cone has not even set foot on campus and he already has a real chance to play himself into the #2 spot on the depth chart.

I really hope Henne's good fortune holds out and he is able to stay healthy for a third consecutive season. If he doesn't, Forcier and/or Cone are going to get a shot of a lifetime. I just hope they can rise to the challenge. Go Blue!