Why Tate Forcier Has Been The Most Impressive Freshman So Far

There are a lot of impressive true freshmen football players out there. This is a trend that has been developing and will continue to increase, particularly at the quarterback position. 

There is better coaching, training, and there are more complex offensive and defensive schemes at the high school level. Add to that factor the focus on competitive camps and year-round, intense focus on one sport, and now seemingly the quarterbacks are sharper and more prepared for the college game when they arrive on campus.

The trend of early enrollment also equips the young signal-callers with knowledge of the playbook and an overall adjustment to the speed of the game. Again, there are a lot of impressive young guys out there. However, none is quite so impressive as Tate Forcier.

Forcier is a guy that brought an impressive resume to the University of Michigan, coming from Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, Calif. In his high school career he had nearly 8,000 yards passing, as well as over 2,000 yards rushing in three seasons, completing more than 70 percent of his passes.

Forcier arrived in Ann Arbor, Mich., in January this year, and has continued to make what seems like unprecedented strides every since. Not only does Forcier have a natural skill-set that is "tailor-made" for the system he was recruited to play in, but has made excellent strides to be the best he can be from day one.

Winter conditioning was the start of it all, as Tate began adding the 20 lbs. he would need to be able to endure the physical rigors of college football. He then followed up with a phenomenal spring, both practicing exclusively with the ones (Nick Sheridan was injured) and going 11-14 in the spring game with five touchdowns.

The summer brought a new challenge of staying focused, and yet that is something that Tate also did. Voluntary workouts and seven on seven drills were paramount to making certain that the young quarterback was on the same page with his also young receivers.

In fall camp, Tate was challenged by incumbent QB Nick Sheridan and a newcomer, the speedy Denard "Shoelace" Robinson. Through all the battles, Tate earned a job that many on a national level considered to be his by default.

Through all the ups, downs, and doubts of those outside the program, Forcier has continued his impressive yet short college career by stepping up and executing in games.

As of right now, the University of Michigan is 4-0, and Tate Forcier has stepped up with mulitple key drives against Notre Dame and Indiana. Tate had a 31-yard touchdown run against the Irish, followed by a game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Matthews.

Matt Barkley, among others, has been impressive in his ability to lead the offense at USC and manage games, particularly a win over Ohio State on the road at night. However, Barkley never threw more than 15 yards vertically, threw zero touchdowns, and tossed an interception while completing less than half of his passes.

USC had two scores that separated this game. The first was a one-yard drive off a Terrelle Pryor interception to start the game that ended in a touchdown. That isn't much credit to USC's offense nor the young quarterback. Then there was the  final drive, where Joe McKnight was spectacular.

Overall, Tate Forcier has been clutch all season long, and his ability to create and produce independently has been what has separated him from every young player in college football.