Leach, Henne, Forcier: Three True Freshman, One Manly Feat

Michigan doesn't often have true freshman quarterbacks start from the beginning. What they usually have is depth, which is why so many Michigan quarterbacks have played in the NFL. 

Over the history of Michigan football, only three true freshmen have started under center for them: Rick Leach, Chad Henne, and Tate Forcier.

Of those three, only one went 4-0 to start the year.

Tate Forcier has done a lot; he has also done very little. He isn't your pro style quarterback that Michigan fans clamored for during the Bo era and through the Carr era. He is a different kind of quarterback. If you think about it, he reminds you more of Leach than Henne.

Leach ran the ball well, having amassed 212 yards rushing on 34 attempts through four games in 1975, his freshman year. He passed for 192 yards on 9 completions. He was benched after the Stanford tie, 19-19, because he wasn't getting it done. 

That could be the best thing that happened to Leach. Forcier recently got benched mid game, could the results be similar? Leach went on to start every game of his career after that benching. 

It wasn't until the fifth game of the season that Leach showed his moxie. Against hated rival, Michigan State, Bo went for it on 4th and 2 and Leach got the call. He pushed his way trough the line and gained the yardage for a first down. 

Plays like that are being relived by Forcier this year. Gutsy, fourth down plays, clutch runs, and limp shoulder bombs, he has done it all this year; the good and the bad.

Leach ended his career at Michigan as a leader on the field and in the record books. He is heralded as one of the best to every play quarterback at Michigan. Is Forcier headed in the same direction?

Rick Leach is more than a Michigan Man; he is one of those Michigan Men that believe in what Rich Rodriguez is doing. He was on WTKA in Ann Arbor defending the program he helped build. He believes in these players, these coaches, and finds that these stories need to have another voice.  

"This has hurt me so deeply; I took time off to drive to Ann Arbor so I could stand in the back of Rich Rodriguez’s press conference.  So I could listen and see the press, and the people that showed up and what they wanted to say. I wanted to see it with my own two eyes."

He loves this program, and so do the players that are here now. That's a fact. You don't fight, like Michigan has, to be four and zero without heart.

Despite being down in the fourth quarter and the game on the line, Forcier has led two scoring drives to get the win. While his classmates are binge drinking, studying, having fun in college, Forcier is building a champion down on State Street. That's what he calls fun.

Inside Schembechler Hall, Forcier and his brethren are working hard to give themselves, Coach Rodriguez, and alumni like Leach and Henne something to be proud of. As they enter the Hall everyday, they see the championship trophies, the three Heisman trophies, and the legends that have put the winged helmet on.

What last year represented was not what Michigan represents, and it shows on the field this year. 

Like Leach, Henne has also been vocal about what is going on at Michigan, and it's no surprise it's the other true freshman quarterback, four year starter. It must be a bond between these guys. 

Henne came to Michigan from Pennsylvania with fellow rookie running back Mike Hart out of Syracuse. They had the joy of having big linemen ready to block, and star receiver Braylon Edwards to throw the ball to. 

He went 3-1 to start his freshman campaign, and the lone loss was on the road to the Fighting Irish. Scoring a late TD to narrow the final score to 28-20, Henne played very well. Throwing for 240 yards, a pick, and a TD on 25 pass completions. 

It was a start that would lead the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl. Not many true freshmen have that honor. It led to high expectations over his next three years, which he culminated by headlining the record books. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in April of 2008, and is there backup quarterback. 

Although never having played for Coach Rodriguez, Henne wanted his voice to be heard when news broke that Michigan players were complaining about off-season workouts.

"I really think whoever's saying it really doesn't want to be there," Henne said about players complaining about off-season workouts.

Talking about putting in hard work to make himself better, Henne said "I tried to be there as much as I could, if I wasn’t in class, I’d be down there studying film and trying to get the gameplan ahead of time just so I’m prepared for that week and that game."

Words from a Carr recruit who knows what it takes to make it to the NFL.

What each of these quarterbacks have done for Michigan, it's too hard to separate each accomplishment. They were all so important to what Michigan was building at their time in history. 

Leach and Henne were both replacing star quarterbacks. Leach was replacing Dennis Franklin, who amassed 2,285 yards passing. Henne was replacing one of the best quarterbacks, statistically, in Michigan History with John Navarre.

When both left Michigan, they were both number one in the record books in career passing yards and touchdowns thrown.  Is Tate Forcier headed in that direction?

Leach came in following a 10-1 year, and Henne was coming in after a 10-3 season. Not as much pressure as Forcier, but enough to know you can't mess it up or you'll be benched in favor of the next great quarterback.

What Forcier has done his freshman year is remarkable. He has lead a team, which lost nine games last year, to four wins, with two dramatic come-from-behind drives.

Tate was given the keys after the worst season in Michigan history. He was carrying the burden of nine loses on his shoulder, none of which he was here for.

He had Michigan's reputation, Rich Rodriguez's reputation, and his reputation on the line. He wasn't alone, but he was the missing ingredient.

All he had to do was play well to give fans hope. He's done more than that. His part in rebuilding, re-marketing, and reviving the Michigan football program is unbelievable. I didn't expect this, not this early in his career. 

He has adapted to the system that Rodriguez has implemented, an offense close to what he ran at Scripps Ranch.

He has run for 127 yards and two touchdowns, thrown for 671 yards with seven touchdowns and two picks. His passing efficiency is 148.81 with a 62.1 completion percentage. He isn't the best passer, but he gets the job done when they need it done.

He says he doesn't get nervous. He'll tell you about how he was raised to be in this position. What he shows us is just that.

Like the two other true freshman starters, he is primed to have a stand out career at Michigan. Who knows where he will end up in Michigan football lore, but he will make football in Ann Arbor fun again. 

He's played well enough to win his first four games in some of the harshest conditions Michigan football has seen in decades. (Albeit, he has yet to play a road game).

He has brought to realization that Rich Rodriguez is a great coach, that he can run this offense, and that Michigan can be rebuilt in a year or two, not three or four.

For the rest of the season, Michigan could win some and lose some. But what they've seen so far, they like. And that's a good thing when you play quarterback at Michigan.