Who Starts The Season As Michigan's QB?

For the sake of argument, I am going to assume that none of the quarterbacks gets hurt between now and the start of the regular season. In that scenario, I believe Devin Gardner will either be red-shirted or be the number three quarterback. I don't think he is quite ready to start the season this year.

Candidate one: Tate Forcier. Forcier is a logical pick because he was the starter last season and wound up with the best statistics among all of the quarterbacks. While Forcier did play well at the beginning of the season, he struggled with injuries and inconsistencies after the midway point of the season.

Forcier is a good quarterback but not great and I don't think he ever will be. He does things well but he does not do one thing great. Forcier does not a have strong arm but can make most of the throws. He was more accurate than Robinson was last season but Robinson has really made strides there. Forcier is fast enough to push the pocket and scramble but does not have elite speed. He also does not read the defense well and looks to take off and scramble way too soon. He tries to improvise too much.

Candidate two : Denard Robinson, by last season's stats, had an awful passing game but was a very effective runner. Robinson has world class speed and can outrun anyone on the field if he gets loose. He has a much stronger arm than Forcier but was less accurate last season. Reports are that Robinson has really worked on his mechanics and his accuracy is improving. With his limited passes last season we really do not know how well Robinson can read a defense.

With what coach Rich Rodriguez wants to do with his offense, Robinson seems to be the choice. After the spring game, Robinson came away as the more successful quarterback though he went mostly against the second team defense and Forcier went against the projected starters. 

In the end, Robinson seems to be getting better everyday and Forcier seems to be sitting in neutral. Forcier may have reached his potential last year and may not get any better.I believe both quarterbacks will get playing time early in the season with Robinson earning more and more playing time and eventually becoming the full-time starter.

No matter what happens this season, I think whoever wins the job is just keeping the seat warm until 2011 when Gardner takes over the reins.