Tate Forcier to Miami: What This Transfer Means to The Hurricanes

After weeks of speculation, all rumors can be put to rest: former Michigan QB Tate Forcier is taking his talents to South Beach and joining the Miami Hurricanes.

The third freshman QB to start for the Wolverines in school history will be one of three QBs on the Canes' roster who had notable freshman seasons, though he's the only one of the three who started the entire year.

So besides countless headlines involving the phrase "taking his talents to South Beach" and innumerable Star Wars-based puns like "may the Forcier be with you", what does this transfer mean for the Miami Hurricanes in the long run?

For the 2011 season, absolutely nothing. Per NCAA rules, a transfer student must sit out for one year unless taking classes at his new school that are not offered at his original one. That is not the case for Forcier, so he will not take the field at all this coming season.

But for 2012 and 2013, he could mean a ton to The U. Unless Rutgers QB Tom Savage also transfers to Miami, Forcier will be one of only two QBs on the roster with experience. Miami did not recruit any signal callers in this upcoming year's freshman class.

Alonzo Highsmith Jr. is converting to the defense this upcoming season, and Spencer Whipple will be gone. And of course, Jacory Harris, the current seasoned veteran, will be gone barring a redshirt year in 2011. That will leave just Stephen Morris and Tate Forcier on the depth chart ahead of whatever freshmen Coach Al Golden brings in.

If you don't think depth is THAT important, look no further back than...this past year. With Highsmith out most of the season with an injury, Jacory was the only active QB on the roster with any experience; Whipple and Morris had never taken a snap at the college level.

So when the going got tough for Jacory, who threw 10 interceptions in a three-game span in the first month of the season, nobody else looked ready to step up and at least threaten his starting role. Harris would not be benched until a rough hit during a game at Virginia forced him to sit most of the rest of the season.

And while Stephen Morris performed as admirably as you can expect for a fourth-string freshman thrust into the spotlight as suddenly as he was, Canes fans still look back and wish ANY active QB behind Jacory on the roster had the ability to step up and bench him before the embarrassing losses to Ohio State and Florida State.

That's where Forcier will come in when 2012 roles around and he can play again. Jacory and Whipple will be gone, and Highsmith will be playing defense. That leaves Morris the only QB currently on the team that will still be playing the position by then.

While the future looks considerably brighter for the strong-armed Morris than it does for the light-armed Jacory, what happens if Morris underperforms like his predecessor did after a promising first two seasons, or he gets injured for a long period of time?

Unless Coach Al Golden manages to wrangle in a five-star QB recruit in the 2012 class, I don't suspect the fans would be very eager to see yet another true freshman be thrust into the starting gig. Forcier will bring experience with him into the starting role, and perform his role at least adequately.

Or maybe, just maybe, he could be the QB who can lead Miami back to an ACC title game. It's a bit of stretch, seeing as how he got benched at Michigan, a school not as well known for producing NFL-caliber QBs in recent decades as the school commonly referred to as Quarterback U (Tom Brady notwithstanding).

However, Miami has the pieces in place to succeed without needing the next Ken Dorsey, Jim Kelly or Vinny Testeverde, with a strong and deep corp of receivers as well as RB Lamar Miller, who has the potential to become an elite RB thanks to his speed and agility.

Jacory nearly led the squad to an ACC title game appearance despite throwing 17 interceptions, so Forcier would not need to put up amazing stats to lead an even better squad to success.

The question as to how good of an addition Forcier will turn out to be ultimately comes down to how well he handles the transition from Michigan's spread offense to Miami's pro style offense. With the Wolverines, he was known both for passing the ball and running with it. That will likely change under Coach Golden, who will likely train the QB to stay in the pocket unless absolutely necessary.

He was not an overly successful runner during his tenure at Michigan, so he will likely be coached to stay in the pocket and let the receivers and RBs make the plays.

All in all, the acquisition of Tate Forcier was a good move for Miami in a year in which it was unable to recruit any QBs. If he improves off of his promising freshman campaign, he could become a viable option to start at QB in 2012 and 2013.

If not, he can at least be a veteran backup who can push Morris to improve and mentor freshman QBs that get recruited in the next few years, something Miami lacked this past season and will definitely need once Jacory graduates.