To say the Michigan era has passed for Tate Forcier isn’t quite accurate.
In fact, it may never really end.
Shortly after officially announcing his transfer to Miami, Forcier took some time to interview with the Detroit Free Press on a variety of topics, from his new relationship to Jacory Harris, to his academics.
His answers were generally short in nature. Except, of course, when his departure from Michigan was brought up.
“The crazy thing is I never wanted to leave. I love everything about Michigan, I always will. I hope they do well, I wish the best for those guys, a lot of them are still friends. I hope (new coach Brady) Hoke can change the program around. I’ve been a Michigan fan since I was a little kid. I wish them the best of luck. I wish I could be there, helping them out and moving forward.”
Forcier leaves little doubt that he wanted to stay at Michigan -- a choice that he insists was not shared by the powers that be.
“I felt like things could have been handled better. (Athletic director) Dave Brandon made his mind up. We tried hard (to stay). I took care of my incompletes. I needed a certain amount of credits. The incompletes, I took care of those. Dave Brandon still wouldn’t let me stay. He refused to even meet with us. That’s his decision; we really didn’t want to fight it. That was his decision, that’s the head guy. I didn’t want to challenge him. I’m not going to win something like that with somebody as high up as he was. When he did that, it was time to turn a new chapter.
Another report from the Free Press disagrees. “Forcier apparently tried to meet with Brandon at a time that Brandon was not available so Brandon asked to reschedule. The Forciers even met with assistant athletic director Brian Townsend in person, and Townsend relayed the message but the Forciers never pursued another meeting,” the article relays.
A miscommunication? Maybe. Frustration? Probably.
Forcier laments strong, and quite frankly, loaded words, though, which tends to make them harder to believe. That’s not to say there isn’t a degree of truth in them, but he exudes very little credibility.
Forcier was at Michigan for a year and a half, far beyond the point of not being given a fair chance. He wanted to stay at Michigan and didn’t work out, which is unfortunate for him.
But nobody likes a martyr.