Miami Hurricanes Football: Tracking Tate Forcier and His Quarterbacking Brothers

Big news in the now-slow news cycle of college football: quarterback Tate Forcier is taking his talents to South Beach!

That's right, folks! The former back-up at Michigan under Rich Rodriguez has decided to transfer to Miami to play for new head coach Al Golden...when Forcier becomes eligible in 2012.

Of course, the idea of a Forcier switching allegiances is nothing new. Some college football fans may remember his older brothers, Jason and Chris, each of whom also transferred during his college football career.

As such, let's have a look at the life and times of the Forcier family of San Diego, beginning with young Tate.

Robert "Tate" Forcier spent his first two years as a collegian in Ann Arbor, starting on occasion during his freshman year in 2009 and serving as the back-up to the sensational Denard Robinson as a sophomore.

All told, the youngest member of the "QB Force" finished his Wolverine career with passing totals of 2,647 yards, 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, along with 291 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Certainly, respectable numbers for a kid who was often in and out of the rotation, but clearly the occasional playing time wasn't enough to satisfy young Tate.

So the youngest Forcier brother now finds himself back at square one in Coral Gables, where he'll have the chance to compete for the starting gig under center for the Hurricanes in 2012.

The 6'1", 192-pounder has a pretty good arm and is rather fleet on his feet, but he'll be up against at least two other signal-callers for the position.

Though Jacory Harris will no longer be at The U when T-Force gets his chance, the 'Canes will still boast sophomore-to-be Stephen Morris and junior-to-be Alonzo Highsmith, along with whoever else Golden can convince to come to southern Florida in the meantime.

As such, Forcier may find playing time to be rather scarce at Miami as well, unless he can somehow distinguish himself from what could be a crowded field of competitors.

By the time Tate takes the field (if ever) at Miami, his older brother Chris will already be done with his college career, which began somewhat humbly at UCLA.

C-Force got his first glimpse of big time college football as a wee freshman, going 3-for-11 for 22 yards, a touchdown and an interception in six appearances during Rick Neuheisel's inaugural 4-8 campaign in Westwood.

On the ground, the middle Forcier turned 14 carries into 33 yards, using his agility and 6'3", 204-pound frame to boost the Bruins in a time of great need at the quarterback position. 

Unfortunately for Chris, he will be remembered much more for the way he left than for any of his minor on-field contributions.

After his freshman campaign, it became clear to C-Force that he wouldn't see the field much so long as Neuheisel and Norm Chow were bringing in their own guys to run their inept offense, especially after the coaching staff suggested that he consider a position switch to wide receiver.

Rather than wait around for his chance, Forcier took the writing on the wall to heart and decided to seek out a transfer, which is certainly understandable. Student-athletes transfer schools all the time, most often in search of greater opportunity as C-Force surely did.

However, few have ever looked as silly in departure as Forcier, whose fact-filled press release left those few people who actually cared enough to read it flabbergasted that Chris had accomplished so much in his young career.

If only the Bruins coaching staff had known of Forcier's tremendous exploits, perhaps they would have tried much harder to keep him around...

Luckily for Chris, he was able to land on his feet at Southern football powerhouse–Furman University.

C-Force chose the small liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina in part for the fact that he wouldn't have to sit out for a year, as Furman is a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, wherein transfers from Football Bowl Division schools (like Forcier) can play immediately.

Since catching on with the Paladins, Forcier has found playing time to be rather hard to come by, even for a former four-star prospect, going 7-for-14 for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception. C-Force has been a bit more prolific on the ground, rushing for 269 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries.

That being said, Chris has only year of eligibility remaining, which means his time to prove that he is, indeed, a quality quarterback is running short.

No history of the "QB Force" would be complete without digging all the way back to the illustrious career of Jason Forcier.

Like young Tate, J-Force began his college career at Michigan which, at the time, was still under the auspices of Lloyd Carr.

Jason spent much of his time in Ann Arbor buried on the depth chart as the third stringer while Chad Henne established himself as a prolific passer and quality starting signal-caller for the Wolverines.

Forcier twice saw playing time at Michigan as a sophomore, going 3-for-3 for 30 yards and twice rushing for a total of 14 yards.

To his credit, J-Force's field action came during the 2006 season, in which Michigan nearly looked destined to play arch-rival Ohio State for the BCS National Championship.

Not that Forcier did much to further the team's success or anything.

"The Forcier Way" didn't become synonymous with transferring until Jason decided that Ann Arbor wasn't the place for him.

Behind Ryan Mallett and Steven Threet–both of whom, coincidentally enough, also eventually transferred–Forcier saw his future at Michigan as one of inactivity and inopportunity, leading him to return to his California roots by way of Stanford.

Unfortunately for Jason, the Force wasn't exactly with him in Palo Alto either, as he appeared in all of three games during his senior season for Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal, completing five of 13 passes for 62 yards and an interception while also carrying the ball six times for -3 yards.

And thus, the legend of the Forcier family was born.

And so ends the tale of the quarterbacking Forcier family, at least up to the present day.

Will Tate continue to outshine the legacies of his older brothers, or will his switch to Miami fall in lock-step with the established pattern of the "Forcier Way"?

Only time will tell. Until then, for anyone interested in the everything Forcier, don't hesitate to visit the meticulously crafted family website. 

And may the Force be with you...or not.