Tate Forcier to start vs. Notre Dame, but Michigan will stick with quarterback rotation

Fellow freshman Denard Robinson will continue to play off the bench, and Rodriguez said he hopes to get junior Nick Sheridan some snaps as well.

“It’s more of a week-by-week feel thing, just like it was Saturday,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not going to have a set rotation per se, but we’ll continue to do the next several weeks what we did this past week.”

Forcier had a stellar debut against the Broncos, throwing for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-7 victory. He led four first-half scoring drives, and added 37 yards rushing before leaving for good late in the second half.

Robinson ran for a team-high 74 yards against Western Michigan and scored on a 43-yard run, and Sheridan played one series, relieving Forcier in the third quarter and throwing an interception in the end zone.

“I’ve not had a true freshman start, so it was a new experience for us,” Rodriguez said. “The physical part, when he did make a mistake - and he did, as all the guys do at times - he knew right away what it was. And so when you know that’s happening, you know his mind is into the game and he’s thinking the right things.

“He’ll keep getting better, as will Denard and the rest of those young guys. That’s the most pleasing part. We’re still a very young team and we’re going to make mistakes, and this is going to be a bigger challenge because of the talent that Notre Dame has.”

Rodriguez said Forcier is more comfortable under center than most freshmen because of his upbringing. Still, Michigan is operating without a large chunk of its playbook.

“There’s so much more you can do offensively as those guys grow up,” Rodriguez said. “Right now, and any coach will tell you, you got this amount of offense you can use and as they understand and grow you can use this much more. But you don’t want to trick yourself. We don’t want Michigan beating Michigan. We’re hoping to slowly add some things and it really depends on the development of all the guys, but particularly those young quarterbacks.”

As for the rotation, both Forcier and Robinson said they're OK sharing snaps and expect to continue splitting time for the foreseeable future.

“I like it because I believe it’s hard for a team to prepare for us,” Forcier said. “You got speedster over there that’s unbelievably fast and you got me where I’m kind of balanced and Nick, where he’s kind of balanced. With all three of us playing, I’m completely fine with it, as long as we keep winning.”

Fresh approach
It’s believed that Forcier was one of just three true freshmen to start at quarterback for FBS schools over the weekend. USC’s Matt Barkley completed 15 of 19 passes for 233 yards with one touchdown in a 56-3 romp of San Jose State, and Army’s Trent Steelman was 2 of 5 for eight yards in a 27-14 win over Eastern Michigan.

Two other true freshmen - Wyoming’s Austyn Carta-Samuels and Boston College’s Dave Shinskie, a 25-year-old who played professional baseball with the Minnesota Twins - led their teams in pass attempts, according to STATS, LLC.

Dave Birkett covers the University of Michigan football team for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidbirkett@annarbor.com