University of Michigan hasn't named a starting quarterback, but football coach Rich Rodriguez seems to like Tate Forcier

Rich Rodriguez wasn't going to come to Big Ten media days and name a starting quarterback.

And he made that clear by saying "by no means is anybody locked in" to that role - a critical one in his spread offense.

Yet one thing is clear: He really seems to like freshman Tate Forcier after the spring.

"What we saw on tape was a guy that was going to be very, very competitive and made some plays and he had a feel for it," Rodriguez said.

"He's still young and sometimes we forget those guys are 18 years old and most of his buddies are getting ready for prom and he's out there performing in front of 50,000 in the spring game.

"Sometimes we have to remind us that that maturity level isn't going to be where it'll be two or three years from now."

That said, Rodriguez made sure to mention Denard Robinson and Nick Sheridan as competitors for the job.

Then - and, to be fair, the question was asked about Forcier - he went back to some Forcier praise.

"He's had a great summer," Rodriguez said. "Talked to him and he feels strong and we're excited about him."

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for annarbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558 or at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com.