First, sophomore quarterback Tate Forcier's teammate, senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk, called him out publicly at Big Ten media day, saying Forcier hadn't shown up to enough voluntary summer workouts.

Then, Forcier's helmet was stripped of its wings during spring practice, with coaches saying he and a few other players needed to earn their wings back by proving themselves in camp.

Some may take these public call-outs as disrespect, but Forcier looked at them as challenges.

"I'm happy he did (call me out)," Forcier said of Woolfolk's comments during Michigan Fan Day on Sunday. "He called me out, and all I did was, just, keep working from there. Just gain their respect back and gain the coaches' respect back and be the leader I should be."

As far as why he wasn't with the team during the optional workouts, Forcier cited two reasons, with focus on academics was one.

"I was really focusing on academics, trying to get my academics straight," Forcier said. "I want to be on the academic wall and hopefully I get that this year."

The other, he put bluntly.

"I would just say I slacked off," Forcier said.

The buzz surrounding the team since the spring game has been the improvement of sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson and freshman quarterback Devin Gardner. Ever since the comments from Woolfolk, the only buzz surrounding Forcier has been negative.

Despite all the offseason talk, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has insisted the quarterback race remains neck-and-neck, not just between Forcier and Robinson but between Gardner as well.

"It's a race that's not going to be settled in probably the next couple of days," Rodriguez said on Sunday. "Certainly somebody will take the first snap against UConn, but I think they'll keep getting better because of it."

Forcier agreed with Rodriguez that the race probably wouldn't be settled any time soon.

"I think we're all competing real well," Forcier said. "It's way too soon to tell, and I don't think he'll be close to a decision before game week."

But while the attention has been focused on the maturation of Robinson and Gardner at quarterback, Forcier knows that he is expected to have improved as well.

He said he's put the early success of his freshman year behind him and he's ready to take the next step.

"My freshman year is over," Forcier said. "So those freshman mistakes shouldn't be happening anymore."

As far as Woolfolk's comments about him, Forcier said he and the cornerback have put the issue to rest.

"Troy had a long, deep conversation with me," Forcier said. "Basically he said, 'Keep working. You need to be our quarterback and show us you're our quarterback."

The coaches and Forcier agree that he has responded to the challenges this offseason, including a peculiar report that the quarterback was tranferring.

"I don't know how that got out there," Forcier said in response to the rumors. "I love coach Rod, he's like a dad to me."

Forcier said he was excited to be competing with the other quarterbacks for the top spot, partly because he believes Michigan can win with any of the three at the helm.

"I think we can win with any of us at quarterback," Forcier said. "And like I said, it's our jobs to keep pushing each other and make each other better."