One drive was all Frank Beckmann needed to see.

Perched in his booth inside Michigan Stad-ium, Beckmann, the voice of Michigan football, watched freshman quarterback Tate Forcier scramble left behind the 30-yard line, motion receiver Junior Hemingway to go deeper, then float the football into his arms at the 10-yard line before Hemingway scored.

"At that point, you knew this kid had an awareness that was unique," Beckmann said about Forcier's first collegiate drive.

It was only a glimpse of the thrill ride Forcier has taken the Michigan football program on since enrolling early last spring. A little more than halfway through his first year as the Wolverines' starting quarterback, Forcier has shown a knack for playing well late in games, becoming a campus sensation four days after classes started.

Against then-No. 18 Notre Dame, he orchestrated a nine-play, 57-yard drive, capped off by a Greg Mathews catch in the end zone with 11 seconds left.

"It was amazing to watch because you forgot throughout the drive -- you had to wait to catch your breath -- that this was a freshman doing this," Beckmann said.

At first glance, Beckmann compared Forcier to Jeff Garcia because of his finesse.

But while chatting with former Penn State defensive tackle Matt Millen before a recent game, Millen quickly dismissed Beckmann's comparison to Garcia, saying Forcier has a stronger arm -- Garcia played for the Detroit Lions when Millen was the team general manager.

At his press conference Tuesday, Nittany Lion coach Joe Paterno held Forcier in perhaps even higher regard.

"He's a kid that's just got a little bit of something about him," Paterno said, comparing Forcier to Florida's Tim Tebow when he was a freshman.

"He has that confidence, that leadership quality. He goes to bed at night, he's thinking about, 'Hey, I want to be in this situation' and plays the game before, maybe on Thursday night and Friday night."

Forcier's last-second heroism was the Big Ten storyline the first month of the season. He's led three game-winning or game-tying drives this season.

"I'm impressed he's been able to do it so soon," said Sergio Diaz, Forcier's high school at Scripps Ranch. "I went out to watch him in the spring game. Everybody was just in awe of some of the things he's doing. That's just Tate. That's just how he is."

Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes said assistant coach Larry Johnson told his defense Forcier has "ice water in his veins." Michigan left tackle Mark Ortmann said his demeanor stays the same whether it's the final drive or the first drive.

"Tate, Denard [Robinson] and Nick [Sheridan] are the reason that we are sitting at 5-2 right now," Ortmann said. "Tate and Denard, especially having been in the last few minutes of the games that we both lost, they just need to learn to understand that it is a team game and the two of them aren't the reason that we win and lose a game alone. It's a team effort, and the one thing that the two of them need to learn from this point out is they just can't take the blame all on themselves."

Ortmann said it's tough for a freshman to understand that, especially with the amount of success Forcier's had in the clutch.

But from the time Beckmann's spent with Forcier, the freshman from San Diego never dreamt of having anything but success in maize and blue.

Forcier reminded Beckmann of Kirk Gibson, famous for hitting a game-winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Gibson told Beckmann he welcomes pressure.

"I wonder whether that's sort of why [Forcier] does that too, in that, 'I want the pressure. I like that feeling,' " Beckmann said. "That way, by taking it head-on, you relieve the pressure."

One thing Beckmann is certain of is Forcier's ego.

For as popular as Forcier's gotten on campus, he still tries to keep a low profile.

"He's just a regular guy, a regular kid," Beckmann said. "He worries about people following him to restaurants asking him for autographs and following him home.

"He's a normal kid. He just happens to be awfully good at playing."