Cade Fortin Grounded in Faith, Family and Football
By Joey Johnston
Cade Fortin, named Monday as the Game 1 starting quarterback for the USF Bulls, always believed God had a plan for him. He never imagined that plan would lead to Tampa.
All it took was a passionate, rapid-fire visit from USF coach Jeff Scott, whose vision and character-driven approach practically knocked him over. In one weekend, Fortin went from politely declining Scott's overtures to enthusiastically wearing the green and gold, knowing he had found a forever home.
Scott's message: Faith, family and football — in that order.
"Now I couldn't imagine being anywhere else,'' said Fortin, 22, a 6-foot-3, 222-pound sophomore. "I love this town. I love this school. And I love this team.''
Looking back, the Fortin-to-USF timeline seems insane.
Scott was formally introduced as USF's fifth head coach on Dec. 11, 2019, a Wednesday.
On Thursday night, Scott was whisked to a Tampa Bay Lightning game at Amalie Arena. He was on the phone with Fortin during the drive over, even ducking out of the suite for a follow-up call.
Jeff Scott? USF? It made no sense. Fortin had played his 2018 freshman season at North Carolina, but a coaching change and the anointing of quarterback Sam Howell as the starter had him searching for a new opportunity. "I knew I could play and I knew there was a perfect situation out there for me,'' Fortin said. "So I bet on myself.''
After carefully considering his options, Fortin was one day away from signing with Syracuse University, his choice over Vanderbilt and Kansas. It was all but done. Then Scott called.
"Trust is everything in football,'' said Fortin's father, Troy. "Sure, we knew Coach Scott from Clemson and liked him. Cade was way down the tracks and ready to make the decision. But we got a call from Larry Fedora, Cade's head coach at North Carolina. We heard from Coach (Gunter) Brewer at Louisville, who had been the North Carolina receivers coach. They said the same thing.
"They said, 'If Jeff Scott is interested in Cade, you have to listen.' Cade had not yet shut the door. These are coaches we trusted implicitly and we knew they had Cade's best interests in mind. Coach Scott was calling at 7 a.m. (on Friday) and I said, 'Look, I think Cade might sign today, but I also think we want to hear you out. Can you come up here?' ''
Scott, who hadn't hired any assistants and was amid a hastily assembled USF recruiting weekend, was at the Fortin's suburban Atlanta home by that night for a two-hour visit. "The connection was instant,'' Fortin's father said. Fortin came for a USF campus visit that Sunday, where he met the university president and head of the business school.
He was convinced.
Cade Fortin was a USF Bull.
"It's funny how you make a decision that other people think is so unexpected, but you're so comfortable with it and you just know it's the right decision,'' Fortin said. "I felt at home that weekend when I visited. And I still feel at home. I'm so excited about what this program can accomplish.''
Fortin's teammates are excited, too.
"Cade is the nicest guy you'll ever meet,'' Bulls center Brad Cecil said. "And he's one of the best leaders you'll ever meet. He is social and friendly in a soft-spoken kind of way. But he sets an example for all of us through his actions. Just watch how he takes notes in meetings. He doesn't miss a detail. When he talks, we listen. He has that kind of credibility.''
"He throws a nice ball,'' Bulls wide receiver Latrell Williams said. "We have a lot of faith in him. He's a big-time player.''
While playing for North Gwinnett High School, Fortin was one of the nation's top quarterback prospects in the Class of 2018.
More than that, he was in a practically unmatched group of 2018 quarterbacks in the state of Georgia, a class that included Fortin; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson, No. 1 pick in 2021 NFL draft with the Jacksonville Jaguars); Justin Fields (Ohio State, No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL draft with the Chicago Bears); Emory Jones (expected to start for the Florida Gators); and Jarren Williams (who started at Miami and now is Fortin's teammate at USF).
Fortin's path to USF became a winding road.
Before Fortin's senior high school season, he committed to Texas A&M and Coach Kevin Sumlin. Then … another twist. In his second game for North Gwinnett, he broke his left leg while getting trapped under the weight of a tackler. Fortin's high school career was done.
In December, as he made final plans for early enrollment at Texas A&M, where he already had secured his apartment, the Aggies fired Sumlin and his staff. As Jimbo Fisher took over at Texas A&M, Fortin quickly pivoted to his second choice at North Carolina, which had maintained a great relationship with him.
Fortin appeared in four games and started two as a UNC freshman, narrowly losing against Virginia Tech and N.C. State (where he passed for 276 yards). After that 2-9 season, Fedora and his staff were fired and replaced by Mack Brown, who convinced Sam Howell to flip from Florida State to UNC on early signing day.
"All of these changes are tough on a kid mentally,'' Fortin's father said. "Cade is very resilient. You teach your kids that life will present struggles and things won't always work out, but you always keep trying your best. Keep moving forward. Somebody else always has it worse than you. You've got to have faith, work your butt off, treat people right and trust the plan. Cade is deep in his faith. So he kept cranking.''
When things got especially tough, he leaned on his favorite Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11.
For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Even at USF, things haven't been easy. Last season, he missed the first two games due to COVID. He played in only two games and attempted just eight passes. When things finally went well — his 33-yard run against Tulsa put USF in the red zone — he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on the play.
With time to heal his body and mind, Fortin vowed to come back strong, while dedicating himself to leadership principles that were very visible during spring practice.
"I lean on my faith, 100 percent,'' Fortin said. "The foundation my parents have given me, the way I am rooted in faith, it made me realize that everything happens for a reason. The things that have happened in the past, yeah, it all kind of stinks. But it made me into the man I am today.
"In the moment, it's not great. But down the road, if you keep the faith and do the right thing, you can achieve your greatest goals. That's what I see on the horizon at USF. That's why I'm so excited to be part of it.''
Who is William Cade Fortin?
William is his grandfather's name. Cade came from Cade McNown, a UCLA All-American quarterback who played in the NFL. Fortin's parents just thought that name sounded cool.
Fortin was an easy, polite, respectful child, dedicated to football, of course, but also to academics. "Teachers always told us Cade was in the first row, leaning toward the chalkboard,'' Fortin's father said. "He's still that way. We never had to motivate him in school.''
Fortin's father, a former walk-on football player at San Diego State, runs a successful chiropractic practice near Atlanta. His mother, Debi, is a CPA who now runs the financial side of the family business.
Athletic success runs through Fortin's family. His uncle, Roman, was a 12-year NFL offensive lineman with the Chargers, Lions and Falcons. His sister, Alexa, is a volleyball setter at the University of Georgia. His aunt married the son of Steve Bartkowski, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback and first overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft.
When football is done, Fortin envisions a career in sports, perhaps in an athletic department or front office. After earning his undergraduate degree in the spring, he's enrolled in USF's highly regarded sports management and business administration program, where he is pursuing a dual master's degree.
Fortin can make all the throws, usually working as a pro-style, pocket passer. But he can run when necessary. Most of all, though, he can lead.
"I want to take football as far as it can go and I want our team to make a mark here at USF,'' said Fortin, who believes USF has a solid quarterback room with the skills of freshmen Timmy McClain and Katravis Marsh, along with the experience of Williams, a sophomore. "We want to be the team that puts this program back on the right track. I don't know much about what happened in the past few years. But I know this program has won big before and we can do it again.
"I think we're headed in the right direction. Our guys want to be part of the solution. For my part, I want to rally our guys around the cause and make sure we always know the expectation. Will it always go our way? Of course not. But if you work hard and play together, great things are going to happen. I have no doubt about that.''
