Alex Orji’s Michigan Ascent: From Four-Way Competition to Front-Runner

ANN ARBOR, Michigan:Even though he has not been named the starting quarterback for the Wolverines, rising junior Alex Orji behaved like one from the moment he jumped down the Lloyd Carr Tunnel on Saturday and launched himself into the crispness and cold of a frigid April morning at Michigan Stadium. With a hop and a skip that conveyed his confidence in his ability to unseat J.J. McCarthy, he loped onto the turf.

Orji warmed up with the other quarterbacks on the other side of the field to the cheers of throngs of supporters. The younger ones wanted photos and autographs from him. Having witnessed Orji’s performance as a situational runner during the previous season—most notably his 20-yard carry against Ohio State—the elder ones whooped and applauded. They were all aware that the upcoming spring game would provide them with their first genuine look at Orji’s abilities.

“I’m just ready to help the team win, you know?” Orji said. “Whatever it takes. If I’m taking snaps and I’m launching bombs, or if I’m running the rock — whatever it is — as long as we score more points than the other team.”

In a nationally televised Maize vs. Blue game, when the coaches divided the roster in half through draft, Orji’s team was unable to outscore its opponent. However, the journey was always going to be more significant than the result, as Michigan’s quarterbacks proved when competing on Saturday afternoon in front of an advertised audience of 31,602. Four of the team’s five scholarship quarterbacks—Orji, Davis Warren, Jayden Denegal, and Jack Tuttle—remain in the running for the starting role, though the latter is presently sidelined due to an undisclosed ailment.

Jadyn Davis, a true freshman and a four-star recruit who is ranked No. 9 among quarterbacks in the 247Sports Composite for the 2024 recruiting cycle, is the lone scholarship quarterback who does not appear to be in the mix. During the allocated 15 practices, Campbell stated that almost all of Davis’ reps came with the second- and third-string offense, while the upperclassmen rotated with the starting lineup.

Even though head coach Sherrone Moore and his coaching staff will just be looking at the spring game and practices as data, it appears like Orji has set himself up to be the front-runner going into fall camp. With starters occupying most of the field on the opening drive, the rising junior completed 13 of 18 passes for 103 yards and scored the only touchdown for the Blue team on an 18-yard scamper. Orji may be the Wolverines’ best option due to his dual-threat potential in what should be a run-heavy system, but his inconsistent passing game still leaving a lot to be desired.

“I think all of them have done really good things,” offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said of Michigan’s quarterbacks. “We’ll sit down in this next week, Sherrone and I, the rest of the offensive staff — I love everybody’s input — and kind of see. They’ve all done some really good things, but we’ll see where the depth chart stacks up.”

The majority of Orji’s impressive performance on Saturday occurred on his team’s opening possession. With No. 1 wide receiver Tyler Morris on the outside and starting tailback Donovan Edwards in tow, Orji put together an incredible 11-play, 75-yard march that resulted in a touchdown and more than ten minutes of extra time. He maneuvered around the right side and outran the Maize coverage to turn his lone rush into a score from the high red zone. He also made a valiant fourth-down pass to H-back Max Bredeson in a short amount of time to move the chains.

However, what transpired next, on the Blue team’s bench, provided a more in-depth look into Orji’s personality and position in the squad. Orji received a championship belt akin to one used in wrestling along with the touchdown. He dutifully wore it for a short while during the festivities before setting it aside atop a supply cart. Orji took hold of the binoculars hanging around his former teammate Cornelius Johnson’s neck and declared he wanted to locate his parents in the crowd when the former Michigan wide receiver, who had been interacting with the Blue squad during the game, applauded his former friend. Subsequently, Orji approached his offensive linemen individually to offer congratulations for an amazing series in which Edwards gained over six yards per rush on average.

In a 14-minute postgame interview, Orji also displayed remarkable composure in the face of tough questions on his passing abilities and Michigan’s potential addition of a transfer quarterback.

“All of them are great leaders,” Campbell said when asked about the criteria he looks for in a starting quarterback. “But who is the great guy, the best guy to go out there and lead this team? We were fortunate last year to have a guy that was outstanding with that, and we need to see a guy that can replace that. So there’s stuff on the field and off the field that we’re evaluating.”

As of right now, it seems Campbell’s assessment of the quarterback room is favorable enough that the Wolverines do not feel the need to look elsewhere through the transfer portal, which players can use until April 30. When questioned by reporters if he expected to add someone to the competition, Campbell responded, “That is not something we are looking at.” When questioned about possible action in the portal, he bit back, reiterating his opinion that Michigan has enough quarterback talent to compete at a high level:”You can spin the words however you want, right, for your article,” Campbell replied. “I said what I said.”

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If accurate, the Wolverines would have four candidates vying for the starting position. Orji’s playing is definitely not perfect, but he does seem to have more of a starting quarterback’s attitude than some of his peers. During Saturday’s scrimmage, he was sacked three times, including in the red zone on a fourth-down play, and had trouble making precise throws downfield. The majority of his completions were under throws close to the line of scrimmage or on brief crossing routes.

“If a guy emerges, we’re gonna roll with that,” Campbell said. “If a guy doesn’t, we’ve gotta push somebody to get that done. You would ideally like it before the first week of the season, but when we’re ready to make that decision, we’ll make that decision.”

Orji is making every effort to exert pressure on the coaching staff.