Michigan's Alex Orji embodies demeanor of starting QB; will it translate to wins?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — From the moment Alex Orji bounded down the Lloyd Carr Tunnel on Saturday, launching himself into the coolness and crispness of a chilly April morning at Michigan Stadium, the rising junior behaved like the Wolverines' starting quarterback, even if that title has yet to be bestowed. He loped onto the turf with a hop and a skip that foretold his confidence in the race to replace J.J. McCarthy.

Scores of fans cheered as Orji joined his fellow quarterbacks for warmups on the opposite side of the field. The younger ones asked him for autographs and pictures. The older ones whooped and clapped having seen what Orji did as a situational runner last season, most notably his 20-yard carry at a critical juncture against Ohio State. All of them knew that the spring game to come would be their first real glimpse of what Orji could do.

"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."

Orji's team failed to outscore its opponent during a nationally televised Maize vs. Blue game in which the coaches split the roster in half via draft. But the final outcome was always going to be less important than what Michigan's quarterbacks showed along the way, playing before an announced crowd of 31,602 on Saturday afternoon. Of the five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, four of them are still in contention to win the starting job: Orji, Davis Warren, Jayden Denegal and Jack Tuttle, though the latter is currently sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

The only scholarship quarterback who doesn't seem to be in the mix is true freshman Jadyn Davis, a four-star recruit and the No. 9 quarterback in the 247Sports Composite for the 2024 recruiting cycle. Campbell said virtually all of Davis' reps came with the second- and third-string offense across the allotted 15 practices, while the upperclassmen all cycled through with the starters.

While spring practices and the spring game are merely data points for head coach Sherrone Moore and his coaching staff to consider, it certainly feels like Orji has positioned himself to be the front-runner entering fall camp. The rising junior completed 13 of 18 passes for 103 yards and scored the Blue team's only touchdown on an 18-yard scamper that capped an impressive opening drive when starters filled most of the spots on the field. It's Orji's dual-threat ability in what figures to be a run-heavy offense that could make him the Wolverines' best option — even though his inconsistency as a passer still leaves plenty 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."

On Saturday, most of the good things that Orji did came on his team's first possession. With starting tailback Donovan Edwards behind him and potential No. 1 wide receiver Tyler Morris on the perimeter, Orji orchestrated an impressive 11-play, 75-yard march for a touchdown that milked more than 10 minutes off the clock. He completed a gutsy fourth-down pass to H-back Max Bredeson in a tight window to move the chains and turned his only carry into a touchdown from the high red zone, veering around the right side and outrunning the Maize secondary.

But it's what happened next, along the Blue team's bench, that offered a deeper window into Orji's character and his standing within the program. With the touchdown came a wrestling-style championship belt that was draped over Orji's shoulder, and after dutifully donning it for a moment or two amid the celebration, he placed it atop a supply cart instead. When former Michigan wide receiver Cornelius Johnson, who was mingling with the Blue team throughout the game, congratulated his former teammate, Orji grabbed the binoculars hanging around Johnson's neck and said he wanted to find his parents in the crowd. Then Orji walked over to congratulate his offensive linemen, one by one, for a terrific series in which Edwards averaged more than 6 yards per carry. "Way to smash ‘em!" Orji shouted.  

Orji was also incredibly poised during a 14-minute postgame interview that included difficult questions about his throwing ability and the possibility of Michigan adding 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."

To this point, it appears Campbell's evaluation of the quarterback room is positive enough to where the Wolverines don't feel compelled to find a new option in the transfer portal, which players can enter through April 30. Campbell told reporters "that is not something we're looking at" when asked if he expects to add someone to the competition. He reiterated his belief that Michigan has enough quarterback talent to compete at a high level and offered a biting retort when asked for a clarification about potential activity in the portal: "You can spin the words however you want, right, for your article," Campbell replied. "I said what I said."

If true, that leaves the Wolverines with four contenders for the starting job. Though Orji appears to embody the demeanor of a starting quarterback more than some of his teammates, his game is certainly not without flaws. He was sacked three times during Saturday's scrimmage, including on a fourth-down play in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, and struggled to make accurate throws downfield. Most of his completions came on short crossing routes or underneath throws near the line of scrimmage.

Warren turned in an impressive spring game performance by completing six of nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, but much of that production came in the fourth quarter against reserves. Denegal struggled and tossed the game's only interception. Tuttle watched from the sideline in sweats as he continues rehabbing his injury.

"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 doing his best to force the coaching staff's hand. 

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

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