With Michigan’s spring practice set to kick off today, one of the biggest position battles to keep your eye on is at the quarterback spot. Meeting with the media on Friday, Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell gave some insight into how he plans to manage that battle through the spring and into the fall.
“The pecking order heading into the spring is who is the oldest,” Campbell said. “If it’s the same grade, we’ll go in alphabetical order by last name. That’s how we’ll handle it on day one. We’ll reevaluate that on day two.”
Translation: seventh year graduate student Jack Tuttle will begin the process by taking the first reps, followed by Davis Warren, Jayden Denegal, Alex Orji, and Jadyn Davis.
Interestingly enough, Campbell made it clear that all five guys listed above will have the opportunity to compete for that top spot, even true freshman Jadyn Davis. It was reported by multiple outlets several weeks back that Davis was expected to redshirt during his freshman season, but it doesn’t sound like that’s Campbell’s plan – yet.
“Jadyn will have an opportunity just as the others to become a starter at the University of Michigan and if he’s ready to do that, he’ll be awarded with the opportunity,” Campbell said. “He embodies what you want in a quarterback: leadership, command, the care factor, the ‘it’-factor. When you’re around him, his personality is infectious.”
As of now, the primary battle appears to be between Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji, and Jayden Denegal. Tuttle’s experience obviously gives him a bit of a leg up heading into spring ball, and Campbell discussed that experience briefly on Friday.
“Having Jack Tuttle back is extremely valuable to the room as far as a veteran guy that’s been a couple different places,” Campbell said. “I spoke on Jack ad nauseam in the past. Great leader, great way about him. Really good passer of the football. To have him back is good for the culture of the entire program.”
Alex Orji, who appears to be the fan favorite as of now, is also a guy that Campbell seems excited about.
“His development of throwing the football from day one that I got here as an analyst to now is vast. It’s not even the same guy. He looks like a totally different player right now, and the ball pops off his hand.”
Although there’s been some speculation that Michigan might look to the portal this spring for an additional quarterback, it sounds like Campbell is confident that the next QB1 in Ann Arbor is already on the roster.
“We’re not going to live in the transfer portal, but we’re gonna add complementary pieces,” Campbell said. “And the culture we have built around here is we’re honest and truthful, we don’t deceive. And the players respect that. That’s why we’ve been so successful in retaining players.
“We’re gonna evaluate the guys on our roster this spring, and we’re excited with them. And I have no concerns that there’s not a guy on this roster that won’t be able to lead Michigan next year.”
