Entering Saturday’s annual spring game in Ann Arbor, the general belief outside of Schembechler Hall was that Alex Orji was leading the pack in the quarterback battle. Although Orji has only thrown one career pass during his first two years at Michigan, his athleticism as a dual-threat QB has placed him at the top of the list as far as the fan base is concerned.
Another strong indicator that Orji was leading the pack was due to the fact that his name was always mentioned first when players and coaches were discussing the QB battle this spring.
So when the ball kicked off on Saturday, it came as no surprise that Orji took the field first to open the spring game. From a pure passing standpoint, Orji had a solid outing – completing 13-of-18 attempts for 103 yards. Although he finished the afternoon with just 19 yards and one touchdown on the ground, it was once again clear that Orji’s mobility is something that separates him from the rest of the pack.
Outside of Orji, guys like Jayden Denegal, Davis Warren, and Jadyn Davis were all fighting to make their case for the QB1 spot on Saturday. During the early part of spring practice, it seemed like Denegal was the guy who was the biggest threat to compete with Orji for that opportunity. As spring has progressed, however, it has been senior QB Davis Warren who has established himself as a legitimate threat to win the starting job this fall – and he proved it on Saturday.
Warren looked calm in the pocket, even when facing pressure. He connected with sophomore wideout Kendrick Bell for a 48 yard touchdown pass, and the ball was placed perfectly by Warren. His second touchdown pass of the day was a connection with sophomore wideout Fredrick Moore – once again facing pressure, and once again putting the ball on the money. Overall, Warren finished his afternoon completing 6-of-9 attempts for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
When looking at all of the performances by the QB’s on Saturday, Warren certainly made a solid case for why he should receive strong consideration for the starting spot this fall.
With all that being said, it’s clear that both Orji and Warren have things they need to improve on over the summer and into fall camp. Sherrone Moore is tasked with replacing arguably the top quarterback in Michigan history when it comes to JJ McCarthy, and it doesn’t look like there’s a McCarthy-level talent on this roster…yet. At the same time, it doesn’t sound like Michigan has any intention of looking for a QB in the portal this spring, meaning the staff clearly has a lot of confidence in the current options available.
The wildcard here is seventh year graduate student, Jack Tuttle. The veteran QB has been recovering from injury for most of the spring and didn’t compete in the game on Saturday. From an experience standpoint, he’s head and shoulders above the rest of the field – but he’s also missed out on valuable reps this spring.
With the spring session coming to a close, the QB1 job looks to be a battle squarely between Orji and Warren. Under normal circumstances, you’d like to be able to roll with one guy as your solidified QB1 when the season kicks off on Aug. 31, but the spring game may have provided some insight into what a potential two-quarterback system would look like this fall. Orji’s athleticism, coupled with Warren’s poise in the pocket and deep ball threat, could be the perfect solution for the defending champions in 2024.
