It’s never easy replacing a star quarterback, especially one who went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan as J.J. McCarthy did. With McCarthy off to the NFL, there are several candidates vying for the starting job with the Wolverines. Arguably, the lead candidate right now is junior Alex Orji.
Michigan fans are optimistic about what Orji can bring to the table, but there is some hesitation. Why? Because the 236-pound QB has thrown it one time in his two seasons in Ann Arbor. Orji has played football in the Big House and outside of it, but fans are accustomed to him running the ball. He’s run the ball 21 times for 123 yards and three scores during his two-year playing career with Michigan.
While Michigan doesn’t necessarily need a J.J. McCarthy to win football games in 2024, it’s nice to know you have a more-than-capable signal caller at the helm of the offense. Although McCarthy had the ability to beat the opposition with his arm and play-action skills, Orji has a different element he brings to the table that can also beat the opposing team.
On’3 national analyst J.D. PicKell explained it in such a way that Orji has a different changeup pitch than what McCarthy had.
“The difference between Alex Orji and his changeup pitch, his change-of-pace game, and J.J. McCarthy’s change-of-pace game — J.J. McCarthy last season he’s messing with the third-level of your defense,” PicKell stated on his podcast. “Meaning when you get play-action, that safety bit because he’s tired of having to make a tackle at four or five yards, he wants to make it at two yards. You got Roman Wilson’s hand in the air ‘Throw me the ball’, strike up the band, vibes are hot.”
“Alex Orji, you hope you have that third level of the defense ability to mess with them, but I think the big caveat with him is — the big thing he brings to the table is you can mess with the second level of that defense. So instead of the safety biting, it’s the linebacker. The linebacker is tired of having to trigger and hit the running back and get there flat-footed because he can’t really tell who has the ball, so he triggers quickly. When he does, boom, Alex Orji around the corner, read-option. Now we strike up the band. Still 40-yard touchdowns. Just different terms of how you get it done.”
Orji got off to a rocky start during the annual Michigan Spring Game in April, but once he settled in, Orji appeared to have good control of the Michigan offense. While the Wolverines have other options outside of Orji like Jack Tuttle or Davis Warren, the ceiling potential of Orji is extremely high with the dual-threat ability he possesses. Time will tell who gets the starting nod for the Wolverines against Fresno State and beyond, but there’s no doubt that Orji brings a fascinating element to this Michigan offense.
