Lincoln Riley reacts to Michigan naming Alex Orji starter before Week 4 matchup

With an off week in Week 3, No. 11 USC found itself with two weeks to prepare for No. 18 Michigan. The Trojans have only one week to prepare for Alex Orji as the Wolverines’ starting quarterback, though.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore officially made the QB1 change from senior Davis Warren to the junior Orji Monday, two days after Moore benched Warren in the third quarter of a 28-18 win over Arkansas State. By the time Warren was pulled, all three of his incompletions on the day were interceptions.

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Orji finished the game and threw his second career touchdown pass.

“I understand it. I mean, I can understand where they’re coming from on it,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday after practice.

“There’s two trains of thought. They both have relevance. But I’m not gonna sit here and guess why they did, or why they made that choice. That’s their decision. We got to be ready for everybody that they have. Very multiple offense, very good on the offensive line. Backs are good, the tight end’s elite. A lot of really gifted coaches over there. So, big challenge, regardless of who’s under center.”

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When asked about it, Riley declined to specify how much his team prepared for Orji last week during the bye.

Riley isn’t overlooking Michigan or looking to give the Wolverines bulletin board material. But the numbers don’t lie: Michigan has struggled mightily on offense this year. The Wolverines are fourth-to-last in the now-18-team Big Ten with 23.3 points per game.

With a completely new offensive line, Michigan has had to work out kinks up front. The Wolverines took a step in the right direction with 301 rushing yards against Arkansas State — more than they had in the first two games combined versus Fresno State and now-No. 1 Texas — but their passing offense is still a work in progress.

Warren beat out Orji in the final weeks of training camp. In the process, the Los Angeles, California, native completed an admirable career arc, which started with him battling and beating leukemia in high school and then overcoming a pandemic that cut his high school playing days short. Warren walked on at Michigan, earned a scholarship, played his way into the QB2 job in 2022 and ultimately started his first career game in 2024.

Unfortunately for Warren, things didn’t go as planned after that. He posted just a 2:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his three starts. Although Warren completed 48-of-72 passes (66.7%), he threw for only 444 yards, averaging a mere 6.2 yards per attempt.

At times, poor pass protection played a role in Warren’s struggles, especially against the Longhorns when he was pressured on 41.7% of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. But turnovers ultimately lost him the job.

“Like I said, I thought he was in a really good place, and Davis outperformed him in camp at the end,” Moore said of Orji Monday. “I would love to see him just take the reins and do what he’s been doing through those first couple weeks. I think he will.

“He’s had a great couple weeks of practice. So has Davis, but obviously you got to perform in the game. Excited to see what Alex is going to do. He’s been in here, studying his tail off the past couple days, like he always is. But you can see it ramped up even more.”

Orji, originally a four-star recruit from Sachse, Texas, arrived at Michigan as the No. 390 overall prospect, including the No. 12 athlete, in the 2022 class. Last year, he provided the Wolverines a change of pace at quarterback, coming in for J.J. McCarthy at times and recording 15 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Riley sprinkled in some humor when he was asked Tuesday if there’s any quarterback on the USC roster who can replicate what Orji does for the Trojans’ scout team offense this week.

“Yeah, there’s an old quarterback from Muleshoe, Texas, that’s going to come out of retirement,” Riley said, referring to himself. “So we’re gonna see what he can do, see if his legs still got it.

“Nah, we got a couple of guys that we’re trying to use a little bit, but [Orji’s] a really good athlete. I told people last night I was familiar with that we recruited him a little bit coming out of high school. I have a lot of respect for him as a player and an athlete, so we’ll do the best we can with the bodies that we have.”

Although Orji scattered 17 offensive snaps across six games last year, according to PFF, he didn’t attempt a single pass.

He’s thrown only six passes this season, and he’s 3-of-6 for 15 yards and two touchdowns.

“You always do,” Riley said, when asked about having to account for Orji’s arm. “I mean, you don’t play quarterback at this level without being able to throw the ball some. To sit there and think if he plays the entire game that they’re going to run it 70 times and throw it one time or something like that, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

“You definitely have to account for it. He’s certainly a good enough thrower to make you pay.”

USC makes the trip to the Ann Arbor this week looking for its second win over a ranked opponent this season and its first-ever win in Big Ten play.