Alex Orji will start for Michigan football vs. USC Saturday
Alex Orji will start at quarterback for Michigan vs. USC Saturday, head coach Sherrone Moore disclosed at his Monday press conference. Orji will replace Davis Warren, who threw three interceptions in a 28-18 win over Arkansas State Saturday.
Moore played the quarterback competition close to the vest at the beginning of the year, not disclosing his starter publicly until game time vs. Fresno State. He said today Warren won the job the last few weeks in camp, but he was hopeful Orji would play the way he did earlier in camp to put himself in contention for the starting job.
“Alex will start on Saturday. Excited for him. He’s been in here champing at the bit, so we’ll move on from there,” Moore said. “Just take the reins, perform like he did the first couple weeks in camp. I thought he was in a really good place … would love to see him just take the reins and do what he’s been doing the first couple weeks.
“I think he’s had a great couple weeks of practice … so has Davis, but obviously he didn’t perform in the game. I’m excited to see what Alex is going to do. He’s been in here studying his tail off the last couple days like he’s always been, but you can see it ramped up even more.”
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Orji has been used primarily as a runner through three games, completing 3 of 6 passes or 15 yards. He’s carried 10 times for 58 … it remains to be seen whether they’ll tailor the offense to him or finally let him throw a bit more. The veteran didn’t throw a pass in game action last year, but the coaches have always maintained he can, and that they’d trust him to.
“He played well,” Moore said of Orji after the win over Arkansas State. “He had the overthrow [on a deep ball to Fred Moore], but we wanted him to just let it rip, get some confidence, let it out there. He did a good job just managing it and taking care of the football, which is the No. 1 thing we want our quarterback to do. So, we’ll see where we go from there.
“[Warren was] disappointed, as you think he would be. For him, his attitude and the way he carried himself with the other guys was outstanding, but he knew he couldn’t do that, put the ball in harm’s way. But he was as positive as he could be.”
He expects that to be the case going forward, he said.
Watch for more on this developing story in the hours to come …
