Michigan backup QB pecking order could be based on situation, and there's one X-factor

Michigan Wolverines football has a starting quarterback not just penciled in, but written in permanent Sharpie, bolded and underlined. Junior J.J. McCarthy will run the show in 2023. The backup spot, though, is up for grabs, and it’s an interesting competition between three main contenders, graduate Jack Tuttle, junior Davis Warren and sophomore Alex Orji.

Michigan would love for McCarthy to be healthy for every meaningful snap, but the coaching staff must prepare for if things don’t go according to plan.

Tuttle, an Indiana transfer, and Warren, a former walk-on turned scholarship player, appear to be the top two options. However, Orji — who has a unique skill set for a quarterback at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds with high-level running ability — is also in the mix. All three showed some good things in this year’s spring game.

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Tuttle completed 6 of his 12 pass attempts for 57 yards with 9 rushes for 16 yards, starting for the Blue team. He also had an interception and a fumble.

“Jack Tuttle has the experience and the leadership coming over from Indiana as a veteran guy, as a grad transfer, and a guy that comes in as a former captain,” former Michigan All-American offensive lineman Jon Jansen said on the In The Trenches podcast. “I was pleasantly surprised that he was more mobile that I anticipated. They used him as a runner more than I thought.

“Accuracy — the interception that he had, he was under duress and I thought it was just a bad decision. He’s going to look at the film, I’m sure he’ll agree. And when we talked to him, he talked about his aspirations not just as a player but as a coach. He’s going to coach himself up on that one, so I don’t anticipate that to be a continued problem for Jack Tuttle if he’s in the game.”

Warren also made a mistake with an interception, but the Michigan junior also led his Maize team to victory with some key late-scrimmage throws.

“I was excited by Davis Warren and his ability to find [junior wideout] Peyton O’Leary, his ability to move the ball down the field,” Jansen said.

One of Orji’s most impressive plays came on a 2-yard run, believe it or not. He lowered the boom on senior safety R.J. Moten, showing his power. Orji also had a nice 11-yard run down the sideline and hooked up on a 41-yard deep ball with freshman wideout Fredrick Moore.

“And Alex Orji, his accuracy, the strength of his arm — when he had to pump a ball in there, he got it in there,” Jansen continued. “He also showed some touch, and his mobility in the pocket, his strength, his size is going to be a huge asset.”

So where does that leave Michigan? By all accounts, the competition will continue into the fall. But Jansen brings up an interesting possibility, that the pecking order could change based on situation.

If the Wolverines need to get through, say, a second half without McCarthy, perhaps Tuttle gets the nod, based on his experience (he’s appeared in 15 games with five starts in his college career). But if a Michigan backup has to start an outing, maybe Warren or Orji gets the call. Orji, too, could mix in with either guy, or even McCarthy, given his different traits. He did that in the spring game, spelling Tuttle for a snap or two at a time and adding a different dimension to the offense.

“Here’s what I look at when I see the depth at the quarterback position. Obviously, J.J. is the starting quarterback, but Tuttle, Warren and Orji all bring a little bit of a different skill set,” Jansen explained. “And at the end of a game, if something happens and you’ve got to put in a player who you want to get you out of a game, you don’t want to make mistakes, I’m probably looking at either Tuttle or Warren. If it’s earlier in the game, you probably would move toward more Davis Warren, Alex Orji.

“And as a changeup … when Cade McNamara was here and we saw J.J. come in as a changeup, I think you could use any three of those guys as a changeup from J.J. McCarthy, but especially the mobility and the strength as a runner of Alex Orji.”

That makes Orji the wildcard in the Michigan quarterback room. He may not be the guy who’d start a game if the Wolverines needed someone other than McCarthy to do so, but he may wind up with more snaps this season than Tuttle or Warren. He’s an interesting option as a change of pace and/or a short-yardage runner. His ability to throw the ball and keep defenses honest, too, is something to watch.