Sherrone Moore discusses Michigan QB competition pre-Fresno State: 'They've made it very hard for us to make a decision'
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore addressed the media Monday afternoon to kick off the week of his team’s first game. The Maize and Blue will take on Fresno State Saturday at The Big House (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
Junior Alex Orji and senior Davis Warren have been the two main contenders for the job during preseason practices, and Moore said the Wolverines haven’t decided a winner of the battle just yet.
“We’re close,” Moore said. “We’ll figure that out soon, though. We’re in a good place.
“We’ll just see who practices better these next couple days, and then we’ll make a decision — whether it’s Friday, whether it’s right before the game. We’ll let them know, then everybody else will find out at the same time.”
The Michigan coach said Orji and Warren have taken an even amount of snaps with the first team.
“Those guys have done an outstanding job, and obviously they’ve made it very hard for us to make a decision,” Moore said.
It appears it remains a possibility that Michigan will trot out multiple quarterbacks who have significant roles.
“I’ve been a part of it. I’ve been a part of it here,” Moore pointed out. “I’ve seen it work. I’ve seen it not work. We’re just going to do whatever it takes to win. I don’t think there’s really a ‘yes’ or no’ or what’s better, what’s not.
“You go back to the years of Tim Tebow and Chris Leak [at Florida] — it worked pretty well for them. There are teams that have done it and it hasn’t gone well, so we’ll just figure out what our best formula is to win.”
Orji saw the fifth-most offense snaps among Michigan quarterbacks last season, but he was trusted in big moments to enter the game and serve as a runner. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder rushed 15 times for 86 yards and a score in six outings. He’s thrown just 1 career pass — a 5-yard completion against UConn in 2022.
Warren, meanwhile, is a former walk-on who’s since been put on scholarship and worked his way up the depth chart through his three-plus years at Michigan. He was 0-for-5 passing with an interception a year ago, and is 5-of-14 for 89 yards in his career.
Moore said that despite Warren coming to Michigan as a walk-on, he and the program aren’t surprised that he’s emerged as a contender to start.
“If you know Davis Warren, if you know him on a personal level and what he’s been through, you know that kid’s a fighter,” Moore said of Warren, who fought and beat leukemia in high school. “You know it wasn’t just going to be handed to anybody, so they had to go earn it. He’s earned the opportunity to compete for it, and that’s what he’s been doing.”
Graduate Jack Tuttle was the backup to Michigan starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy last season. After being granted a medical hardship waiver for an extra season of eligibility, though, the 6-foot-4, 211-pounder missed spring practices and was limited in fall camp with an injury. That set back his chances to battle for the starting job.
The former Utah (2018) and Indiana (2019-22) signal-caller has the most experience of the bunch, with 21 appearances and five starts in his career. He completed 15 of his 17 pass attempts for Michigan in 2023, accumulating 130 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran for 35 yards on 4 carries.
Moore was asked if Michigan will have to limit what it does offensively early in the season due to having two more unexperienced options.
“I think you just have to figure out what their strengths are, which we’ve done in camp,” Moore replied. “There’s a menu of stuff that we can do with each guy, and it’s not like both of them can’t throw and both of them can’t run. We just do it differently with each guy in the game. I feel like we have a really good menu of plays, and both of them can execute the offense fully. It’s just about figuring out who’s gonna do that consistently over these next couple days.”
Moore said the Michigan offense is “not crazy different” when Orji is in the game compared to Warren.
“There are just things you can do with each guy that you can change and manipulate,” Moore said. “But it’s not super different. We’re still going to be who we are and play our football.”
