Sherrone Moore on decision to start Davis Warren: ‘He won the job’
Some Michigan fans were anticipating the start of the Alex Orji era at U-M Saturday night against Fresno State, led to believe coach Sherrone Moore had him head and shoulders above the rest. A few outlets even called him the “prohibitive favorite,” others hyping him up as the obvious choice when — in reality — it was neck-and-neck, with Davis Warren having been the better passer throughout camp.
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There are things Orji can do with his feet, and he showed it Saturday night with some runs that got a stagnant offense moving. Warren, though, played most of the game, and though he didn’t put up gaudy numbers — 15 of 25, 118 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, not throwing downfield much — he did what they needed him to do to win the game.
Moore said following the 30-10 win he was pleased, adding there’s room for improvement. Warren short-armed a bomb to Fred Moore in which the coach thought his receiver could have done a better job going after the ball, but that was the only turnover.
“Really, I thought Davis did a good job putting the football where it needs to be. The one pick, we tell our guys on the sideline, at some point we’ve got to go up and you’ve got to go play defense, too,” Moore said. “You’ve got to go get the ball. But I thought [Warren] really did a great job controlling the offense, and I thought 18 did a great job, as well.”
“Eighteen” is junior tight end Colston Loveland, who often split out wide as a big receiver and hauled in 8 passes for 87 yards and a score. His touchdown was the play of the game, a great answer on a drive in which the offense finally got going in response to a Fresno State score that cut it to 16-10.
Warren was pleased with the win more than anything, excited to live his dream as the Michigan starting quarterback. He earned it, Moore said, with his play in practice.
“Just training camp. Him and Alex had a really good training camp, but ultimately, he won the job the last week, really,” Moore said. “He was just consistent. He took care of the football, made plays against that defense that you saw out there.
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“For us, they played hard for both players, but he ultimately took the job and won it. So, that made the decision easier for us.”
Both quarterbacks will likely continue to play, but Warren will probably get the nod next week when the Wolverines play Texas in Ann Arbor. They’ll need a better performance offensively than the 269 yards they put up against Fresno State, but Moore is confident Warren and Co. will continue to improve.
“Offense — it takes time,” Moore said. “You’re not going to be the same product you were in week two. You’ll be better next week. So, it’s going to take time for them to jell.
“They needed to get that last [scoring] drive to get what it feels like to be together and grind through a game, and it’s going to help prevail for us, for sure.”
