ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The expectations all preseason were that Alex Orji would be Michigan football’s starting quarterback in 2024. However, when he finally got that opportunity, it didn’t look much like anyone had imagined.
Orji made his first start in a huge game, a gotta-have-it game, a matchup between the No. 17 team in the country and the No. 11 team in USC. Michigan had already been embarrassed at home by Texas and the Trojans came in flying high, with predictions that they would wipe the floor with the maize and blue.
Michigan didn’t ask Orji to do much, passing just 12 times with seven completions for 32 yards. Fans are happy for the win but aghast at the execution. However, the clear game plan wasn’t for Orji to do much throwing downfield as most of his 12 throws were horizontal in nature with many of his five incompletions essentially being throwaways.
As for Orji himself, he says that this was part of the plan, just to get him comfortable. And now that he’s entering start No. 2, he’s ready to take on a bigger burden.
“Yeah, definitely,” Orji said. “I think that just going into that game, having a little bit of playing time here and there in the past wasn’t quite the same. Just like the conditioning aspect, the mental and physical parts of it, as well as just everyone looking at you every play, looking you in the eyes.
“We’re ready to go to war about whatever it is. I think that getting that out the way and having a good camp, good practices, it’s all helping.”
Many of the fans who are upset about the lack of downfield passing are quick to forget that Davis Warren wasn’t asked to throw downfield much in his first start, with a similar method of horizontal throws. And Orji didn’t have Colston Loveland to rely upon as he was out with a shoulder injury.
As for what he brings to the table, Orji says he has a lot more to show and a lot more to give — particularly in the run game.
“I think that I’ve been a physical quarterback,” Orji said. “As long as I’ve been playing a position with the gifts that God blessed me with, got to kind of find a balance between being physical at times, and just playing smart –protecting myself. And that’s something that I talk to Coach Campbell, Coach Moore about all the time. And you feel it out just within the confines of a game.
“The first quarter is a little different than the fourth quarter, depending on the score situations and all that. But I think just in general, for me, it’s whatever it takes to help the team win. If I got run through someone’s face on fourth down, it’s what it’ll be. If it’s first-and-10 in the first quarter, it may be a different story. So it’s just being smart, but also knowing that I’m a naturally physical guy, and so just kind of finding a way to navigate that still.”
As for throwing more downfield, Orji said over the summer that he was aware that he couldn’t be the starting quarterback if he couldn’t throw downfield. He is hoping to come along in that regard but if his game requires more of the same, if that’s what the coaches feel will work on a game-to-game basis, then he’ll do that, too.
“Yeah, I think that it’s hard, but I guess it’s not impossible,” Orji joked. “I think that being able to go out there with the team that we have, and the guys we have up front, the backs that we have, the defense we have, they’re going to make it, like I said, a lot easier for the quarterback position to play. But at the end of the day, like the way that Coach Campbell, Coach Moore (are) able to scheme it up, people will say it’s hard to win with only 32 passing yards, but we got dogs to do it, so went out there and got it.”