Sherrone Moore on revealing Alex Orji as Michigan's QB 1: "Important that I did that"

Michigan will have a new QB1 when it takes on No. 11 USC Saturday at the Big House. Sherrone Moore announced this week that Alex Orji is taking over for Davis Warren after the latter threw three more interceptions last week to bring his total to six, second most in the country.

"The biggest thing is that as a program, we have to take care of the football and the football was put in jeopardy too many times," Moore said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "Felt like it was Orji’s (time) to give him a chance. He went in there and executed, and ready for him to take the reins."

Of course, Moore's announcement tipped Michigan's hand to the Trojans, who now have a week to prepare for facing Orji.

Asked why he revealed his decision Monday rather than keeping it internal, Moore said, "At this point, for us, for the players, for them to see me announce it to everybody else, understand the confidence that I have in Alex, I think it was important that I did that."

"Felt like it was just an important thing for us to do as a program," he said.

The offense could look markedly different with Orji, who can strain a defense with his legs. His arm is unpredictable, but strong.

"He’s one of the most athletic guys on the team," said Moore. "Pound for pound, as strong as anyone on the team. A good runner, but he’s actually a much better thrower than people think and he’s just gotta prove it. He’s just gotta go out there and execute on game day."

No. 18 Michigan has had a slow start offensively after losing almost all of its top players to the NFL on that side of the ball. The Wolverines rank 100th in the country in points per game and 121st in passing yards per game. As Moore said, "great offenses are the ones that do things to their players’ strengths."

"So we’re going to do everything we can to optimize Alex’s strengths along with the guys around him," he said. "We’ll see as we go through. We have a plan developed that we’ve had in place for Alex, so we’re excited to put it in place starting today."

Orji has attempted just six passes this year, seven in his college career. Asked about his confidence in Orji throwing the ball, Moore said, "I feel confident, but for us, it’s not about how confident I fee. It’s about us just executing on the field and taking care of the football."

Other highlights from Moore's interview on 97.1 The Ticket

On Michigan matches up with USC : "I think we match up good. For us, it’s going to be about taking care of the football and playing penalty free. If we can do that, I feel like we have a good chance to be successful."

On USC's defensive players to watch: "The guy that can wreck the game is No. 6, (defensive end Anthony) Lucas. He’s an elite player. They’ve got some really good players inside, too, Bear Alexander, Gavin Meyer the transfer from Wyoming. So they’ve got a really good front, but really No. 6, he’s a guy that can wreck a game."

On how USC compares to Texas on offense: "Very comparable. Great quarterback that can make all the throws and is extremely smart, has been in that system for a good bit so understands what Lincoln (Riley) wants to do on offense. The O-line is big, strong, and they’ve got explosive weapons on the outside, so defense is going to have to play sound football and tackle in space."