Michigan Head Coach Sherrone Moore Breaks Down QB Battle Ahead of Season Opener Against Fresno State

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore spent time with the media Monday afternoon ahead of his first game leading the Wolverines. Michigan will take on the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday.

The biggest question on everyone's mind, of course, is the quarterback battle. The Wolverines have spent the offseason trying to replace first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, but so far, the competition has been pretty even.

The two main competitors are junior Alex Orji and senior Davis Warren, with Orji holding a slight advantage over Warren. However, neither quarterback has firmly separated themselves from the competition.

This makes the battle a tough one. Moore agrees, saying they have yet to decide a winner.

"Those guys have done an outstanding job, and obviously they've made it very hard for us to make a decision."

Moore said it could come down to " who practices better this week " before making a decision, and that could come down to even right before kickoff against Fresno State.

I still maintain that Michigan will use multiple quarterbacks against Fresno State and possibly even into their Week 2 matchup against the Texas Longhorns.

Michigan's Offense With Orji Vs. Warren

I did a deep dive into the coaching staff at Michigan to see if I could figure out what the scheme would look like with two completely different quarterbacks.

Warren is a more traditional passer. We haven't seen a whole lot of Warren, but we can expect to see him operate like your typical Big 10 quarterback with plenty of play-action looks, quick game passes, and the like.

The spring game showed a little bit of mobility to Warren's game as well. While it won't be to the same degree as Orji, Warren showed enough mobility that Michigan could run some boot-action passes and rollouts to move the pocket with Warren.

Michigan could keep the playbook similar enough to what they ran with McCarthy last season. While Warren isn't nearly as physically gifted as McCarthy was, they are similar stylistically.

With Alex Orji, it's a bit of a different story. I had to dig into the coaching staff more to find a style close enough.

While at Old Dominion, Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell had a similar dilemma between D.J. Mack Jr and Hayden Wolff. Mack was the more athletic of the two, and the play calls showed it.

With Mack under center, the Monarchs took advantage of his mobility, frequently dialing up option plays several times a game to get him on the move and add a +1 in the run game to give them an advantage against opposing defenses.

Now with a player like Alex Orji, who is a much better athlete, I'd expect much of the same. Orji is a weapon in the run game, and his dual-threat ability simply gives defensive coordinators more to worry about. While Warren can move some, it's not a fair competition.

Regardless of who wins the quarterback job, I'd expect Michigan's offense to be objectively similar. This is an old-fashioned Big Ten offense. The Wolverines will rely on running the ball effectively, taking care of the football in the passing game, and playing strong defense.

It's not an easy decision to make. Warren might take better care of the football as a passer, but Orji adds a better dynamic in the run game. Which makes it easier for Michigan to win? Sherrone Moore's description of it being a difficult decision feels apt.