Michigan Wolverines and Sherrone Moore need to quit messing around and make the right decision at quarterback

For some reason the Michigan Football staff has been quite hesitant this off-season to announce who will be the heir to J.J. McCarthy at quarterback for the Wolverines. Even now as fall camp is underway there's still no real clarity in communication from Sherrone Moore and his staff.

There is an easy, right decision at quarterback though. And despite the strange hesitation to make an an official announcement, once fall camp is over the best quarterback to lead Michigan in 2024 will be abundantly clear.

Projected Starting Michigan QB

Alex Orji

Thanks to J.J. McCarthy's dominance as a passer over last two seasons Alex Orji has only had to complete one pass in his entire college football career so far. Last season, Orji was only used as a runner, and saw the field quite sparingly, carrying the ball just 15 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. However, this spring and summer Orji has clearly taken steps forward as the favorite to be the next quarterback for Michigan.

He was the obvious QB1 at the spring game, taking the entire first drive, seeing a couple more snaps on drive three, and then receiving the veteran treatment as he sat out letting the likely backups play the rest of the day. And now as camp opens, one of the people closest to the team (Sam Webb of Michigan Insider) believes Orji has a lead:

"I think they went into fall camp with Alex Orji as the leading guy...He is the guy that has a talent, a difference-making talent that separates him."

It really is undeniable when you watch him move and play, let alone stand next to his huge athletic frame. Orji is clearly the most physically impressive talent at quarterback by a long shot. And when you pair his game-changing mobility with the explosiveness of Donovan Edwards, the Wolverines' ground game could be unstoppable between them. That much was on display as the duo dominated Michigan's starting defensive front on the first drive of the spring game in April:

Although the Michigan offensive coordinator has made an absolutely silly announcement that camp will start from oldest to youngest (Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal, Jadyn Davis) Alex Orji has been the QB1 all off-season and will definitely be the starter based on his physical talent and upside alone.

Veteran QB Competition

Jack Tuttle & Davis Warren

Some believe Jack Tuttle will start because of his "experience" at quarterback and his age (he's already 25), but the truth is that Tuttle has less than 200 pass attempts over his five year career and has been absolutely terrible for the vast majority of it. He's also a statue that offers virtually no upside via mobility. If he starts fans should just assume that they're in for a John O'Korn, Brandon Peters, Wilton Speight kind of season unfortunately.

Davis Warren has an incredible story as he's overcome his battle with leukemia, risen up the Michigan depth chart, and actually looked quite competent in spring at quarterback. Warren deserves a shot more so than Tuttle as we have already seen what the elder statesman brings as a starter (and it's bad). Warren, we have not. In the spring game it was Warren who was slicing up the field in some significant first half action, finding his tight ends and running backs underneath, making a couple big plays with his arm.

If there's going to be a quarterback controversy, Michigan fans need to hope it's with Warren, not Tuttle.

Young Michigan QBs of the Future

Jayden Denegal & Jadyn Davis

Jayden Denegal should probably transfer somewhere that will give him a shot because he clearly has significant talent. He's reportedly been a bit up and down this off-season in terms of execution, but his peak moments were strong. He connected for a huge play to Fredrick Moore in the spring game, finding his receivers consistently against second team defenders with ease, and even had a couple runs that flashed his mobility. Denegal is a highly intelligent player who should get a chance to battle with Jadyn Davis for the starting role in a year or two.

Jadyn Davis, despite being a top tier four star quarterback recruit in this 2024 class, has been relegated to an afterthought for this season but his future is bright. Davis was actually considered a five star talent for much of his recruiting journey, can make every single throw, and put up some massive stats as a starting passer in high school. Once he's fully up to speed with the system and gets a full off-season with the team Davis should compete to start as soon as next year.

The Wolverines have incredible depth at quarterback this year with a handful of talented options, but the coaching staff needs to stop it with the games and roll with Alex Orji. At 6'3", 240 pounds with a rocket arm and mobility he's the easy and right choice at starting quarterback.

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