Who is Davis Warren? Meet Michigan's new QB replacing J.J. McCarthy after winning competition with Alex Orji

Michigan has its next starting quarterback, but it's not who many fans expected.

Davis Warren got the start for the reigning national champions in Saturday's season opener against Fresno State, confirming reports leading up to the game that Warren beat out Alex Orji for the starting job left vacant by J.J. McCarthy.

Plenty of programs, including Michigan's rival Ohio State, found their new quarterbacks through the transfer portal. The Wolverines were still playing for a championship when much of that movement was taking place, and they opted to move forward with what they already have after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL.

Here's what you need to know about Warren and his background.

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Who is Davis Warren?

Warren is a former walk-on who brings a remarkable story to the national stage. He survived cancer during high school, beating acute myeloid leukemia after five months of treatment. Warren returned to the field seven months after his diagnosis and played a portion of his junior season.

Warren wasn't able to play football in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was able to walk on at Michigan and work his way to the top of the depth chart.

Warren saw his first game action at Michigan in 2022, attempting nine passes, but he saw even less time on the field in 2023 and was thought to be behind Orji on the depth chart entering 2024. Instead, the 22-year-old fought hard for the starting job and evidently did enough to gain coach Sherrone Moore's full trust.

The early minutes of Michigan's season opener hinted that Orji isn't out of the mix entirely, as he entered the game for a red zone snap and threw the Wolverines' first touchdown pass of the season. Warren was back under center on the next drive, indicating that Orji might just be used as a gadget player for now.

Davis Warren high school

Warren attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles before transferring to Suffield Academy in Connecticut. He was unranked as a recruit before joining Michigan as a walk-on.

One can only guess how Warren's recruitment would have played out if he had a fair chance at playing more football in high school, but his cancer battle and the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited his time on the field in 2019 and 2020. Harbaugh still saw enough to give him a chance, and Warren chose a route he knew wasn't going to be easy.

In an era of unprecedented quarterback movement, it would've been tough to blame Warren for exploring other opportunities as he sat near the bottom of Michigan's depth chart. Instead, Warren stayed patient and earned his opportunity against all odds this summer.

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Michigan QB depth chart

Warren ascended to the role of QB1 this summer, getting first crack at the starting job during Michigan's season opener against Fresno State.

Orji, who appeared to be the frontrunner for the job entering training camp, is a junior who made appearances last season as a gadget player. He rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in 2023 and was a three-star prospect in the class of 2022.

Tuttle brings the most experience to Michigan's quarterback room, and that may be putting it mildly. A former four-star recruit who ranked as a top-120 player in the class of 2018, Tuttle is entering his seventh season of college football.

Tuttle started his career at Utah in 2018 before transferring to Indiana and seeing time whenever Michael Penix Jr. was sidelined with an injury. Tuttle joined Michigan in 2023, throwing 17 passes in late-game action last season.

Denegal was a three-star recruit in 2022 and has thrown five passes in two seasons at Michigan. Now entering year three, the California native is hoping to work his way up the depth chart in Ann Arbor.