Michigan football starting QB battle down to 2, won't name winner until end of week

The Michigan football 2024 campaign is less than a week away, yet a starting quarterback has still not been named.

First-year head coach Sherrone Moore previewed the Wolverines' season-opening contest against Fresno State on Saturday (NBC, 7:30 p.m.) , but did not elaborate on who will be under center when U-M's first-team offense takes the field. He only confirmed the battle is down to junior Alex Orji and senior Davis Warren.

"We're close, we'll figure that out soon," Moore said about choosing a starter. "We're in a good place."

Jack Tuttle, in his seventh year, began spring camp in the mix, but has battled injury in recent months.

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Moore, who said earlier this spring U-M would not be in a rush to determine its signal caller, explained he and the staff will use the rest of the practices this week to determine a starter and at that point, they'll inform the man who wins the job on either Friday night or early Saturday.

After that, the rest of the team will "find out at the same time."

Michigan offensive lineman Gio El-Hadi, edge TJ Guy and defensive back Zeke Berry were made available to media at Schembechler Hall to give their thoughts as the defending champions prepare of a new season.

"I feel like they both can play, I can't really tell you who's had the upper-hand or not," El-Hadi said. "They have different abilities, they play the game their own way, and I trust whoever's back there ... no difference (who wins the job)."

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Berry has admitted both have beaten him at some point or another throughout camp, but said he sees the same thing: Neither has separated himself as the clear option.

With the battle remaining so close for so long, Moore was asked about the potential of a two-man quarterback system — perhaps where Warren is the starter, then Orji comes in for specific packages — and noted how he has been part of it in the past to varying success.

He pointed first to mid-2000's Florida, which operated with both Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, and steamrolled the competition to the national championship. But Moore quickly commented how there has been plenty of documented cases where it's not a success.

"We'll just figure out what's our best formula to win," Moore said.

Whenever Orji's name has come up, the first thing mentioned is his athleticism. At 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds, the Sachse, Texas native is seen as perhaps the most athletic quarterback in college football .

Warren is seen as the more pro-style quarterback; someone who stays in the pocket, goes through a progression and can get the ball out on time and on target. .

"There's a menu of stuff that we can do with each guy," Moore said. "And it's not like both of them can't throw and both of them cant run, so we just do it differently with different guys in the game ... both of them can execute the offense fully. It's just going to be about figuring out who can do that consistently over the next couple of days."

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Moore said the offense doesn't look "crazy different" with each player in there, and while naturally there are specific things the team can "manipulate" to fit the desired QB's skill set, no matter who is under center, "we're still going to be who we are."

Orji has run 21 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the first two years of his career, and attempted one pass complete for five yards.

Warren, who began his career as a walk-on, has completed 5 of 14 passes for 89 yards and one interception, and run five times for 26 yards. He is a Leukemia survivor in high school, missed his senior year as he went through treatment and was seemingly an afterthought as he arrived in a quarterback room with Joe Milton, Cade McNamara and an incoming J.J. McCarthy.

“If you know Davis Warren on a personal level and what he’s been through, that kid is a fighter,” Moore said. “You knew that he wouldn’t allow it to be given to anyone. You have to go earn it, and he’s earned the opportunity to compete for it and that’s what he’s been doing.”

The decision feels all the more important as Michigan is not only breaking in Kirk Campbell as a first-year offensive coordinator, but also replacing McCarthy, an All Big Ten quarterback and top-10 NFL draft pick who went 27-1 as a starter and brought the program to new heights.

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Last year, McCarthy completed 217 of 287 (72.3%) of his passes for 2,991 yards with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Orji has the higher ceiling than Warren, and if he can be somewhat reliable in the passing game, he feels like the starter.

Michigan has said all offseason, time will tell. That time has almost run out.

"There's a sense of urgency in everything we do, so regardless of who's in the game, we're going to have a plan for him to be successful," Moore said. "There's not really a push to make sure we get it done by this time. We know we play Saturday and we'll be ready to take the first snap."

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football starting QB battle down to 2, won't name winner until end of week