Inside The Huskies

Michigan Has Title, Mystique, Famous Helmets, But QB Is Question

Alex Orji is the starter yet struggles throwing downfield.

Dan Raley

Alex Orji shares a moment with coach Sherrone Moore after a 27-24 win over USC at Michigan Stadium.
Alex Orji shares a moment with coach Sherrone Moore after a 27-24 win over USC at Michigan Stadium. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The answer is a big Texas kid who doesn't throw long, a cancer survivor from Los Angeles and a Michael Penix Jr. back-up at Indiana.

The question: Who are the leading candidates lined up to play quarterback, not necessarily in that order, for the 10th-ranked Michigan Wolverines in Saturday's game against Washington at Husky Stadium?

For the defending national champions, this is the biggest talking point in the ongoing Wolverines' rebuild, a persistent personnel debate that has the Maize and Blue fan base going crazy and the national odds-makers boldly making the unranked Huskies a 2.5-point favorite in the coming match-up.

Alex Orji pulled on that highly recognizable helmet with the winged yellow logo and started the last two games, Davis Warren opened the first three outings and the injured Jack Tuttle recently has been throwing in practice as if warming up in the bullpen.

The way people tell it, none of these guys is an adequate replacement for the departed J.J. McCarthy, who led Michigan to a 15-0 season, including a win over the UW, and a national championship, to the point one of them might as will be designated to simply hand off the ball and do little more.

"You've got to respect their game and respect how they've played so far this year," UW defensive coordinator Steve Belichick said, without directly addressing the Wolverines QB peril. "You never assume the offense will just run and not pass, or just pass and not run. You've got to respect the game, resepct their offense. We'll prepare for everything. Whatever they decide to do is up to them."

The Huskies might remember the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Orji, a junior from Sasche, Texas. Ten months ago, Michigan sent him onto the field for part of a second-quarter series in the CFP title game in Houston, with the Wolverines leading 17-3, and he ran for 13 and 2 yards, didn't throw a pass and was replaced by McCarthy before Michigan ran out of downs.

In recent weeks, Orji started and led the Wolverines (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) to wins over USC and Minnesota, both by 27-24 scores. Yet he can't seem to throw the ball downfield effectively, causing alarms to go off.

Orji is just 1-for-11 on passes that travel 11 yards or more downfield, according to the analytics experts. Michigan ranks No. 130 out of 134 FBS teams in passing yards per game, 130th in yards per attempts and123rd in passing plays of 10 yards or more. This is so unlike the Wolverines, who previously have had quarterbacks named Tom Brady, Chad Henne, Elvis Grbac and Jim Harbaugh.

“The explosiveness in the pass game needs to show up so we get faster drives,” Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said

Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle (13) stands on the sideline during the Texas game.
Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle (13) stands on the sideline during the Texas game. / Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Warren beat out Orji for the job in fall camp, but handed it back after throwing 6 interceptions in wins over Fresno State and Arkansas State and a beatdown loss delivered by Texas.

"Protecting the football is the No. 1 thing -- you've got to do that," Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said.

A 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior, Warren came to Michigan as a preferred walk-on who was treated for acute myeloid leukemia as a 17-year-old in Los Angeles. The Wolverines rewarded him with a scholarship this past January, a week following the national title game win over the UW. He had eight mop-up appearances entering this season.


Then there's the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Tuttle, now 25 and a seventh-year senior from San Marcos, California. He redshirted at Utah in 2017 and didn't play in any games. He transferred to Indiana and was a teammate with Penix for three of the lefty's four seasons there, replaced an injured Penix more than once and started four times, including in the 2021 Outback Bowl against Ole Miss, a 26-20 loss.

Tuttle appeared in six games for Michigan during the national championship run and showed promise, completing a very high-percentage 15 of 17 passes for 130 yards and a score. However, he now is believed to be dealing with an elbow injury and hasn't played yet this season.

“I’m not going to fully disclose on injuries, " Campbell told reporters this week, "but Jack is progressing in a very, very good manner.”

Orji, Warren and Tuttle -- will the Huskies see one or more of them on Saturday and can they take advantage of this perceived weakness in the Michigan lineup?

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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