After three weeks of seeing the field sparingly as the backup quarterback, Alex Orji was thrust into the starting role against USC in a major Week 4 tilt. Michigan got the win 27-24, but it wasn’t because of the passing game. Orji was 7-for-12 for 32 yards on the day. Between defensive effort and a great run game, it propelled the Wolverines to a signature win.
Following the game, head coach Sherrone Moore told reporters he thought Orji handled himself well and he didn’t turn the ball over which was a big concern for the Wolverines in the first three weeks.
On Monday, Moore went in front of the media and confirmed Orji would remain the starting quarterback and he said he was the right quarterback for the system. He complimented Orji on the way he handled things and the way he ran the offense.
“Alex will be the starter again and there’s definitely more to the game and more things that we have complemented for him and for the offense,” Moore said of Orji heading into Minnesota. “But I thought he did a good job, took care of the football for us, which was the number one thing we wanted. And was a great team player, did all the things we asked him. Ran extremely hard when he asked him to, so proud of him and proud of his performance.”
It’s no secret the Wolverines have a run-first identity. It continued onto this season and running back Kalel Mullings has been leading that charge. He erupted for 159 yards and two scores against the Trojans. But Moore says the plan is to keep implementing more packages for Orji through the air. The passing game should complement the run game, but if teams aren’t going to stop the run — keep running the football.
“Yeah, it was good. Good to get that first experience as a starter and play, especially in a big-time game and great atmosphere like it was on Saturday,” Moore said of Orji’s first start. “So, yeah, there’s a good bit that we can add and things that we can do to complement the running game. Obviously, the running game was successful, but we want to be balanced and we’ve had years in the past where we’ve had those games like that and we’ve had to win like that and not afraid to win like that as long as we win. So, we’ll definitely just keep rolling.”
What can Orji continue to work on moving forward as the starting quarterback at Michigan? Moore says Orji can throw the football, he’s shown that. It’s getting that continued confidence in himself that he can do that at any moment in the game. He says he believes once Orji connects on a few passes in-game, his confidence will soar.
“Yeah, I think the continual confidence of starting a second game,” said Moore. “I think that’s huge. There’s nothing like the experience and continuing to do it. He’s already a confident kid, but I think as you continue to progress and see that you can do it, you make those throws, you make those down-the-field throws and do those things in practice, and then it leads to the game, those will show up even more. So just ready for him to keep the confidence and keep the level of confidence up for him.”
You can watch Orji and the Wolverines in action again on Saturday when Michigan hosts Minnesota at Noon ET on Fox.
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Publish date : 2024-09-23 12:13:00
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