Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy departed school with a 27-1 file as a starter, two wins over Ohio State and a nationwide championship. On April 25, he is anticipated to go within the first spherical of the NFL Draft.
However who will change him as quarterback for the Wolverines, who will play their annual spring sport Saturday? Listed below are Michigan’s QB choices for the 2024 season.
Alex Orji | Junior
In some ways, Orji is seen as holding an incumbency benefit though he has not began a sport for Michigan. In 2023, the 6-foot-2, 236-pounder rushed 15 occasions for 86 yards and one TD however didn’t throw a move.
Aside from McCarthy, he noticed extra enjoying time than another QB on the roster, largely as a change-of-pace runner.
“Excited to show Alex unfastened. I feel he’ll be proper within the battle subsequent 12 months for certain,” former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned earlier than the CFP sport in opposition to Alabama final season, per MLive.com.
Orji’s athleticism is off the charts — he has elite arm energy — and he’s thought of by many to be the perfect athlete on Michigan’s staff no matter place. If that skill might be paired with precision passing, Orji might be unstoppable.
Within the spring sport, we’ll see how the QB from Sachse, Texas meshes with receivers he by no means had the possibility to focus on in sport motion final season.
Jadyn Davis | Freshman
Beginning a real freshman is at all times dangerous, regardless of how gifted the participant is, but when the teaching workers does not assume Orji is reduce out for a beginning position, Davis might be the person.
Davis, a five-star recruit from Charlotte, N.C., enrolled early and traveled to the School Soccer Playoff video games with Michigan, so the 6-foot-1, 203-pounder is already entrenched in this system.
It is exhausting to think about he would’ve been so straight concerned with 2023 if the coaches thought he had no probability to compete in 2024, so anticipate him to at the least get an opportunity.
Different Choices
The quarterback battle is most probably a two-horse race between Orji and Davis, however with a lot time to go earlier than the primary sport Aug. 31 in opposition to Fresno State, it is exhausting to make sure. Different QBs may additionally get enjoying time.
Davis Warren, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior, threw 5 passes final season, none accomplished and one intercepted. It is honest to say he is on the skin wanting in on this competitors.
Nonetheless, with uncertainty on the place, Warren may enter the dialogue for starter, particularly if he performs effectively within the spring sport. Changing an injured McCarthy, he stood out within the 2022 version of the spring scrimmage.
Jack Tuttle, a grad scholar and switch from Indiana, threw extra passes in 2023 than anybody else on this record, finishing 15 of 17 makes an attempt for 130 yards and a landing and no picks.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is a former five-star recruit, and whereas he isn’t on the identical degree as Orji, he has the operating skill to pair together with his small-yet-impressive pattern dimension of passing manufacturing.
Lastly, there’s junior Jayden Denegal, who accomplished 4 of 5 passes and threw for a landing final season.
In a 45-7 win over Nebraska in 2023, the 6-foot-5, 235-pounder impressed together with his arm and legs. He wants efficiency within the spring sport to boost his profile.