Sherrone Moore explains why Michigan football publicly announced Alex Orji as QB starter
All offseason long, Michigan football kept its quarterback battle tight to the chest.
U-M coaches didn’t want to give away who would win the starting job headed into the season, senior Davis Warren or junior Alex Orji, and appeared to instruct players to keep the decision internal as long as possible.
That decision, picking Warren, lasted three weeks. The senior from Los Angeles was benched in the third quarter of last week’s game against Arkansas State after he threw his third interception of the game.
It was the sixth in just 11 quarters for Warren and ultimately head coach Sherrone Moore opted to bench him for Orji.
Many expected Moore to stick to his usual refrain Monday — those who practice the best will play — but that’s not what happened.
Instead, Moore, in the first month of his coaching tenure, announced the offense would make a switch and go with Orji on Saturday in the Big Ten opener for Michigan (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) against a conference newcomer, No. 12 USC (2-0, 0-0).
Moore explained why he made such a declarative statement in advance of what could be a tipping point in the Wolverines’ 2024 season, speaking on WXYT-FM (97.1) on Wednesday morning with Jim Costa and co-host and Wolverines radio color commentator Jon Jansen.
