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Michigan names Alex Orji new starting QB for showdown vs. USC in Big Ten opener

Michigan football has made a change at quarterback ahead of its Big Ten season opener vs. No. 12 USC.

Head coach Sherrone Moore told reporters Monday afternoon that Alex Orji has been named the starter moving forward and Davis Warren will move to the bench beginning this week against the Trojans (2-0) in their first Big Ten matchup.

“Alex will start on Saturday,” Moore said Monday from Ann Arbor. “Excited for him. He’s been in here champing at the bit.”

Warren was anointed as the starter by Moore and offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell after he was determined to be the winner of a position battle that began in spring, spilled into summer and wasn’t decided until the final week of fall camp.

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Michigan quarterback Alex Orji warms up before the game against Fresno State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

Though Warren was said to have out-practiced Orji at the time, as Moore said, game reps would be the final determining factor and to this point Warren had not gotten the job done. The senior from Los Angeles completed 48 of 72 passes (66.7%) for 444 yards, however he threw just two touchdowns compared to six interceptions.

“It’s a tough situation when the big thing we talk about protecting the football and it gets put in harms way,” Moore said. “But (Warren), he’s a great team player. Watch him on the field after and celebrate Alex’s touchdown…not much I needed to tell him to hype him up or support him.

“We will continue to support him…but at the end of the day we have to play the guys we think will help us win.”

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Orji, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound athlete from Sachse, Texas, has long provided a rushing upside. He has run…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-names-alex-orji-starting-172049466.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-09-16 17:20:49

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