Name: Alex Orji
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 226 lbs.
High school: Sachse (TX) Sachse
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #10
Last year: Orji was a senior in high school (LINK). He completed 127/247 (51.4%) of his passes for 2,064 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions; he also ran for 1,187 yards and 24 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 55
Orji committed to Michigan in December 2021 after being committed to play quarterback at Virginia Tech. He was the second QB at VT, and he became the second QB at Michigan. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but that is probably not a good sign for him to continue his career at quarterback. If a school can't settle on a player as its quarterback in the class, then the school is probably hedging its bets.
Orji enrolled early, and in the spring game, they used him a little bit. He made some throws that didn't look good, and then he ran the ball where he looked okay. Personally, I have surmised that he will end up at linebacker or tight end/H-back. He has two older brothers who have played linebacker at the collegiate level, and while there's probably no genetic predisposition to play linebacker, the body type and athletic skills seem to lend themselves to that position. However, Michigan has often allowed eventual position-switchers to spend one year competing at their preferred position before moving, so maybe we'll see Orji be a running QB in a game or two this season before a change comes.
Prediction: Redshirt
What you say about 2 QBs doesn't sound good for Jayden Dengal either.
ReplyDeleteI'm not high on Denegal, either.
DeleteDunno about this 2 QB theory. OSU took 2 QBs in 2020, one was CJ Stroud. Alabama has 2 top 100 QB recruits in their current class. Nothing wrong with taking 2 at all.
ReplyDeleteScholarship QBs on OSU's roster in 2020:
DeleteStroud (freshman)
Miller (freshman)
Gunnar Hoak (transfer)
Fields (junior who left for NFL)
OSU took two quarterbacks because they had nobody and they knew Fields was likely to leave.
OK but Michigan is in a similarly precarious position at QB. One of the top 2 are widely expected to leave after this season, Bowman's eligibility will expire, so they'll be down to 1 scholarship veteran. The 2022 class is going to have to provide most of the depth. It would have been foolish to take only 1 QB.
DeleteThis is why that, while I appreciate the rationale about Orji moving positions and don't have any real argument with the evaluation of skills -- I do wonder if positional need will keep him there longer than people think.
When Michigan signed Orji and Denegal, they had McNamara (eligible through 2024), McCarthy (2024), Dan Villari (2024), and Bowman (2022). That put them at 6 scholarship quarterbacks for 2022 and potentially 5 through 2024.
DeleteWhen Ohio State signed Stroud and Miller, that put them at 4 for 2020. Those freshmen constituted 50% of the quarterbacks on the roster.
Those are not equivalent situations.
Michigan also took two quarterbacks in 2015. One stayed at QB and transferred (Malzone) and the other moved to WR/TE by bowl practices (Gentry).
I'm not a gambler, but I would be willing to bet a small amount of money that Orji either finishes his career at a different position or at a lower level of football. He's not an FBS level quarterback.
Wouldn't surprise me at all. Gentry, like Orji, was considered a multi-positional prospect as a recruit. He decommitted from Texas because he wanted to be a QB. It was not a shock when he eventually moved to TE at all. And no one will be shocked if Orji moves eventually either.
DeleteMy only disagreement is that taking 2 QBs is a somehow indicative of a deficiency in the QB prospect. If Alabama and OSU are doing it, it's probably not a bad idea. They're doing it with pure QBs not multi-position athletes. Stroud is better than Miller but Miller is still good enough to be recruited to Florida to compete for their starting job. You can call this "hedging your bets" but I call it "having a competition". That's just the smart thing to do. It's really not all that different than taking quality QB in consecutive classes - because, as you are fond of pointing out - QBs rarely are going to just sit and wait around happily for 4 years without starting anyway.
I'm not sure why you're quibbling with OSU have 50% of the scholarship QBs in 2020 being freshman and Michigan having 40% of the scholarship QBs in 2022 being freshman. That's not much of a difference - the bigger difference is the caliber of recruit and the timing - this is primarily a move for 2023. Michigan doesn't need instant depth need but that doesn't mean the writing isn't on the wall for next year. And, unlike Bama or OSU, Michigan isn't recruiting 5-star QBs regularly to be able to fix the problem at the drop of a hat. They need time to develop their QBs (e.g., McNamara) or otherwise they have to find transfers.
The alternative is putting all your eggs in one basket. Michigan learned about the problems with that approach back in the Drew Henson experience.
Orji and/or Dengal project to be a key players in 2023. If they both struggle badly in 2022 then Michigan will go to the portal for help.
In an age of increased player mobility and NIL you're going to see more and more 2-QB classes at major programs, IMO.
The constant speculation about a position switch in 2023 or beyond is pretty boring at this point. All this talk about Orji's future but what about 2022? I'm looking forward to seeing the kid play QB in a few weeks time.
ReplyDeleteHarbaugh has effectively used true freshman as running QBs multiple times - including McCarthy and Milton. He's also used older backups like McCaffrey and Villari. It's always been interesting to watch even if most of them haven't been reliable passers. It's worked.
Seems likely that Orji could see meaningful action in a run package and with how he's a built I could see a physical between the tackles runs with him in there - as a counterbalance to what might be a more outside-heavy rushing attack with Edwards and Corum.
I don't think Orji is a critical player, but I think he could be an entertaining one to watch.
I talked about 2022. I said he will probably stay at QB for at least a year, said we might see him as a running QB, etc.
DeleteYeah to clarify - it was a more general comment about people's Orji takes - not intended as a criticism of the post specifically, even though it is mostly oriented around him switching positions. I don't disagree with the evaluation just the focus of the convo around Orji.
DeleteI see Orji as a guy who I think will probably be one of the handful of freshman that make an immediate contribution. BUT - I agree with the ranking because I think that's probably a contribution that could be made by any number of folks (i.e., something closer to a 4th string RB than a backup DB).
He's not simply inaccurate, he's wild. I've never seen an inaccurate passer coached up to accurate. As far as I'm concerned, to improve a wild arm to accurate enough for this level would be a unicorn event for the ages.
ReplyDeleteI liked his high school film for a running back, he's got some size, can break a tackle, some acceleration and blow by, and mostly I like that his head is up and he's looking for space to run into, which is definitely a Qb thing.
But, two brothers having played Lb at a high level tells me that he'll be moving to a definite position of need on this team, Lb. Boring or not.
You might not be aware of this, but frequently former Qbs do well upon moving to Lb.
Yeah, bad at passing is not something that gets fixed ... I don't see him sticking at QB for M
DeleteBut he did see the field before the other guy ... to the portal we must go
I'm not doubting these takes about Orji's passing abilities and I won't pretend to be able to scout HS highlights better than the folks on this board. If you're saying he'll never start at Michigan - I'm not trying to argue.
DeleteMy issue is this -- what does 2023 QB depth chart to look like if Orji is out of the picture? Do you feel confident with Denegal as the #2 and some unnamed TBD freshman as #3? Do you think Harbaugh will change course and NOT want a running-packing QB who can rotate in? Do you think portal QBs are going to be rushing into the door to be a backup to either McNamara (presumably heading into 4th year as a starter) or McCarthy (the guy who unseated them) right after one of those guys leaves for greener pastures?
Yes, I'm making an assumption here that Michigan will lose at least one veteran QB to the portal. This isn't a hot take - it's happened literally every year to Michigan (Malzone, Peters, McCaffrey, Milton, Villari). Moreover, it's common practice across college football in this here year of 2022. Everyone knows how important QBs are and there's NIL money even at places like EMU for impact players.
If Dante Moore was on the way here I'd probably have a different perspective. If I had confidence that Warren Davis was going to be content to sit behind McCarthy/McNamara for 3 seasons I might feel different. If starting caliber QBs and high end backups weren't bouncing from program to program constantly, I might feel more assured.
As is, I think there's value in having depth QBs with a specific skillset even if they are never going to be mistaken for Drew Brees. I think either Michigan will find another running QB and bring them into the 2023 class OR Orji will stick at QB in 2023 just to keep the depth chart from looking like a disaster.
I'm not saying it's likely but what I HOPE happens is that Orji is weapon as a runner his freshman year. Maybe just in low leverage situations or maybe as a short-yardage package. And maybe he is a bit better at passing than folks expect. Building off a successful 2022 he goes into 2023 acknowledged as a useful QB, even if no one expects him to ever start a game.
DeleteIs he playing LB instead? Why not both! Harbaugh gets off on this kind of stuff. A QB in on special teams? A QB playing both ways? Sign him up.
If Michael Barrett couldn't make it at QB at Michigan Alex Orji has zero chance of it. Michael Barrett was a pretty good QB in a tough conference in Georgia.
ReplyDeleteBarrett would have had to compete with Patterson, McCaffrey, Milton, McNamara, and McCarthy. Come next year Orji will be competing with probably 1 veteran (McCarthy or McNamara), Denegal, plus whatever leftover Michigan grabs in the '23 class (most are already committed).
DeleteThe redshirt is the big thing I'm watching for this upcoming year. If he keeps it, it opens up a position change and also lets him have more time potentially to develop as a QB. But if they want to use him in a package right away, and/or envision him being ready to take on a big role in 2023, they may not worry about him.
ReplyDeletePer Mgoblog "Orji was always higher on Michigan's board than Denegal because Weiss (who had Lamar Jackson with the Ravens) wants that running threat."
The McNamara/McCarthy competition could also factor as we maybe get some insight into what the 2023 QB room is going to look like.