Michigan’s Alex Orji is a one in a million athlete. Now it’s time to prove he can play QB

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nick Saban, Lincoln Riley and Deion Sanders all wanted Alex Orji. But Orji wanted something different.

Orji, a quarterback whose athleticism has captivated coaches at every stage of his career, will make his first start Saturday when No. 18 Michigan takes on No. 11 USC. The coach on the other end of the phone, Riley, personally offered Orji a scholarship when he was at Oklahoma, Orji’s father said. Saban also wanted Orji at Alabama, but there was a catch.

Willy Orji, Alex’s father, recalls a conversation with Saban that took place during a recruiting visit to Tuscaloosa. Saban told Alex that he could get a scholarship from Alabama, but only if he was open to another position. Alex looked at Saban, looked at his father, and explained that he had worked too hard to become a quarterback to give up the dream.

“There were a lot of people that talked to him,” said Red Behrens, Orji’s coach at Sachse High School in Texas. “I’m talking about big schools, all the head coaches. What Alex wanted to hear from them was, ‘We’re going to give you a great opportunity to be a quarterback.'”

Before college football fans got to know Coach Prime, Sanders was trying to get Orji on his team, too. Sanders ran a youth football program called Truth Sports in the Dallas metroplex, and Orji grew up playing on teams with Sanders’ sons, Shilo and Shedeur. Before becoming the head coach at Jackson State, Sanders was on the staff of Trinity Christian Academy in Dallas, the school his sons attended.

Deion wanted Orji to play for Trinity Christian, Willy said, but there was one problem. Shedeur was the quarterback, and no one was better than him. To get on the field at Trinity, Orji would have had to play another position. Instead, he decided to play at Sachse, where his quarterback highlights became legendary.

There was a time when Deion Sanders recruited Alex Orji to play for his high school team in the Dallas area. (Photo courtesy of Willy Orji)

Name one specific play against Behrens and he’ll describe it as if it happened yesterday. Orji was flushed out of the pocket and running toward the end zone. All he had to do was drop his shoulder and plow through a defensive back, but he decided to take a different route and leaped over the defender with just a few inches to spare.

“On a sporting level he is unique,” ​​said Behrens.

With so many coaches salivating over Orji’s potential, it was only a matter of time before one of them figured out how to get him on the field. And yet, Orji’s debut as Michigan’s starter has come with more than a little trepidation. Three weeks ago, Michigan evaluated its quarterback competition and decided to go with Davis Warren. It wasn’t until Warren threw six interceptions in three games that the Wolverines reversed course and made Orji the starter.

The question regarding Orji remains the same: is he a good enough passer to play quarterback at the highest level?

“He’s got great arm strength,” coach Sherrone Moore said. “The accuracy has improved tremendously. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of preparation this week mentally, physically and spiritually to get him where we need to be, and I think he’s going to do that.”

Orji was one of those high school athletes who could do a little bit of everything. He was a sprinter, a high jumper, a basketball player, a safety, a wide receiver, a linebacker and a punter. He didn’t see himself as a quarterback at first.

Orji has two older brothers, Alston and Anfernee, who played linebacker at Vanderbilt. Anfernee signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2023, spent last year on the practice squad and appeared in both of the Saints games this season.

Orji is built like a linebacker at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, and it was natural to assume he would follow in his brothers’ footsteps on defense. In high school, he began working out with Kevin Mathis, who played with Deion in Dallas and coached him throughout his career. Mathis, now the cornerbacks coach at Colorado, was the one who suggested Orji play quarterback.

“He kept trying to get him to do it,” Willy said. “Alex was comfortable with what he always did, being able to run faster than kids, being able to push faster.”

Orji started out as a quarterback in high school, but it wasn’t until his junior season at Sachse that his future at the position came into focus. He transferred to Sachse during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Behrens didn’t have many opportunities to evaluate him before the season started. Behrens put him at quarterback and quickly discovered he had a weapon.

“People trying to grab him or arm tackle him, he would break through and spin out and just keep rolling,” Behrens said. “Most high school kids didn’t like to step in front of him.”

As a senior at Sachse, Orji ran for over 1,000 yards and threw for over 2,000 yards while completing 51 percent of his passes. He was recruited by several big schools, but most wanted him as an athlete, not a quarterback. One exception was Virginia Tech, which had an offense similar to the one Orji played in at Sachse.

Orji committed to the Hokies as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2022. A few weeks before signing day, Virginia Tech cut Justin Fuente, and he decided to reevaluate his options. He visited Michigan and spoke with coach Jim Harbaugh, who said it was up to Orji to decide if and when he wanted to try another position. If Orji wanted to play quarterback, Michigan was committed to giving him the opportunity.

“As long as I’m here, we’re going to develop you and get you where you need to be,” Willy recalls Harbaugh saying.

Michigan had a package of plays for Orji last season and used him in big moments, including the Rose Bowl and the Ohio State game. When Harbaugh left for the NFL and JJ McCarthy entered the draft, Michigan’s starting quarterback job was up for grabs. Orji didn’t win the job in the spring, but most signs pointed to him being the player to take the first snap of Michigan’s season.

“Even if we’re at the top of college football, I want to continue to improve,” Orji said in the spring. “Whoever goes out there on Saturdays, whatever 11 go out on the field, I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to be selfless in my pursuit of excellence.”

By most accounts, Orji had a strong start to preseason camp. He got into a rough patch midway through and committed too many turnovers. Warren played better in the final period and won the starting position.

Of course, Willy wanted to know what had happened. Had Orji taken his foot off the gas? Was he overconfident? Was he not working hard enough? Orji chided his father, reminding him that there were more important things than being the starter. Orji vowed to be a good teammate, to support Warren where he could, and to keep working for his chance.

“If you’re a father and your child is trying to teach you something, you listen,” Willy said.

Michigan’s first drive of the season ended with Orji throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Edwards. The Wolverines used him for a snap or two at a time as a change of pace, but Warren was the primary quarterback. Despite throwing two interceptions against Texas, Warren remained the starter against Arkansas State, taking every snap of the first half. Late in the third quarter, after Warren’s third interception of the game, Michigan switched to Orji.

Moore remained silent after the game, but he made an announcement at his Monday press conference: Orji would be Michigan’s starting quarterback. The public announcement came as a surprise to some, including two Michigan players who spoke to reporters after Moore’s speech. Moore made it clear that the job was Orji’s and that he had the team’s full support.

“We have a plan for Alex and we’re ready to show it,” Moore said.

Disappointment would have been a natural reaction when Orji didn’t win the job in camp, despite being the favorite for most of the offseason. If Orji was stung by the decision, his father didn’t see it. Moore said he saw no change in Orji’s confidence or demeanor after telling the quarterbacks that Warren would open the season as the starter.

“His attitude never changed,” Moore said. “He was obviously disappointed. He’s a competitor. He’s a kid who wants to be the starting guy. If I was a quarterback running the game, I’d want to be there. But the way he led, the way he carried himself, the way he presented himself, it was no different than it is now.”

No one knows for sure how Orji’s first start will go. He’s thrown seven passes in his career, and it’s still unclear how his athleticism will translate to a full-time quarterback role. The only way to answer that question is to put the ball in his hands and see what he can do.

Now is the time for Michigan to find out.

“There were a lot of schools, but they always seemed to go back to, ‘We’ll find you a place to play,'” Behrens said. “He wanted to hear, ‘We’re going to give you a real shot at being a quarterback.’ Michigan gave him that chance.”

(Top photo: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)