Alex Orji — Michigan's 'unrelenting workaholic' QB — gets his chance to shine vs. USC

Toward the end of Alex Orji's summer break, as the Michigan quarterback inched closer to the most important competition of his career, he traveled to Atlanta for a last-minute workout with private instructor Quincy Avery, a man whose client list includes noteworthy NFL signal-callers Jalen Hurts, Deshaun Watson, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud. The two had trained together intermittently ever since the Wolverines' spring season ended, approximately 10 or 12 sessions overall, and Orji wanted to squeeze in another learning opportunity before preseason practice officially began in Ann Arbor.

But he wasn't alone. Fourteen more players from Michigan's roster accompanied Orji, despite the fact that first-year head coach Sherrone Moore had yet to name a starting quarterback. At that point, Orji was still competing with seventh-year senior Jack Tuttle, veteran Davis Warren and fellow junior Jayden Denegal for the chance to replace J.J. McCarthy, who led the Wolverines to a national championship as a junior and then entered the NFL Draft. Orji's teammates didn't seem to care. They followed him to Georgia anyway.

Alex Orji entered the 2024 season in a quarterback competition for the chance to replace J.J. McCarthy. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I've never seen that happen," Avery told FOX Sports. "I've trained a lot of guys who it wasn't like a competition, it wasn't debatable who was going to start, right? It was, ‘They are the incumbent starter, they're the guy.' But I've never seen anything like what I saw with Alex. So to me, that said a lot."

In the three years since Orji arrived at Michigan as an early enrollee, his leadership skills have never been questioned. The former three-star prospect is