Michigan's Alex Orji embodies demeanor of starting QB; will it translate to wins?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — From the moment Alex Orji bounded down the Lloyd Carr Tunnel on Saturday, launching himself into the coolness and crispness of a chilly April morning at Michigan Stadium, the rising junior behaved like the Wolverines' starting quarterback, even if that title has yet to be bestowed. He loped onto the turf with a hop and a skip that foretold his confidence in the race to replace J.J. McCarthy.

Scores of fans cheered as Orji joined his fellow quarterbacks for warmups on the opposite side of the field. The younger ones asked him for autographs and pictures. The older ones whooped and clapped having seen what Orji did as a situational runner last season, most notably his 20-yard carry at a critical juncture against Ohio State. All of them knew that the spring game to come would be their first real glimpse of what Orji could do.

"I'm just ready to help the team win, you know?" Orji said. "Whatever it takes. If I'm taking snaps and I'm launching bombs, or if I'm running the rock — whatever it is — as long as we score more points than the other team."

Orji's team failed to outscore its opponent during a nationally televised Maize vs. Blue game in which the coaches split the roster in half via draft. But the final outcome was always going to be less important than what Michigan's quarterbacks showed along the way, playing before an announced crowd of 31,602 on Saturday afternoon. Of the five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, four of them are still in contention to win the starting job: Orji, Davis Warren, Jayden Denegal and Jack Tuttle, though the latter is currently sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

The only scholarship quarterback who doesn't seem to be in the mix is true freshman Jadyn Davis, a