Alexander Orji (born November 10, 2003) is an American football quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines. He won a national championship with Michigan in 2023 as a backup.
 Orji with the Michigan Wolverines in 2024 | |
| Michigan Wolverines – No. 10 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | November 10, 2003 |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | Michigan (2022–present) |
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Sachse (Sachse, Texas) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life and high school
editOrji attended Sachse High School in Sachse, Texas. He started his junior year and senior year, completing 226 of his 436 passes for 3,467 yards and 38 touchdowns, while also rushing for 2,113 yards and 39 touchdowns.[1] Orji was rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports,[2] and a four-star recruit by ESPN, which ranked him #251 overall.[3] He originally committed to play college football for Virginia Tech,[4][5] but de-committed from the Hokies and signed with the Michigan Wolverines.[6][7][8]
College career
editFreshman and sophomore seasons (2022-2023)
editIn 2022, Orji enrolled at the University of Michigan. As a true freshman, he rushed six times for 37 yards and two touchdowns, while also completing his only pass attempt for five yards.[9] Orji scored his first career touchdown in his first career game, versus Colorado State on September 3, 2022.
In 2023, Orji was J. J. McCarthy’s back-up, finishing Michigan’s national championship season with 15 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown. He did not attempt a pass. In week 8, Orji carried the ball five times for 27 yards and a touchdown in a win over rival Michigan State.[10] In the week 13 victory versus Ohio State he rushed twice for 22 yards,[11] also rushing twice for 15 yards in the national championship game victory versus the Washington Huskies.
Junior season (2024)
editIn 2024, Orji entered his junior season as the favorite to replace McCarthy as Michigan’s starting quarterback, competing with Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren and Jayden Denegal.[12][13] For the first game of the 2024 season versus Fresno State, Orji was not named the starting quarterback, but back-up to Davis Warren. He still earned playing time, throwing his first collegiate touchdown pass, a three yard reception by Donovan Edwards, while also rushing five times for 32 yards.[14][15] In week three versus Arkansas State, Orji replaced Davis Warren as quarterback in the second half after Warren threw a third interception. Orji went on to throw his second touchdown of the season to secure Michigan’s win.[16]
In week four versus USC, Sherrone Moore named Orji the starting quarterback for the start of Big Ten Conference play; his first collegiate start.[17][18] He led the Wolverines to a 27-24 victory versus the No. 11 ranked Trojans, completing seven of twelve passes for 32 yards and rushing for 43 yards.[19] In week five against Minnesota, Orji made his second career start, leading Michigan to a 27-24 win in consecutive weeks and retaining the Little Brown Jug for the Wolverines. He was 10 of 18 for 86 yards, with a touchdown and his first career interception.[20] In week six versus the Washington Huskies, Orji was benched after the first quarter in place of Jack Tuttle after Michigan quickly went down two scores. Tuttle went on to be named the starting quarterback the following game, supplanting Orji as Michigan’s third starting quarterback in 2024.[21] In week nine, Davis Warren earned his fourth start of the season versus Michigan State. Orji served as the change of pace quarterback, leading the team with 64 rushing yards and had a touchdown run for a second consecutive season against the Spartans, as Michigan defeated Michigan State 24-17.[22]
Statistics
edit| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Michigan Wolverines | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0−0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 142.0 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 0−0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 15 | 86 | 5.7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | 1–0 | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 47 | 4.7 | 2 | 0 | 114.2 | 23 | 101 | 4.4 | 0 | |
| Career | 13 | 1 | 1−0 | 11 | 19 | 57.9 | 52 | 4.7 | 2 | 0 | 115.6 | 44 | 224 | 5.1 | 3 | |
Personal life
editOrji has two older brothers, Anfernee and Alston.[23] Anfernee plays for the New Orleans Saints as a linebacker.[24] Alston played linebacker for Vanderbilt and Campbell.[25]
References
edit- ^ Al-Khateeb, Zac. "Who is Alex Orji? Jim Harbaugh says Alabama's Jalen Milroe 'polished' version of Michigan QB". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Grondin, Kyle (December 15, 2021). "Alex Orji flips commitment, signs with Michigan". Sachse News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Alex Orji Recruiting Profile". ESPN.
- ^ Riddle, Greg (December 15, 2021). "Sachse QB Alex Orji has late change of heart, flips from Virginia Tech to Michigan". Dallas News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Sachse QB Alex Orji, a SportsDayHS Top-50 recruit, commits to Virginia Tech". Dallas News. April 8, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan (December 18, 2021). "Why 2022 QB Alex Orji decommitted from Virginia Tech and signed with Michigan". MLive.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Michael. "Michigan football snatches 2022 dual-threat QB Alex Orji from Virginia Tech". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Brown, Brandon (December 15, 2021). "Michigan Flips Two-Way Athlete Away From Virginia Tech". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Alex Orji 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Knoop, Trent (October 23, 2023). "RGIII Gives Us The Alex Orji Commentary We All Wanted". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan (December 30, 2023). "Michigan QB Alex Orji turns heads during Rose Bowl prep. What's his future?". MLive.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan's Alex Orji embodies demeanor of starting QB; Will it translate to wins?". Fox Sports.
- ^ "Michigan football QB update: Alex Orji will start in 2024, insider suggests". 247Sports.
- ^ "For Michigan starter Davis Warren, QB rotation with Alex Orji just like practice". MLive. September 2, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan v. Fresno State (2024)". ESPN.
- ^ "Michigan v. Arkansas State (2024)". ESPN.
- ^ "Michigan names Alex Orji starting QB: Wolverines make significant change on offense ahead of USC showdown". CBS.
- ^ "Michigan names Alex Orji new starting QB for showdown vs. USC in Big Ten opener". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ "Michigan v. USC (2024)". ESPN.
- ^ "Michigan v. Minnesota (2024)". ESPN.
- ^ Garcia, Tony. "Michigan football names 'Uncle' Jack Tuttle starting quarterback, adds 5th captain". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan v. Michigan State (2024)". ESPN.
- ^ "Rivals.com - Alex Orji continuing family tradition of top prospects". n.rivals.com. September 26, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "Anfernee Orji - New Orleans Saints Linebacker". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "Alston Orji Biography". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2024.