The argument, before head coach Sherrone Moore stepped in and stepped up to end the debate, went something like this – taken right off Facebook (your source for everything important in 2024).
Ed: Davis Warren isn’t your typical walk-on. He had limited tape in high school because he was battling cancer. He’s a very talented QB who would be helped by a better running game and receivers who didn’t drop balls.
Brian: This is Michigan! We can and should be better at recruiting, especially at QB.
Sherrone: Alex Orji is the starter for Saturday’s showdown against USC.
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So much for former walk-on Davis Warren, who has thrown six interceptions in the two and a half games he’s played in, including three against Arkansas State. We may not have seen the last of Warren. Sometimes, quarterbacks figure it out and maybe taking a step back will allow him to take two steps forward and stop throwing the ball to the other team.
He’s easy to root for and did show some positive signs at times during these first three games. Opportunity may knock again for the young man.
But it all comes back to what Brian said, “this is Michigan!” And what that means is expectations are as big as the stadium they play in and the schedule doesn’t allow for players to settle in and find their groove. They get 2-3 games to prove they can get the job done and Coach Moore decided that Warren didn’t prove enough to justify him playing at least this week.
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Orji should bring plenty of excitement and not just for his athletic abilities. The guy they bring in to replace the guy who didn’t succeed always gets a brief honeymoon period – maybe the first quarter on Saturday. And fans are going to be excited to see what Orji can do as the starter.
Warren finished 11-for-14 passing for 121 yards and the three picks on Saturday. Orji wasn’t exactly Tom Brady or JJ McCarthy, completing just 2 of 4 passes for 12 yards, but he was something different than what wasn’t working consistently in the first three games.
What was working was the ground game. The Wolverines ran for 301 yards in the 28-18 win over Arkansas State. Kalel Mullings (153 yards on 15 carries) and Donovan Edwards (82 yards on 17 carries) both had big days with Mullings breaking off three runs of 30 yards or more with two touchdowns.
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The Trojans, coming to Ann Arbor for just the second time, knocked off LSU and are now ranked 11th by the AP while Michigan falls to 18th following the loss to Texas and the win over Arkansas State.
Michigan has a lot of question marks right now but one big one will be answered on Saturday – are the Wolverines any good and are they a legitimate playoff contender in 2024-25? It’s hard to believe that the whole season is on the line in week 4 but that’s the reality of the situation. Apparently, Coach Moore agrees – after all, this is Michigan!
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