Michigan Wolverines – No. 10 | |
---|---|
Position | Quarterback |
Class | ![]() |
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 | |
|
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.
Early life and high school
[edit]Orji 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
[edit]Orji enrolled at the University of Michigan in 2022. 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.
As a junior, Orji entered as the favorite to replace McCarthy as Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2024, competing with Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren and Jayden Denegal.[12][13]
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 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Career | 9 | 0 | 0−0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 142.0 | 21 | 123 | 5.9 | 3 |
Personal life
[edit]Orji has two older brothers, Anfernee and Alston.[14] Anfernee plays for the New Orleans Saints as a linebacker.[15] Alston played linebacker for Vanderbilt and Campbell.[16]
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. "Alex Orji flips commitment, signs with Michigan". Sachse News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Alex Orji Recruiting Profile". ESPN.
- ^ Riddle, Greg. "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. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan. "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. "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. "RGIII Gives Us The Alex Orji Commentary We All Wanted". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan. "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.
- ^ "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.