The Michigan football coaches apparently saw enough on Saturday to make a quarterback change.
After senior Davis Warren threw his third interception of the afternoon late in the third quarter against Arkansas State, the Wolverines switched to backup Alex Orji, who took over on the next series.
Warren defeated Orji in a battle for the best quarterbacks that lasted from the spring through the final week of fall camp. In the days leading up to the season opener against Fresno State, head coach Sherrone Moore told Warren he had won the job.
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Warren completed 15 of 25 passes for 118 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but Moore chalked it up to first-start nerves and said there were a lot of good things. The concerns continued last week when UM was trounced by Texas, 31-12.
In that game, Michigan was forced to pass early, which didn’t help Warren, but he also didn’t help the offense enough. In his second career start, Warren completed 22 of 33 passes for 204 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions as UM lost at home for the first time since 2020.
The Wolverines had little trouble moving the ball for 250 yards on Saturday against Arkansas State, but Warren threw interceptions in each of the first three quarters, and each one seemed more puzzling than the last.
On the first interception, there was apparently a miscommunication with running back Donovan Edwards on a play-action pass. He took the fake handoff on the wrong side of Warren and then missed a block assignment. Warren was forced to lose his back foot and made a questionable decision on a dump-off that was intercepted.
Just before halftime, Warren attempted an out-route pass to Semaj Morgan, but he was elbowed as he threw and the ball went straight to a defensive back. The final interception came in the third quarter when he again tried to find Morgan, but this time he threw the pass too far into the waiting arms of the safety.
This season, Warren completed 48 of 72 passes for 444 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Who is Alex Orji? Michigan makes QB change, benches Davis Warren
