Michigan QB battle off and running in spring practices

Michigan Football opened spring practices this week, and the biggest position battle is at quarterback. One, obviously, because it is the most critical position on the field, and two, because five players are competing.

During a media availability on Thursday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore gave a breakdown of what he has seen from his quarterbacks in the first week of spring.

"Start with the oldest, Jack, ‘Uncle Jack’ they call him," Moore said. "A guy that's played a lot of football. He’s got a great arm, great ability to run, can be a dual-threat guy but also very cerebral in the pocket. So a guy that can do that for you, he’s been very impressive, everything he’s done in the past and just excited for him."

Jack Tuttle is entering his 7th college football season, 2nd at Michigan. Last season's backup has the early edge with his experience and leadership. Seen as the high-floor candidate, if he can continue to put it together as a do-it-all quarterback, it will be hard not to start "Uncle Jack."

"Alex Orji, obviously a freak athlete. Really the ability for him to be a game-changer with the ball in his hand, running the football is what he really has a different element from the other guys we’ve seen it in the past. But it’s not like he can’t throw. He can and he’s throwing pretty well as he’s gone through the spring time."

Michigan knows it has a freak athlete that it can trust in big moments when it comes to Orji. As Moore said, he brings a running element Michigan has not had during the Harbaugh era. Moore addressed the biggest concern with Orji, his ability to pass. Underwhelming high school stats and no serious college attempts makes Orji's arm a question mark.

"Jayden Denegal, taller, more of a pocket guy. As we go through, probably more of a pocket passer."

It may be easy to read into the lack of detail from Moore here as an indictment of Denegal. But the reality is, this is what Denegal is, the pocket passer. Being accurate and making smart decisions is the most important part about playing quarterback at Michigan. He may not add the extra levels Tuttle and Orji can when it comes to running the ball, so he has to be the better passer and protect the football.

"Davis Warren, probably kind of has a little bit of a mix of all of them as well. A little bit smaller in stature, but very cerebral with a good arm."

Warren is bouncing back from an injury that limited him in 2023. What made Michigan love Warren is still there, however. A high IQ quarterback, Warren probably isn't the best at anything in this battle, but he is really good at everything. His arm is better than most realize, it will keep him in this competition.

"Jadyn Davis, the young freshman. very excited about him. He’s picked up stuff super fast. But you never know with a freshman. So we’ll see but he has all the abilities. So excited for him. He’s kind of a mix of all of them, he can do a little bit of everything. So super excited for him."

Throughout previewing this competition, it's been easy to discount Davis' chances, but you shouldn't As Moore said, you never know with a freshman, but Davis is, well, "exciting." It isn't about ability when it comes to Davis, and it isn't about the intangibles either. Davis is ahead of the curve in many ways, but what he'll have to show is he can be consistent. That the staff can trust him. With every other QB having multiple years in the program, Davis has a lot of catching up to do this offseason.

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