ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Members of Michigan’s national championship team walked away from Saturday’s spring game with four championship rings and, in the case of Jim Harbaugh, some fresh ink to commemorate Michigan’s 15-0 season.
Members of the 2024 team, meanwhile, walked away with a reminder of how far they have to go to reach those heights, particularly on offense. Fortunately, there’s a long runway between now and Sept. 7, when Texas will come to Michigan Stadium for a “Big Noon” game on Fox that will be one of the first must-see matchups of the 2024 season.
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“That’s something coach Harbaugh talked about a lot, preparing the plane for takeoff,” quarterback Alex Orji said. “You’re going to start on the ground. You’re not going to levitate up. It’s not really a helicopter of an offense — it’s an airplane.”
Based on Saturday’s scrimmage, there could be a few bumps on takeoff. Here are five thoughts from the Maize team’s 17-7 victory.
Don’t forget about Warren
Orji got most of the buzz this spring as the player staking a claim to the starting quarterback job. Davis Warren has been around the longest of any quarterback on Michigan’s roster, and it’s easy to pigeonhole him as the steady-handed backup who isn’t quite a Big Ten starter.
Could Warren be more than that? He stated his case Saturday by throwing touchdown passes of 48 and 42 yards in the fourth quarter. The first was a rainbow to Kendrick Bell, who slipped behind the defense and cradled the ball in the end zone. On the next series, Warren threw on the run and hit Fredrick Moore in stride as Moore angled across the field and won a footrace to the pylon with DJ Waller.
B1G throw from Warren 🤝 B1G catch for the TD by Bell.#B1GFootball x @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/7SojM23cmw
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 20, 2024
On a blustery afternoon without many passing highlights, Warren made the three best throws of the day: the two touchdowns and a 35-yard strike to tight end Deakon Tonielli in the first quarter. Warren has played well in spring games during his career, but he was always behind J.J. McCarthy and, going back to 2021, Cade McNamara. Those throws mean more now that Michigan’s quarterback job is up for grabs.
“I think I’ve proven to myself and proven to these guys that I’m capable of being the starting quarterback here,” Warren said. “It’s obviously going to take a lot more work. We’ve got a big summer ahead of us, a big fall. The standard is set.”
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Resetting the QB hierarchy
With no designed quarterback runs or live hits, Orji didn’t have a chance to show the full range of what he can do, though he offered a glimpse on the Blue team’s opening drive with an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown. Orji missed a few throws but was accurate on most of his short passes, going 13-of-18 passes for 103 yards. He’s confident he can push the ball down the field, even if he hasn’t had the chance to show it in a live setting.
“Everything comes with reps,” Orji said. “(I’m) just getting comfortable with doing certain things, working on the short, the intermediate, the deep.”
Orji and Warren, the starters for their respective teams, appear to be separating from Jadyn Davis and Jayden Denegal, the second quarterbacks for each squad. Davis, one of the headliners of Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class, didn’t take as many first-string reps as the other quarterbacks, a sign that Michigan isn’t rushing him into a competition before he’s ready. After a rough start to the spring, Denegal played better in subsequent practices but didn’t do a lot Saturday to make up ground, going 2-for-6 passing with an interception.
The wild card is Jack Tuttle, who threw a bit this spring but wasn’t in pads for Saturday’s scrimmage. Tuttle should be cleared to participate in the summer, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said. Michigan will continue evaluating the options until someone rises to the top.
“If a guy emerges, we’re going to roll with that,” Campbell said. “If a guy doesn’t, we’ve got to push somebody to get that done.”
That's a strike! ❌
Alex Orji knocks down all the pins to celebrate the first TD in @UMichFootball's spring game. 😆
📺: FOX/@CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/1A3s42rJhT
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) April 20, 2024
O-line grade: incomplete
Michigan was even more short-handed than expected on the offensive line, as Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe sat out the scrimmage alongside left tackle Myles Hinton and guard Giovanni El-Hadi.
“(Priebe) got a little bit banged up, cut his lip at the end of spring,” Campbell said. “Nothing major at all. I would have loved to see him out there today. That guy’s a warrior. Gio El-Hadi wasn’t out there. That’s another guy who’s going to be a big part of our offensive line.”
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Greg Crippen played snaps at center while sporting a cast on his left hand. Raheem Anderson, Amir Herring and Dominick Giudice were among the players who saw time on the interior, and Michigan had two young players at left tackle in freshman Blake Frazier and sophomore Evan Link. Frazier is noticeably slender at 6-feet-6 and 275 pounds but had some nice reps in his Michigan debut.
“You evaluate them all individually,” Campbell said. “Whether it’s a double-team block or a single block, they’ve still got to do the proper footwork, step the right direction, execute their assignment the right way. It’s easy for us to pop on the film and see if they did the right thing.”
DB battle continues
DJ Waller and Jyaire Hill each had their moments at cornerback. On one play, Davis rolled out and lobbed a pass down the sideline for Peyton O’Leary, who was close to making the catch before Hill got his hand on the ball at the last moment. Waller’s big play was an interception on a pass Denegal forced into coverage, though Waller lost the ball at the end of his return.
Waller is a big, physical corner who strikes an imposing figure on the field at 6-3 and 205 pounds. At 6-2 and 181, Hill is more of a “technician,” in the words of receiver Fredrick Moore. Each player brings something distinct, and the ability to create different matchups should be one of Michigan’s strengths.
“The DB room is pretty athletic,” Moore said. “You see a different flavor of everybody every day at practice. You don’t know what to expect.”
Players who stood out
Michigan is hoping Moore can emerge as a third wide receiver, and he took a step in that direction with four catches for 76 yards. He’s an explosive athlete with the ball in his hands, but in terms of size and strength in the receiving corps, there’s a noticeable difference from last season, when Michigan had two veterans in Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson.
“I’ve been in the weight room a lot, and I’ve been on my nutrition a lot,” said Moore, who’s listed at 6-1, 180. “My nutrition wasn’t that good. I was not eating much. Me having a high metabolism, when I eat, I just burn it off.”
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Edge rusher TJ Guy, one of Michigan’s spring standouts, was credited with a sack on a play where he was in the backfield almost as soon as Davis caught the snap. Aymeric Koumba, a sophomore edge from France, looked noticeably bigger and stronger than the last time he was on the field. Two freshmen, edge Dominic Nichols and linebacker Cole Sullivan, made plays in the backfield, with Sullivan’s coming on fourth down.
“I think he blew up a guard on one play, made a couple tackles in the backfield,” Campbell said. “I know I’m an offensive coach, but that stuck to me.”
Donovan Edwards played only one series, but that was enough to show why Michigan believes he’s ready to shine as the No. 1 running back. The Blue team’s makeshift offensive line opened a few creases, and Edwards looked more confident and decisive on his five carries than he did throughout much of last season.
“I know it was short, but I thought he ran one of the hardest I’ve ever seen him run,” Campbell said. “I told him that at halftime. I was proud of him.”
(Photo of Alex Orji: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images)
