Junior Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy led his Wolverines to a perfect 15-0 season with a national title to show for it throughout 2023-24; however, his time in the Maize and Blue is coming to an end. In his place could be either Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal, or a number of other potential replacements, and from Jim Harbaugh sharing insight to Kirk Campbell adding hype, the QB1 competition in Ann Arbor is heating up heading into the first year of the Sherrone Moore era.
Michigan football quarterback battle between Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal is getting exciting
It’s a big offseason for Michigan football under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, who took over after Jim Harbaugh left for the LA Chargers. As Moore looks to replenish his staff and fish through the transfer portal to strengthen his roster, there is a lot of buzz about the current quarterback battle, which features Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal for the time being.
Below is some of what former Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh had to say about the quarterback battle at his alma matter right now.
Sherrone Moore OC Kirk Campbell gives more insight
Additionally, Kirk Campbell appeared on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ show where he gave some insight into the Wolverines’ position battle and where things stand. Side note: this was Campbell’s first interview since being promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.
“Embrace it,” he said of the Michigan football quarterback battle. “We embrace it. We know that there’s only one guy that’s going to take snaps come Saturdays, but we embrace competition. We’re going to push each other to be better. Everybody’s going to support everybody, which is unique, and how the culture of the room has been built. And nobody’s going to root for anybody’s lack of success. We’re only going to root for people’s success, and we’re going to attack the lack that. I’m going to coach everybody hard, but I’m going to love them, too. We’re going to take it one day at a time and make sure they’re in the best position to succeed on Saturdays.”
Big things are expected from Michigan football
When the spring transfer portal opens, there is a solid chance that the Wolverines go after a new QB1 ahead of the 2024 season. That said, Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal have been at the center of plenty of hype since last summer, so we’ll see if either of these two rising junior signal-callers can win the job outright heading into year one of the Sherrone Moore era.
Additionally, the “Michigan Method,” which Jim Harbaugh introduced with JJ McCarthy and Cade McNamara back in 2022, could be at play here. If so, we could see a few different starters throughout the beginning of the season before a full-time QB1 is named.
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