Jim Harbaugh has a “secret plan” for sophomore Michigan football quarterback

Earlier today, 9th-year head coach Jim Harbaugh addressed many of the media’s most pressing questions during his fall camp presser at Schembechler Hall. With a lot of roster turnover right now, including the loss of former All-Big Ten return man AJ Henning, there are some question marks throughout the roster — especially on special teams. With a need for a new kick returner, it appears that sophomore Michigan football quarterback Alex Orji could be stepping into this role; Harbaugh even says that he could be the greatest returner ever.

Jim Harbaugh highlights leader at kick returner

Alex Orji became a fan favorite last year. Largely due to the infamous “It’s an Orji in the endzone” play-by-play call. With a lot of quarterback depth right now, there is a good chance that Orji is QB4 or QB5 on the depth chart right now, yet this may not stop the sophomore quarterback from finding a new role with the Wolverines.

When asked about the current battle for the starting kick returner role, here is what head coach Jim Harbaugh had to say.

“Right now, that’s good competition,” Jim Harbaugh stated. “Mike Sainristil, Kalel Mullings, Donovan Edwards has been really good with punt return, Jake Thaw right there at the top, KeShaun Harris, Karmello English, Tyler Morris. Kick returner — Kalel, Roman Wilson, Eamonn Dennis could be extremely, extremely good.”

A “secret plan” for sophomore Michigan football quarterback Alex Orji

Harbaugh then outlined a potential “secret plan” for sophomore Michigan football quarterback Alex Orji.

“And also a secret plan for Alex Orji. He’s got a chance to be maybe one of the greatest kick-returners of all time. He’s a 230-pound guy. So he just started doing it, we’ll see how it goes. He’s also excelling at quarterback so there’ll be some decisions that have to be made. We have to improve in our kickoff return blocking before I would agree to have Alex Orji return the kick.

“So there’s a bit of a challenge there going on. It’s made for quite a bit of excitement and enthusiasm. Our kickoff return blockers have seen what Alex can do as a kick returner, challenge is on them to get better at their fundamentals their techniques and give him the chance. If we can make it happen, it would be really special. I mean, Kalel Mullings would be similar in that role. But yeah, there’s some excitement.”

Throughout the coming season, keep a close eye on this sophomore Michigan football quarterback because Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff may have a special role for him as the season progresses.

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