Sherrone Moore on Michigan QBs: Jack Tuttle injury, a 'freak athlete,' and one who has 'all the ability'

Michigan Wolverines football has a wide-open quarterback competition on its hands with spring practices underway. There are a whopping five contenders with no clear pecking order in graduate Jack Tuttle, senior Davis Warren, juniors Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji and freshman Jadyn Davis.

Last season, Tuttle was Michigan’s primary backup behind J.J. McCarthy, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick this April. The Indiana transfer completed 15 of his 17 passes for 1 touchdown, which came against his former team. He’s back for a seventh year of eligibility, but head coach Sherrone Moore revealed in a Thursday afternoon press conference that he’s currently injured

“He’s working through some things,” Moore said.

Regardless, Tuttle has added a boost to the team since receiving a waiver to come back for another year.

“Uncle Jack, they call him,” Moore said of Tuttle. “A guy that has played a lot of football. He’s got a great arm, great ability, can run. Can be a dual-threat guy, but also very cerebral in the pocket — a guy that can do that for you. He’s been very impressive with everything he’s done in the past, and excited for him.”

The group as a whole has pleased Moore in the early going, though, two practices in.

“They’ve all been competing,” the head coach said. “It’s been super fun to see them all do it. And we’ll see what happens, but I love where they’re at right now, I love their mentality, I love their competitive nature, I love how they’re all getting after it. They’re all complimenting each other. They’re competing at a high level.

“It’s great to go against our defense — the best defense in the country. Even on the other side of the ball, those guys are just practicing so hard. Everybody is practicing hard. It was a great environment we had yesterday in practice, and I’m just excited to see it as we continue to take off.”

The four others (all but Tuttle) are out there for the time being. Moore was asked if he’d be fine playing two quarterbacks in the fall, to which he replied, “we’ll see.” He broke down what make Michigan’s other contenders stand out.

Orji played a role a year ago, particularly at the end of the season. Notably, the 6-foot-3, 236-pounder ran twice for 22 yards in a 30-24 win over Ohio State, twice for 9 yards in a 26-0 victory over Iowa and 2 times for 15 yards in a 34-13 national championship triumph over Washington. Moore touted the Michigan signal-caller’s athleticism but noted that he can pass, too.

“Alex Orji, obviously, a freak athlete,” Moore said. “The ability for him to be a game-changer with the ball in his hands, to run the football, is where he really has a different element than the other guys, and 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 we’ve gone through this springtime.”

Denegal, who stands 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, connected on 4 of his 5 passes for a touchdown last season, with the score coming late in a 45-7 win over Nebraska.

“Taller, more of a pocket guy, has the ability to move and run, but more of a pocket passer,” the Michigan coach said of Denegal.

Warren is a former walk-on who went 0-for-5 passing with an interception last season, but he battled injuries along the way. He was 5-of-9 throwing in 2022, serving as Michigan’s main No. 2 signal-caller behind McCarthy.

“He has a little bit of a mix of all of them, as well,” Moore said of Warren in comparison to Michigan’s other quarterbacks. “More of a pocket passer, but very cerebral with a good arm.”

A mid-year addition, Davis joined Michigan for postseason practices in late December before enrolling in January. The four-star was ranked the No. 105 overall recruit in the 2024 class, Michigan’s highest-rated quarterback signee since McCarthy in 2021 (No. 47 overall recruit).

“Jadyn Davis, the young freshman, very excited about him,” the Michigan coach said. “He’s picked things up super fast. But you never know with freshmen, so you’ll see. But he has all the ability, so I’m 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, too.”

Michigan will hold its third practice of the spring Friday (March 22).