We now have just under two weeks until Michigan football takes the field against Fresno State under the lights in the Big House. It would appear that the Wolverines have the squad necessary to successfully defend both their Big Ten and National Championships, which they will be striving to do.

According to the majority of preseason player rankings, Michigan football has two players ranked among the top five in the country, in addition to a large number of additional players ranked among the top 100.ESPN, for example, lists Mason Graham at #2 and Will Johnson at #4 in the nation, with three additional Wolverines showing in the top 100.

This is a squad with possibly 4+ first-round picks. They are more than capable of making another national title run. Nevertheless, the accomplishment of Michigan’s objectives will be contingent upon one thing: the success of its quarterback. Sherrone Moore has not yet selected a starting quarterback, and it is quite likely that she will not do so until after the first week of the season. These three individuals, Alex Orji, Davis Warren, and Jack Tuttle, have been engaged in a fierce war with one another.

Given that Tuttle has been struggling with injuries, it would appear that Warren and Orji are the only ones who are now standing out.

Who is going to be the first player to take the field versus Fresno State?

In my opinion, Alex Orji is the one who should and will be chosen.Despite the fact that Orji might not be the most polished thrower, his talent as a runner ought to be a wonderful fit with Michigan’s run-heavy mentality, and he would provide a new dimension to this attack. The potential of this club is expected to be substantially higher with Orji at the helm, due to the fact that Davis Warren is likely to be a significantly superior passer and will undoubtedly receive his share of opportunities during the first week of the season.

With that, the floor is also going to be substantially lower. With how good Michigan’s defense should be, the Wolverines cannot have a quarterback that hands the ball over. They need to take care of the ball and limit turnovers. And considering that Orji has trouble with precision, it may be a very real issue.

But at the end of the day, Orji is a virtually identical clone of Jalen Milroe. And if you can get him to play at the level that Milroe was performing at, this is a national championship type squad. This is, in my opinion, a point where the staff should take a bit of a bet and see if Orji can improve as Milroe did.

When the Michigan football team steps onto the field for the first time against Fresno State, I expect Alex Orji to be directing the offense. That does not at all indicate that he will be the starter for the entire year, but his potential is just too tremendous to sit him on the bench. Warren and Tuttle will receive their opportunity to prove their case, but I suspect that the staff will bet on Orji with his high ceiling. Go blue!