Michigan quarterback Alex Orji is entering the transfer portal

After appearing in 20 games during his career at Michigan and starting three games at quarterback last season, Alex Orji has entered the transfer portal.

Orji threw just 45 total passes at Michigan, completing just over half of them (24) for 148 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He was much better on the ground, rushing for 383 yards and four touchdowns on 74 attempts. His only rushing touchdown this season came in the rivalry win against Michigan State.

Orji was undeniably one of Michigan’s best athletes this season – he even ranked 13th on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks list. We’ve seen that athleticism in flashes this season, as he was incredibly difficult to bring down with a head full of steam. He looked Really beautiful on some designed routes.

Orji had a chance to earn the starting job this season, but to the surprise of many Michigan fans after all the preseason hype, he lost the starting battle to Davis Warren. With Warren struggling with turnovers and Michigan’s offense struggling badly early in the season, Orji was named the starter before the USC game and won that game and then the game against Minnesota. However, in these games he struggled to throw the ball effectively, managing only 120 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

After running for just 11 yards and passing for 15 yards in the Washington game, Orji was stripped of his starting role for Jack Tuttle and never got it back as Warren played semi-competent football following Tuttle’s medical retirement.

Given the commitment of 2025 No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood, this portal move isn’t shocking in the least. While Orji is a great athlete, he never proved capable enough as a passer to get any significant snaps. Often speeding up his throws and overshooting his targets, bad passes made Orji a predictable player rather than the dual-threat quarterback he was lauded as.

Orji’s legacy in Michigan is quite complicated. Yes, he’s a national champion and was included in gadget packages during this run, but he became too one-dimensional as he lacked consistent passing.

The silver lining? We will always get that call from Robert Griffin III.

We wish Orji the best of luck and hope he can improve as a passer wherever he goes in the two remaining seasons he is eligible.