This spring, the Michigan Wolverines are looking for their next QB1 with the hopes of keeping the maize and blue at a championship-winning level.
Two guys who have gotten the most attention so far this offseason are Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal. We’ve already covered what Orji could bring to the table, so it’s time to focus on Denegal, the redshirt sophomore who is catching the eye of his new offensive coordinator early this spring.
The Apple Valley, California native came with Orji in the 2022 class. Orji was the dual-threat option and athlete, but Denegal has always been more of a pocket passer. He threw for more than 4,600 passing yards and 69 touchdowns in high school, and also completed 69.1 percent of his passes his senior season. Those accolades earned him a three-star ranking by 247Sports as the No. 19 quarterback in the class.
After redshirting his first season, while making a quick appearance in the 2022 win over UConn, Denegal saw a bit more action in 2023. However, it didn’t come in the second game of the season in a blowout win over UNLV, and head coach Jim Harbaugh was not happy that Davis Warren saw playing time before Denegal.
“The one we’re still evaluating is the backup quarterback and we made a mistake. Coach (Mike) Hart put in Davis Warren ahead of Denegal,” Harbaugh said after the game. “We really need to see Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji in this week (against Bowling Green) … but we really need to find out what we have in Jayden (Denegal) and Alex (Orji).”
The next opportunity Denegal would have was two weeks later in Michigan’s win over Nebraska. He was the third quarterback to see the field after Tuttle had a possession in the third quarter. Denegal led the Wolverines on a 10-play, 50-yard drive where he ran for 10 yards and threw his first career touchdown to Peyton O’Leary:
Denegal finished the season 4-for-5 for 50 yards and a touchdown while adding another 10 yards rushing on four carries.
Orji is the athletic freak of the group, but Denegal has been the talk of the town in Ann Arbor by new offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Kirk Campbell.
“In my eyes, he was the most improved player on offense,” Campbell said on In The Trenches with Jon Jansen. “From my time being as an analyst and me being able to my fingerprints on him and kind of molding him and developing him. His development in over a year has been vast.
“The big thing about Denny is he’s so big. He’s gonna thrive in live situations, breaking tackles like a Ben Roethlisberger type. Something may not look pretty in practice, but in the game that might not be a sack. That might just be an arm coming across his chest and he shrugs it off. We understand that and we gotta put him in game-like situations to see if he can display those abilities.”
The spring roster lists the redshirt sophomore at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. Clearly, he’s a large-statured quarterback and the ideal size for the position. On top of that, he can keep some of the running elements the Wolverines have had the last couple years at the position. It likely won’t be quite as dynamic as McCarthy, and definitely would not be as explosive as Orji, but Denegal could be a formidable threat on the ground.
While Orji has the advantage running the ball, it appears the more accurate quarterback is Denegal. Sherrone Moore said as much last week to the media: “(He’s) taller, more of a pocket guy. Has the ability to move and run but more of a pocket passer.”
One of the things he has to work on, according to Campbell, is his footwork and throwing the football away. While it’s nice he has the size to hang in the pocket and take shots from defenders, he’s going to have to adjust to some of the best pass rushes in college football coming at him from Texas, Oregon and Ohio State. Getting him up to game speed at the college level may be the biggest thing in the way of him becoming the starter.
We’ll learn more about the quarterback battle in the next few weeks as spring practices continue, especially during the spring game on April 20.
