Can Michigan quarterback Davis Warren be ‘the guy’ in 2024?

All the talk this spring has been about Michigan quarterback Alex Orji and his ability to match position skills with his athleticism. He’s made strides, and he showed some of it in Saturday’s spring game.

But for the second time in three years, Davis Warren made the most of an opportunity on the big stage. While Orji struggled with his command at times, Warren made the best throws (and decisions) of the day in showing why he could be a legit contender for the starting job.

Many didn’t want to hear it when we reported earlier this spring that Warren threw the best ball of the bunch and had been making significant strides. Saturday, though, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell said it, too (not embellishing), citing Warren’s knowledge of the offense and improvement as one of the reasons for optimism.

He meant it when he said they were probably going to roll with the group they have now rather than explore the portal, and Warren and Co. showed there’s at least that potential.

“I just think we’ve shown as an offense — we have a lot of people talk about our defense, and our defense is incredible,” Warren said after completing 6 of 9 passes for 136 yards and two scores. “It’s the best. Iron sharpens iron … it’s the best thing to go up against them every single day and find a way to win and move the ball, convert on third down, score in the red zone.

“It’s really been a great spring for us finding who we are … everyone just taking a step up, whether it’s Coach Moore, Campbell, [Grant] Newsome, and a ton of players on offense who are going to that next level, and the same thing applies to me. I think we’re just trying to look at what happened last year. The blueprint is there. Just emulate it and try to take it to a whole ‘nother level. It’s been really good.”

At times, anyway. There’s still plenty to prove, and as we all know, it’s hard to tell much from a spring game — we’ve seen too many over the years to know it can be fool’s gold, and that nothing is usually as good or bad as it seems — but there were positives, and Warren was one of them.

His pocket presence, for one, stood out among the other contenders, and he’s got a great arm, is the most consistent passer of the bunch. Some will point to struggles in limited game situations last year, but that would really be the exception in his career.

Orji, meanwhile, showed flashes, but there’s still a long way to go when it comes to being more than a great athlete playing quarterback. As one we trust said, “he needs to learn how to throw in levels and over people, not just through windows.” But again, there were some positive signs.

“Today, Coach Newsome let me know the whole playbook is open,” he said. “Whatever it was before, throughout the start of this spring, I think coach Campbell has really helped me a lot being comfortable in certain situations. Feeling out the field … I think it always comes with reps.”

There are still months to go before the season begins, and all the quarterbacks will have an opportunity to show what they can do. But two things seem clear here — Warren is a viable option, and the room is as strong as it’s been. Some guys reacted poorly when they lost the job, but J.J. McCarthy helped change the vibe in the room.

These guys do everything together and really seem to like each other, so whoever wins the job will have the support of his teammates.

“We’re a real tight family, the quarterback group,” Orji said. “I think it was awesome to get us out there and rolling, get our drives put together. It was awesome for our room. It’s a testament to coach Campbell and how he prepares us.”

From what we’ve seen and heard, Warren has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. If they don’t go to the portal, he’s going to be a legitimate option.

“I think I’ve proven to myself and to these guys that I’m capable of being the starting quarterback here,” he said. “It’s obviously going to take a lot more work — big summer ahead of us, big fall — but the standard is set. J.J. set a standard that was really high … all of us are just trying to match that. That’s what I strive to do every day.”

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