2022 three-star QB Alex Orji reacts to U-M offer

Michigan was the latest to enter the recruiting race for 2022 three-star quarterback Alex Orji on Tuesday, after head coach Jim Harbaugh personally extended the scholarship offer to him after a Zoom video session.

“It’s great,” Orji told Maize n Brew on receiving the offer. “Yes (it was my first time talking with Harbaugh). It was good and centered around my development if I chose to go there.”

This was not the first line of communication with Michigan, however, as Orji’s father has known Maurice Linguist for quite some time now. So he has been able to familiarize himself with one of Michigan’s hardest workers on the recruiting trail.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder hasn’t been playing quarterback for long, but the potential is definitely there. During his junior year, he managed to pass for 1,647 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. On the ground, he collected 980 yards and 16 touchdowns, so there is no doubt about it he is a dual-threat quarterback.

Orji, who plays high school football down in Texas at Sachse High School, also reportedly holds offers from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, TCU and more. Two of his brothers are currently playing for Vanderbilt.

It has been an interesting cycle at the quarterback position for Michigan so far, to say the least. The Wolverines have offered 19 quarterbacks, and not a single one has stood out as a clear top target at this point. There were a few highly-ranked guys early on in the process who looked to be the part — Gavin Wimsatt, MJ Morris, Nicco Marchiol, Maalik Murphy — but all those guys are either committed somewhere or are trending to another school.

At this point, with Harbaugh extending the offer personally, Orji very well could be at or near the top of the board for the Wolverines in the 2022 cycle. Another prospect I expect to be a guy near the top is three-star California quarterback Nate Johnson, who is another dual-threat guy who was offered in February by new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss.

We will have to wait and see how all this shakes out, but expect to hear more about Orji and Johnson throughout this 2022 recruiting cycle for the Wolverines.

You can check out Orji’s junior year highlights below.