Kechaun Bennett had his target in his crosshairs. But just as he closed in to ensnare him, Alex Orji wiggled free.
Michigan football’s junior quarterback veered right, looping around the first line of defense as he found an alley along the sideline before picking up steam. Enow Etta chased from behind but couldn’t catch Orji, flailing as he extended his arm to grab him. Then Orji cut left, using a downfield blocker to set up the final segment in his mad dash. Like a locomotive, Orji continued forward, reaching the end zone in a blink of an eye.
This was the final scene from the first drive of the Wolverines’ spring game in April, an 18-yard touchdown scramble that captured the tantalizing dimension in Orji’s repertoire that has made him one of the leading candidates to replace the 2024 NFL draft’s 10th overall pick, J.J. McCarthy, as the point person in Michigan’s offense.
Blue Team quarterback Alex Orji (10) runs for a touchdown against Maize Team during the first half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
NEXT MAN UP? As Michigan football searches for next quarterback, Alex Orji knows what he has to do
“A freak athlete,” head coach Sherrone Moore cooed this past March. “Really the ability for him to be a game-changer with the ball in his hands, running the football. … He really has a different element from the other guys.”
Mark Behrens can attest to that.
Down in Texas, under the bright Friday night lights, from his close vantage point on the sideline, he watched Orji pull a Houdini act, creating something out of nothing weekly.
“Have you watched his highlight tape?” exclaimed Behrens, Orji’s former coach at Sachse High School, located just outside Dallas. “It’s pretty impressive.”
He’s not lying.
The reel, cobbled together from his senior season in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-alex-orji-may-fit-100609393.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-06-08 10:06:09
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