By Mark Pszonak
On January 8th, Michigan reached its peak level of success and joy. Now in mid-September all of that is quickly becoming a distant memory as the reality of the 2024 season is hitting the Wolverines hard.
And the reality is that Michigan constructed a roster that doesn’t have a viable quarterback option. Somehow the Wolverines believed that Davis Warren and were the answer. The same Warren and Orji who had combined to complete 6 of 15 passes for 94 yards, no touchdowns and one interception during their time in Ann Arbor.
For some unknown reason it was decided that this duo was good enough to lead Michigan’s offense, nine months after the Wolverines won the National Championship. And this issue was magnified further on Saturday during a 28-18 victory over Arkansas State. A week after getting drilled at home by Texas, Warren did nothing to inspire hope by completing 11 of 14 passes for 122 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He was later replaced by Orji, who completed 2 of 4 passes for 12 yards and one touchdown.
Now with no threat of a viable passing game, Michigan’s offense will be stuck in neutral. And that will become even more apparent against more balanced teams, such as USC, Oregon and Ohio State. The Trojans are up next, at home on Saturday afternoon. USC’s defense is improved, and the offense will score points. Will Michigan’s offense, which may see Orji as their starter for the first time this season, be able to keep up? Doubtful.
While some Michigan fans are likely still basking in the glow of the National Championship, which is understandable, others should be annoyed that the Wolverines put themselves in this position. Especially since it could’ve been avoided. In the age of the transfer portal, Michigan was in a perfect situation to add a talented veteran to lead the offense this season while they waited for five-star true freshman Jadyn Davis to mature. However, they were blind to the reality of their shortcomings.
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Is new head coach Sherrone Moore to blame? I don’t believe so. During the winter portal window Michigan was dealing with potential violations and the uncertainty of head coach Jim Harbaugh’s future. So, in other words, it wasn’t the easiest situation to add an elite quarterback. However, they also had to have strong feelings that J.J. McCarthy was very likely going to the NFL which would create a huge void at the position.
An effort was made with UCLA transfer Dante Moore, but he ended up at Oregon. However, there were plenty of talented veterans who would’ve jumped at the opportunity in December or January. Players like Will Rogers, Kurtis Rourke, Tyler Shough, Blake Shapen and Hank Bachmeier would’ve listened. And any one of them would’ve made the 2024 offense better.
During the spring portal window, with Moore in charge, Harbaugh in the NFL and the potential threat of violations defused, the Wolverines stayed quiet. But the options during the spring were very limited compared to the winter. If there were better options, would they have added someone? That’s unknown, but they made their decision and stated that they were content with their situation. Even if they didn’t believe this, it was the right thing, and only thing, to say at that point.
But it was already too late during the spring. The opportunity to bolster the 2024 roster came during the winter portal window and Coach Harbaugh didn’t make it a priority to rectify this. Did he just not care because he knew he was leaving? Was he distracted by all of the potential violations? Whatever the reason, Coach Harbaugh dropped the ball and as a result the Wolverines are struggling and in a position they never thought they’d be in this fall.
