As a scout team quarterback, Michigan’s Alex Orji gets to be many different people. Sure, he gets to be himself most of the time. But when he steps onto the practice field, he morphs into whoever his team needs him to be. In the run-up to the Rose Bowl, he’s played the part of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on Michigan’s scout team so they can get a sense of just what they’ll be dealing with when they face the dual threat maven on New Year’s Day.
“I've watched his tape before. I watch it all the time,” Orji says. “Seen what he can do with the ball in his hands before so it's been a great challenge. Those are weeks that, as a scout team player, you really circle those when you get to be a dynamic guy with a similar skill set that you want to emulate.”
According to Michigan defenders, the closest they’ve seen to Milroe is Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, and even he doesn’t have the combination of speed and power that Milroe possesses when he takes off. Nor does he have the deep ball throwing ability when he truly uncorks it.
“There's times where the ball is 60, 65, 70 yards downfield, so we're trying to get that look as much as we can for our guys to have a sense of finding the ball, being able to track the ball all the way down,” Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. “I think there's times when you play certain quarterbacks or certain receivers where you know 40, 50 yards downfield they're going to stop, they're going to start coming back. These guys are going to keep running, and he has the ability to chuck it down there. Alex has a great skill set in his own right. I think he's got a bright future as a quarterback. He's done a really good job. It's hard to simulate a guy like Jalen Milroe. Alex has a unique skill set that we can try to simulate him, but to say we can simulate him to a tee is probably not fair to him and how well he's played this year.”
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Alabama’s offense may not be what it once was. There might not be any future first-round picks at the wideout position, and the offensive line is more porous in pass protection than you’re used to seeing from Crimson Tide units. But one thing Alabama does have is Milroe.
Milroe’s season has been one of ups and downs, and can be broken down into three parts. The first portion includes the Texas loss and the USF game in which he didn’t play (Nick Saban prefers you don’t call it a benching). Then there’s the second portion through the Tennessee game in late October when Milroe led a second half comeback and it looked like Alabama was finding some ways to best use him. And the final stanza includes dazzling performances against LSU, Kentucky and Auburn, in which Milroe showed how much of a weapon he can be as a dual threat. That run culminated in the SEC championship game when he bested the Georgia defense.
Alabama’s offense has settled into a rhythm. In basketball parlance, it hits layups and three-pointers. Michigan’s defense is typically content to keep the lid on other team’s offenses and make opponents execute on lengthy drives. The Tide try to strike over the top and generate explosive plays by gaining huge chunks of yardage in the passing game. Alabama has the fourth-most air yards per pass of any team in the country (12), and offenses facing Michigan’s defense rank 112th in that category (7.7). How the Wolverines deal with the Bama deep ball will be one of the keys to this game. And as effective as the Tide offense is when Milroe effectively uses his legs, it’s important to consider what he can do to Michigan’s defense as a passer.
“It's not really just the mobileness of Milroe. He's got a strong arm and so does Alex,” Michigan safety Rod Moore said. “When we're in practice, Alex [likes] throwing it. When they run those deep routes, Alex throws it. I remember one time he put it in the post and he was probably on the opposite 30 and got to the middle of the zone. You see the film, that's how Milroe throws the ball.”
A storyline during bowl week included how Milroe said he was told by former Bama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to switch positions, and how much he has been doubted as a passer throughout his career. It’s something Orji feels as a fellow Black quarterback who has significant ability with his legs.
“I saw the quote on instagram,” Orji says. “It’s just like, he’s the dude that we’re going against this week so I can’t root for him. But just in general, there’s a bunch of dudes out there that look like us and try to do what we do. Any time one of us hears it, it’s something we immediately relate to like, not being seen as a quarterback. Even some of the reporters [at Rose Bowl media day] asked me about changing my position. That’s what it has been since I was in sixth grade. Everybody’s gonna try to change my position. I’ll probably text him after the game about it, just because it’s something that everybody goes through at some point in time if you’re a little too athletic and you miss a few too many throws. I think it’s awesome that he’s able to shut those guys up. I think it’s always a win for all of us when one of us is able to prove ‘em wrong.”
When they do choose to run, they both remind Minter of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Minter spent time on staff in Baltimore, and dealt with the former NFL MVP early in his career. He compares all three to Reggie Bush when they decide to pull the ball down and run, and says it’s going to take an 11-on-1 mentality to stop Milroe in the semifinal. He’s shown his defense film of Jackson to give a sense of how electric he is as a runner, but the best look they can get comes from Orji, who was nominated for scout team player of the year by the Michigan coaching staff. If Michigan is able to contain Milroe in the bowl game, they’ll point to the looks he gave them all week to get them ready.
