Alexander Orji (born November 10, 2003) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

. He previously played for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, where he won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in 2023 as a backup, and started three games in 2024.

Early life and high school

Orji attended Sachse High School in

Sachse, Texas Sachse ( ) is a city in Collin and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is part of the DFW metroplex. A northeastern suburb of Dallas, the city population was 27,103, as of the 2020 census with an estimated population of 33,768 peopl ...

. In two years as a starter, he completed 226 of 436 passes for 3,467 yards and 38 touchdowns and rushed for 2,113 yards and 39 touchdowns. Orji was rated as a three-star recruit by

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, and a four-star recruit by

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, which ranked him No. 251 overall. He originally committed to play

for

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, but de-committed from the Hokies and signed with the

College career

Michigan

Freshman and sophomore seasons (2022–2023)

In 2022, Orji enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. As a true freshman, he rushed six times for 37 yards and two touchdowns and completed his only pass attempt for five yards. Orji scored his first career touchdown in his first career game, versus Colorado State on September 3, 2022. In 2023, Orji was J. J. McCarthy’s back-up, finishing Michigan’s national championship season with 15 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown. He did not attempt a pass. In week 8, Orji carried the ball five times for 27 yards and a touchdown in a win over rival

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. In the week 13 victory versus

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

he rushed twice for 22 yards, also rushing twice for 15 yards in the national championship game victory versus the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

Junior season (2024)

In 2024, Orji entered his junior season as the favorite to replace McCarthy as Michigan’s starting quarterback, competing with Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren and Jayden Denegal. For the first game of the 2024 season versus

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

, Orji was named a back-up to Warren and threw his first collegiate touchdown pass, a three yard reception by Donovan Edwards, while also rushing five times for 32 yards. In week 3 versus Arkansas State, Orji replaced Warren and threw his second touchdown of the season to secure Michigan’s win. In week 4 versus

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Sherrone Moore named Orji the starting quarterback for the start of

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

play; his first collegiate start. He led the Wolverines to a 27–24 victory versus the No. 11 ranked Trojans, completing seven of 12 passes for 32 yards and rushing for 43 yards. In week 5 against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Orji made his second career start, leading Michigan to a 27–24 win in consecutive weeks and retaining the Little Brown Jug for the Wolverines. He was 10 of 18 for 86 yards, with a touchdown and his first career interception. In week 6 versus

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, Orji was benched after the first quarter in place of Tuttle after Michigan quickly went down two scores. Tuttle went on to be named the starting quarterback the following game, supplanting Orji as Michigan’s third starting quarterback in 2024. In week 9, Warren earned his fourth start of the season versus

. Orji served as the change of pace quarterback, leading the team with 64 rushing yards and had a touchdown run for a second consecutive season against the Spartans in the 24–17 win. On December 13, 2024, Orji entered the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

. In his three years in

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, he had a 36–6 team record, won two Big Ten championships, and a national championship. He started three regular season games for the Wolverines in 2024. Despite being in the transfer portal, Orji remained with Michigan for the

ReliaQuest Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

. In the bowl game, Warren started the game but injured his knee in the third quarter, leaving the game with Michigan leading 16-10. Orji entered the game and took over as Michigan went on to win 19-13 against No. 11

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, defeating the Crimson Tide for a second consecutive season in a bowl game.

UNLV

On January 11, 2025, Orji transferred to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

for his senior season. He will have two years of eligibility remaining after using a redshirt year.

Statistics

Personal life

Orji has two older brothers,

Anfernee Anfernee is a modern given name. A phonetic variant of Anthony, it was popularized by Penny Hardaway. It was among the top 2000 most popular baby names in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United State ...

and Alston. Anfernee plays for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. Alston played linebacker for Vanderbilt and Campbell.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bioUNLV Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orji, Alex 2003 births Living people American football quarterbacks Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Texas