Orji, who has thrown seven passes in his collegiate career, will make his first start on Saturday against USC.

While Michigan’s change at quarterback was a move that many expected, the formal announcement caught some on the team by surprise. Players were left in the dark ahead of head coach Sherrone Moore’s public declaration Monday that Alex Orji would take the reins and start Saturday’s Big Ten opener vs.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said “it was an important thing for us to do as a program” to announce Monday that Alex Orji is the starting QB vs. USC.