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Previously: Last year’s profiles. S Damani Dent, S/Nk Zeke Berry, S/HSP Keon Sabb, CB Myles Pollard, CB/Nk Kody Jones, CB Will Johnson, LB Deuce Spurlock, LB Jimmy Rolder, DE/LB Micah Pollard, DE Derrick Moore, DT Mason Graham, DT Kenneth Grant, DT Cam Goode, T Andrew Gentry, T/G Connor Jones, G Alessandro Lorenzetti, C Olu Oluwatimi, TE Marlin Klein, TE Colston Loveland, WR Amorion Walker, WR Tyler Morris, WR Darrius Clemons, RB CJ Stokes, QB Jayden Denegal.

 
Sachse, Texas – 6’3″/233
 

[Patrick Barron]
247: 6’2/226
              3.57*
3*, 86, NR overall
#50 QB, #126 TX
Rivals: 6’3/210
              3.87*
3*, 5.7, NR overall
#9 QB-Dual, #55 TX

ESPN: 6’2/205
              4.03*

4*, 81, #54 Mids, #251 Ovr
#21 ATH, #39 TX
On3: 6’2/226
              4.06*
4*, 90, NR overall
#9 ATH, #58 TX
Composite:
              3.85*
3*, 0.8648, #493 ovr
#30 QB, #59 TX
Other Suitors
VT (decommit), TCU
YMRMFSPA
Tim Tebow or Chase Winovich
Previously On MGoBlog
Commits. Spring game.
Notes
Yes: “Orgy.” Brothers played at Vandy.

Film:

Senior Highlights:

Hudl. Training.

Though he hasn’t managed it at Michigan, Harbaugh used to always have two QBs in his classes, one the best pure passer he could find, the other an athlete with great stats who could transition to another role if he didn’t win the job. The dual-threat of this class was the last player to join it, flipping from Virginia Tech on Early Signing Day.

The highly productive, frighteningly inaccurate Texan camped his way around the Midlands. Mo Linguist introduced him to Michigan, then left for Buffalo. That instability helped convince Orji to commit to VT, making it clear he was sticking around as long as Justin Fuentes and his coaching staff did. They didn’t, and Michigan pounced, getting Orji up for a late official visit, fending off TCU, and putting a feather in Matt Weiss’s recruiting cap. Then they gave everyone a good long look at what they grabbed in the spring game.

What we saw was an obvious heir to Dan Villari’s “Villaricat” limited role as a change-of-pace dual-threat quarterback. We also saw the pre-freshman go 1/7 passing, with some of those misses not remotely close. That performance and Orji’s reputation solidified a general opinion that this was an Athlete take, someone the program intended to trot out like 2008 Justin Feagin until it was the right time to try him on defense. That may yet be his fate, but I don’t believe it was the plan. Matt Weiss is the guy who taught the Ravens how to use Lamar Jackson and Michigan what to do with true freshman JJ McCarthy, and Orji was far higher on Weiss’s board than people realize.

Denegal may be the 2022 class’s most quarterback-y quarterback, and ranked slightly higher on the Composite. But in case you missed spring, it was very clear which one arrived ahead. And after reading all the scouting on Orji, it’s also clear who’s got the highest ceiling.

[After THE JUMP: Careful phrasing.]