Michigan QB Davis Warren gets a chance to finish what he started

Ann Arbor – As the carousel continued to spin and losses began to pile up alongside disappointment for Michigan's football team, Davis Warren held on to what he knew best: himself.

Warren, a fourth-year junior who was named the Wolverines' starting quarterback earlier this season, was traded in favor of Alex Orji after just three games in September. He had thrown six interceptions in just under 10 quarters of football, and head coach Sherrone Moore had seen enough in the middle of a lackluster win over Arkansas State.

For a former backup who spent much of his first three seasons in Ann Arbor in the shadows, the obvious reaction was to wonder if he would ever get a chance to lead this team again.

“Yeah, I think it’s natural,” Warren admitted late Saturday night after making the most of his second chance and leading the Wolverines to a big rivalry win over Michigan State. “When things don’t go exactly the way you want them to, it’s human nature to think that way.”

But Warren credits his teammates and Michigan's coaching staff — especially offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell — for keeping his head in the game.

“Even after Arkansas State, (Campbell was like, 'This team is going to need you again at some point, and you've got to stay ready,'” Warren said after Michigan's 24-17 win. “It's not my job to determine whether sitting on the bench was the best or worst thing that ever happened to me. Or if it was a learning opportunity. Or if it was something I would always regret. It was just my job to stay ready.”

I'll stick with it

So he did that, keeping busy with film study as he always does, and working after practice to get some of the reps he didn't get after the demotion. And no matter what emotions were stirring within him — especially after both Orji and Jack Tuttle struggled in their respective roles as Michigan's starting quarterback over the last month — Warren was actually ready when asked.

With Tuttle sidelined by injury following last week's dismal loss at Illinois, the coaching staff returned to its starting point Saturday night against the Spartans. And while it felt like a white flag to everyone else, to 22-year-old Warren it felt more like a green light.

Though perhaps not right away, as the Wolverines' sluggish offense faltered early on. Warren missed a read on his first pass attempt to tight end Colston Loveland as Michigan went three-and-out on its first drive. The Wolverines managed just 37 total yards on their first three possessions Saturday — the boos at Michigan Stadium were understandable — before finally finding a rhythm during a two-minute drill before halftime.

Warren was 5-for-5 on that 10-play, 62-yard touchdown march, which was as efficient as the Wolverines had looked in a month. And after a strip-sack fumble to Aidan Chiles gave the Wolverines the ball right back with 12 seconds left before halftime, Warren completed another swing pass to Donovan Edwards to set up Dominic Zvada's 37-yard field that tied Michigan with 9:7 lead at the break.

At that point, Warren was 10 of 11 as a passer, and a crucial third-period completion to Semaj Morgan sparked another touchdown push to start the third quarter. So did the next play — a 29-yard run by Orji, who had come in to try to unlock Michigan's ground attack and evened the numbers against a Michigan State defense that had been stacking the box all night.

That was a halftime adjustment that paid off for the Wolverines, as Orji finished the game as Michigan's leading rusher (six carries, 64 yards) and also sealed it with a QB keeper on the final possession.

“I think it just shows that all of us as quarterbacks are just trying to do whatever we can to help the team win football games,” Warren said.

“Same guy”

And yet what he did best on Saturday was not helping his team lose the game: Michigan didn't commit a turnover all night. That's really all Moore was looking for as he kept searching for an answer at the most important position on the field.

The Wolverines' coaching staff likes to preach that “the ball is the program,” and spent extra time at practice this week to emphasize ball security. But in the end, as Warren said, it was up to him as quarterback to make sure no danger came into the game.

“I’ll never look back and regret it,” Moore said when asked about reinstating Warren — the best pure passer on Michigan’s roster — as the starter. “I think we made the right decisions back then and now we've gone back to that decision and feel really good about Davis and what he's done so far.”

“But I give him a lot of praise because he never batted an eyelid. You know, he was replaced and stayed there, and he was the same guy. The preparation was the same, he was always the same teammate, he was always the same person.”

The same person – a cancer survivor, among other things – whose faith runs much deeper than anything football-related. Asked Saturday if he felt any relief from this win, Warren sounded as determined as ever.

“I haven’t proven anything to anyone but myself,” he said. “I really mean it when I say it. I know a lot of people probably say that. But that's really how I felt. And I think just from what I've been through, how far I've come to this point, I know what's important. And the most important thing is that I believe in myself that I am capable enough.”

On Saturday evening he proved he was right. That was the point one of his senior teammates wanted to reiterate before leaving the postgame press conference.

“You better stop counting him out, man,” Edwards said, patting Warren on the shoulder as they both grinned. “Because he has shown time and time again that he can overcome adversity. Please stop questioning him.”

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@JohnNiyo

Michigan QB Davis Warren gets a chance to finish what he started

I'll stick with it

“Same guy”

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