Michigan's dilemma: Stopping Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When Alex Orji faked a handoff and slithered through two defenders for a 20-yard gain that seemed to catch Ohio State's defense by surprise, the backup quarterback flashed to a national audience the remarkable burst folks at Michigan had discussed for months.

It was mid-August when head coach Jim Harbaugh said the former three-star prospect had a chance to be "one of the greatest kick returners of all time," given how dynamic Orji is with the ball in his hands. And it was late July when defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said there was "a sour taste in my mouth," when Orji passed him to claim the No. 1 spot on Michigan's chart of cumulative KPI scores, a metric created by strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert to measure a player's overall athleticism.

At 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, Orji dazzled Herbert and the rest of the Wolverines' strength staff by posting a vertical leap of 41 inches, a broad jump of 10 feet, 6 inches, and times of 3.97 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.65 seconds in the 3-cone drill, all but one of which would have ranked in the top 10 at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. It's a skill set that allowed him to throw for more than 2,000 yards, rush for more than 1,100 yards and score 52 combined touchdowns during his senior season at Sachse High School in Sachse, Texas.

It's also made Orji one of Michigan's most important players during the buildup to the College Football Playoff. 

Orji's combination of size, speed and dual-threat quarterbacking ability make him the best impersonator of Alabama signal-caller Jalen Milroe, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound dynamo who finished sixth in this year's Heisman Trophy voting after upsetting then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game. Milroe is one of just four quarterbacks with at least 12 rushing touchdowns this season and will arrive at the Rose Bowl with the same number of 100-yard games (two) as Michigan tailback Blake Corum. He also completed 171 of 261 passes (65.5%) for 2,718 yards and 23 touchdowns, a number that ranked among the top 15 quarterbacks in the Power 5 conferences.

"I don't think we've seen a quarterback like this," defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. "I think the closest thing we see is in practice with some of our guys. I think Taulia [Tagovailoa] at Maryland was, as a scrambler, kind of a similar type of guy. But a guy this involved in the run game, his ability to make off-schedule plays — to me, I think Alex Orji has done a great job [simulating Milroe in practice]."

Milroe's contributions to an Alabama ground attack ranked 47th nationally (172.7 yards per game) are prominent enough to give offensive coordinator Tommy Rees a legitimate three-pronged approach in the backfield. Though tailback Jase McLellan leads the team in rushing with 166 carries for 803 yards and five scores, Milroe has more than doubled his touchdown total this season. And while second-string tailback Roydell Williams might be Alabama's most explosive runner with a team-best 5.1 yards per carry on 110 attempts, he's still run the ball 30 fewer times than Milroe has.

[Rose Bowl: No. 1 Michigan (13-0) vs. No. 4 Alabama (12-1)]

What makes Milroe particularly difficult to defend is the way he and Rees blend designed quarterback runs with opportunistic scrambles and second-reaction throws outside the pocket. His overall rushing total of 468 yards is clouded by the 38 sacks that obscure his true production in that category, but Pro Football Focus credits Milroe with 693 sack-adjusted rush yards this season. That number is further divided into 214 yards from called runs and 479 yards from scrambles, a subjective interpretation from which Milroe's general efficacy when plays break down can still be culled. 

"If you get out of your lane one time — it's all over the film — he can take it 80 or 100 yards," Michigan edge rusher Jaylen Harrell said. "It's really going to be up to all 11 guys on the defense, especially up front. It's gotta be an unselfish pass rush game."

Said inside linebacker Junior Colson: "You just can't let him tear down your defense."

Every Michigan defender who spoke to the media on Monday afternoon referenced the importance of an unselfish pass-rush game, a clear indication of what the coaching staff is emphasizing during practices and meetings. The threat of a running quarterback means that this game, more than any other, will test the Wolverines' discipline in executing each play exactly the way it was designed, particularly when it comes to maintaining rush lanes at the line of scrimmage. Any gambling or improvisation can create a crease for Milroe to flee.

The game Minter and his assistants have showcased as the prime example of an unselfish pass rush was Michigan's 31-24 win at Maryland on Nov. 18, a stomach-twister the week before hosting Ohio State. Minter's defense bookended the victory by rattling Tagovailoa early and late on an afternoon when the Terrapins' quarterback threw two interceptions, fumbled once and finished with minus-43 rushing yards. Two of the Wolverines' four sacks came in the fourth quarter as Michigan protected a one-score lead. They sealed it by pressuring Tagovailoa into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety.

"That was, in my opinion, one of our most unselfish, relentless pass-rush games," Minter said, "particularly late when we needed to close out the game. So this [game against Alabama] is an ultimate, ultimate group effort, you know? Not trying to go rogue and do your own thing, but fit within the framework of the rush lanes, fit within the framework of where you fit on the quarterback."

The most difficult task likely falls to Colson and fellow inside linebacker Michael Barrett, both of whom were so injury-stricken that they hardly practiced ahead of last year's national semifinal, a game in which TCU quarterback Max Duggan ran for 57 yards and two scores. This time they'll patrol the middle of the field in a constant state of limbo: hovering just beyond the line of scrimmage, waiting and wondering if Milroe will run, knowing he might dump the ball off at any second — with the latter having been highlighted by Minter as one of the quarterback's strengths. More than 44% of Milroe's throws traveled fewer than nine yards downfield this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Still, there will inevitably be times when Milroe slips into open space, and it's in those moments when one of Michigan's greatest strengths should be tested. A recommitment by Minter and his staff to teaching and prioritizing tackling during the offseason has transformed the Wolverines into one of the most sure-handed defenses in college football. They've reduced their number of missed tackles from 107 under former coordinator Mike Macdonald in 202, to 95 during Minter's first season in 2022, to just 68 in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus, with only one player responsible for more than five.

"We definitely stress angles," Jenkins said, "and this was probably one of the best things I've ever learned and added to my football game. Really just the art of angles and identifying where the opposing player is at, where your teammates are at and how to take the best angles to get him, overlap players, vice tackle, etcetera."

It will be easier said than done for Colson, who is still expected to have both of his injured hands in casts like they were to end the season. But his interpretation of facing Milroe differed from most of his teammates: Colson doesn't think the quarterback will run as often as people seem to expect. 

And perhaps he has a point. After all, Milroe is one of the most accomplished deep-ball passers in college football, with 34 completions on throws that traveled at least 20 yards downfield. Only three Power 5 quarterbacks have more this season, and one of them — Michael Penix Jr. of Washington — is playing in the other College Football Playoff semifinal. The lone quarterback with more touchdown passes on long throws — LSU's Jayden Daniels — won this year's Heisman Trophy. Such is the company Milroe keeps. 

"He's an elite athlete, he's an elite runner, but he's a really good quarterback," Minter said. "He throws the ball, I think, better than most people give him credit for."

It's up to Michigan to stop him. 

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.