Michigan football: Wolverines fall to Oklahoma, 24-13; what it means
Michigan football: Tony Garcia talks the Wolverines’ loss to Oklahoma Sooners, 24-13, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Former Michigan football quarterback Alex Orji’s season at UNLV is finished.
UNLV coach Dan Mullen announced on Monday, Sept. 8, in a news conference that Orji will miss the remainder of the 2025 college football season after sustaining a season-ending Grade 3 LCL sprain that tore his hamstring off the bone in Week 2.
The former Michigan quarterback sustained an injury in the first quarter of the Rebels’ 30-23 home win over UCLA on Sept. 6.
Orji transferred to UNLV over the offseason after four seasons with the Wolverines. He lost the Rebels’ starting quarterback position with Anthony Colandrea.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound dual-threat quarterback was one of three rotating quarterbacks last season for Michigan. In three starts across 11 games last season, Orji led the Wolverines to a 2-1 record. He completed 25 of 47 passes (53.1%) for 150 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions. He also rushed 57 times for 269 yards (4.7 yards per carry) and another score.
Here’s more on Orji:
Alex Orji injury update
In the first quarter of UNLV’s Sept. 6 win over UCLA, Orji took a hit at the end of a quarterback scramble that ended with an apparent leg injury. He was able to jog off the field, which Mullen said later said led UNLV’s medical staff to believe Orji had avoided a major injury.
In his Sept. 8 news conference, Mullen told reporters in Las Vegas the test results from Orji’s MRI came back worse than the Rebels had hoped, adding that his season was over.
“The MRI came back, and it ended up being worse than we thought about the hamstring aspect,” Mullen said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
He added: “The devastating part is not just the loss of his talent on the field, but his leadership, his demeanor, the man that he is. It’s heartbreaking for him, for all the work he puts in.”
Alex Orji stats
Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of Orji’s stats at Michigan and UNLV:
- 2022: 1 of 1 (100%) passing for five yards; six carries for 37 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns
- 2023: 15 carries for 86 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown
- 2024: 25 of 47 (53.2%) passing for 150 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions; 57 carries for 269 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown
- 2025: 3 of 3 (100%) passing for 37 yards; 10 carries for 42 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown