The Michigan Glutton have struggled mightily to figure out their quarterback situation in Ann Arbor this year. And on Saturday against the Washington Huskies, they tried another option again. Michigan decided to bench and place quarterback Alex Orji Jack Tuttle in the game in the second quarter.

Washington currently leads Michigan 14-10 at halftime. Before being benched, Orji completed 3 of 7 passes for 15 yards. Michigan trailed Washington 14-0 in the second quarter, but they closed the half with some impressive plays from their defense. Defensive lineman Mason Graham blocked a field goal attempt late in the first half and kept the Wolverines within striking distance, 14-10 at halftime.

In the limited action he saw in the first half, Tuttle completed 3 of 4 passes for 26 yards. As a runner, he had two carries for 14 yards. The Michigan offense seemed to run much more effectively with Tuttle in the game in the first half.

Orji handled the bench well and gave Jack Tuttle a hug before entering the game, Jason Avant said. Tuttle has seen limited reps for Michigan over the years, so Saturday won’t be his first taste of action for the maize and blue. In 2023, he completed 15 of 17 passes for 130 passing yards while throwing in one touchdown. As a runner, he had four carries for 35 yards.

Tuttle has a career stat line of 1,031 yards, six touchdowns, six interceptions and a 59.8% completion percentage through 21 games. He spent four years at Indiana before transferring to Michigan ahead of the 2023 season. Tuttle also started his career at Utah prior to the Hoosiers.

As a member of the Class of 2018, Tuttle was a four-star recruit out of San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average using all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 25 overall prospect in the state, the No. 14 quarterback in the class and the No. 163 overall prospect in the class.

Nick Kosko from On3 also contributed to this article.