ANN ARBOR >> No one expected Michigan to have a starting quarterback coming out of spring practice, but offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Kirk Campbell definitely has a better feel for the position group after the spring game.

Davis Warren threw touchdown passes of 42 and 48 yards to help lead the Maize team to a 17-7 victory over the Blue Team on Saturday before an estimated 31,000 at Michigan Stadium. Alex Orji scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to give the Blue its only points.

This was the public’s first look at the defending national champions who are now coached by Sherrone Moore. Former head coach Jim Harbaugh and many from the 2023 team were in Ann Arbor to receive rings commemorating the 15-0 national title season, but the spring game was about what Michigan is building toward this season.

“I think we’re an extremely explosive offense,” Campbell said after the game. “We’ve got really explosive players, and it’s my job to get them the ball.”

But who will deliver the ball to those explosive players has not yet been decided. Campbell said Orji, Warren and Jayden Denegal took the bulk of the snaps through 15 spring practices, while freshman Jadyn Davis did not get many reps with the starters. Jack Tuttle, who had been a captain at Indiana where he started multiple games before transferring to Michigan before last season, did not practice this spring while dealing with an unspecified injury. Tuttle is expected to be in the mix in preseason camp, and Campbell said he will be cleared for summer workouts.

Orji was 13-of-18 for 103 yards and he had five carries for 17 yards and the touchdown. Davis was 6-of-9 for 136 yards and threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bell and a 48-yarder to Fred Moore. Denegal was 2-of-6 for 39 yards and had an interception and Jadyn Davis was 2-of-4 for 20 yards.

“Overall, when you take the summation of the entire day, there were good things from every guy out there,” Campbell said. “You got to see Alex run around a little bit, you saw Davis’ arm, Jayden Denegal made some really nice throws. All four did something good.”

Campbell said each improved throughout the spring. “Alex has been much better as a passer. You can see he can throw the football,” Campbell said. “Davis’ knowledge of the system is through the dang roof. He’s like me out there. Jayden Denegal had a really bad start this spring and was exceptional the last 11 practices. I know today meant a lot to him. Jadyn Davis is like a sponge out there. Everybody got better. Nobody got worse.”

Campbell reiterated what he said early in spring practice that Michigan is not thinking about adding a quarterback from the transfer portal. He also said they’re in no rush to name a starter.

“If a guy emerges, we’re going to roll with that,” he said. “If a guy doesn’t, we gotta push somebody to get that done. You’d ideally like it before the first week of the season. When we’re ready to make that decision, we’ll make that.”

Orji was asked if he feels he has separated himself in the competition.

“We all started here,” Orji said, holding his hand up to show one level, “and we’ve all kept rising. As a QB group, we’ve all taken the necessary steps to put ourselves in a position to be in position. We’ve all done things this spring that have been really good. The main thing is whenever we’ve made a mistake, we’re learning from somebody else.”

Michigan lost considerable talent on offense from the 2023 season, but Orji said he is not concerning himself with critics who don’t think the Wolverines will be contenders this fall.

“We’ve got a bunch of gritty guys willing to work hard and do whatever it takes,” he said.

Adding receivers

Michigan lacks depth at receiver, and Campbell said the staff will explore the transfer portal to add to that position group. They don’t have a big-body difference maker.

“We’ve got some explosive guys,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a top-loaded room. We need to get some guys to help out there. We probably will look to add some guys in that position, how many I’m not sure. We just don’t even have numbers. When you look at the roster depth, you need enough guys, hamstring injuries are going to happen, quad injuries, so we have to make sure we have enough to fill the roster.”

Rings to go around

Members of the 2023 national title team gathered earlier Saturday for a ring ceremony for which Harbaugh was in attendance. Each player received a box with four rings — two to commemorate the national championship with one provided by the College Football Playoff, one for the Rose Bowl victory and one for the Big Ten title.

Permanent stamp

Harbaugh had said midway through last season that if the team went undefeated, he would get a tattoo to commemorate the achievement. He said then it would probably be on the shoulder with a Block M. Several of the players posted photos of Harbaugh getting the tattoo Saturday morning. It features a block M on his right shoulder with “15-0” below.

Kickoff set

Michigan’s game against Texas on Sept. 7 at Michigan Stadium will be on FOX at noon, the network announced Saturday.