Michael Penix Jr.
Penix in 2024
Washington Huskies – No. 9
PositionQuarterback
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born: (2000-05-08) May 8, 2000 (age 23)
Cookeville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight213 lb (97 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolTampa Bay Technical (Tampa, Florida)
Career highlights and awards

Michael Tarrence Penix Jr. (/ˈpɛnɪks/; born May 8, 2000) is an American football quarterback. He played college football at Indiana and Washington, winning the 2023 Maxwell Award and leading the latter to an appearance in the 2024 national championship.

Early life and high school

Penix was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, but later moved and was raised in Dade City, Florida.[2] Penix attended Tampa Bay Technical High School and started at quarterback for the Titans for two seasons, passing for 4,243 yards with 61 touchdowns and only six interceptions.[3] He committed to Indiana University to play college football.[4]

College career

Indiana

As a true freshman in 2018 at Indiana, Penix played in three games, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and was redshirted.[5] He completed 21 of 34 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown.[6] Named the starter entering the 2019 season,[7][8][9] Penix, however, only played in six games due to injury, completing 110 of 160 passes for 1,394 yards, with ten touchdowns and four interceptions.[10] Penix returned to Indiana as the starter in 2020.[11][12][13] On November 30, he was ruled out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in a win against Maryland.[14]

Washington

As a junior on December 14, 2021, Penix transferred to the University of Washington,[15] and led the Huskies to an 11–2 record in 2022. Penix was the FBS leader in passing yards per game the 2022 regular season, averaging 357 yards per game.[16] He threw 4,641 passing yards, becoming the Washington Huskies all-time single-season passing leader during the Alamo Bowl. He won the Maxwell Award and was named AP Comeback Player of the Year.[17][18][19][20]

His senior year, Penix led the 2023 Huskies to an undefeated 13-0 regular season and the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game, which they lost. Penix finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, the highest ever for a Husky,[21] and lead the NCAA in passing yards, with 4,903, beating his previously set University of Washington single-season passing yards record.[22] Penix was named MVP of the Pac-12 Championship Game, leading UW to a win over rival No. 5 Oregon, and threw for 27-for-39 for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

College statistics

Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD
Indiana Hoosiers
2018 3 0 0–0 21 34 61.8 219 6.4 1 0 125.6 7 45 6.4 0
2019 6 6 5–1 110 160 68.8 1,394 8.7 10 4 157.6 22 119 5.4 2
2020 6 6 5–1 124 220 56.4 1,645 7.5 14 4 136.5 18 25 1.4 2
2021 5 5 2–3 87 162 53.7 939 5.8 4 7 101.9 17 −24 −1.4 2
Washington Huskies
2022 13 13 11–2 362 554 65.3 4,641 8.4 31 8 151.3 35 92 2.6 4
2023 15 15 14–1 363 555 65.4 4,903 8.8 36 11 157.1 35 8 0.2 3
Career 48 45 37–8 1,067 1,685 63.3 13,741 8.2 96 34 146.6 134 265 2.0 13

Personal life

Penix is a Christian.[23] His father was a running back at Tennessee Tech in the 1990s and holds several school rushing records, with his mother running track at Tennessee Tech.[24]

References

  1. ^ @valeroalamobowl (December 30, 2022). "Congratulations to our 30th annual #valeroalamobowl Offensive MVP, @themikepenix on an incredible, record-breaking game" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Heisman favorite Michael Penix Jr.'s career was launched in Dade City". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  3. ^ "Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., was a huge recruiting get for Indiana". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  4. ^ "Tampa Bay Tech's Michael Penix Jr. chooses Indiana". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  5. ^ "Indiana QB Penix out for season with torn ACL". ESPN.com. October 22, 2018. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Osterman, Zach. "IU QB Michael Penix ahead of schedule as he rehabs from torn ACL". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  7. ^ Osterman, Zach. "Insider: Hoosiers' choice of Michael Penix at QB is a risk — but one worth taking". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  8. ^ "Monday's college football: Penix Jr. beats out Ramsey for Indiana starting QB job". The Detroit News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  9. ^ Indiana, Kevin Brockway CNHI Sports. "Poised QB Penix set to make IU starting debut". Herald Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  10. ^ "Indiana loses starting QB Penix for rest of season". ESPN.com. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Blau, Jon. "QB Michael Penix ready to prove what's possible for IU football". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  12. ^ Charboneau, Matt. "'Talented and tough': Michigan State knows Michael Penix Jr.-led No. 10 Indiana is no fluke". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  13. ^ Kravitz, Bob. "Kravitz: At last, Indiana's Michael Penix Jr. is fulfilling his promise". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  14. ^ Sallee, Barrett (November 30, 2020). "Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in win over Maryland". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "Ex-Hoosiers QB Penix transferring to Washington". 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  16. ^ "NCAA College Football FBS current individual Stats | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  17. ^ Kasabian, Paul. "College Football Awards 2023: Results, Winners, Highlights and Twitter Reaction". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  18. ^ "Washington Huskies". Washington Huskies. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  19. ^ Vorel, Mike (2023-08-31). "'All I see is resiliency': How Husky QB Michael Penix Jr. has built a career by bouncing back". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  20. ^ "Penix, Ibrahim, Latu earn comeback player of the year honors". AP News. 2022-12-20. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  21. ^ "Washington Huskies". Washington Huskies. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  22. ^ "2023 FBS Passing Statistics | The Football Database". web.archive.org. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  23. ^ Mercer, Kevin. "QB Michael Penix Jr. leads Washington to CFP title game: 'I gotta thank God for everything'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  24. ^ Billy Shank, "2024 Sugar Bowl Preview: QB Michael Penix is the Engine that Makes Washington Go," Burnt Orange Nation, 26 December 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Penix Jr..
Maxwell Award winners
Indiana Hoosiers starting quarterbacks
Washington Huskies starting quarterbacks
NCAA major college football annual passing yards leaders
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