Michael Penix on transfer QB Austin Mack: ‘Definitely going to be a household name’

With former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer coming in to replace Nick Saban, the hope at Alabama is that he’s going to be able to bring his explosive offense with him. Now, his former quarterback at Washington, Michael Penix Jr., shared that he thinks DeBoer already has his quarterback of the future.

Austin Mack, a former Washington Husky, transferred to Alabama along with DeBoer. He’s a young player who Penix praised during an appearance on WNSP Now.

“He’s a young guy,” Michael Penix Jr. said. “He actually reclassified, came in early, he wanted to be able to spend a year in the offense. Seeing me and seeing how I operated in the offense and stuff like that. I did my best to just show him as much of the offense as I could and continue to encourage him to keep his confidence up.”

Austin Mack played high school football at Folsom (CA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 219 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Mack didn’t see the field in 2023, taking a redshirt. Still, Michael Penix is confident that what he saw in practice will one day translate onto the field.

“His confidence is out of the roof, man. He’s going to be an amazing player at Alabama. That’s definitely going to be a household name there pretty soon, and he has so much talent at a young age that I saw as soon as he came in and just the way he was able to pick up the offense, and pick up on just seeing the defense, and reacting to the plays, it was amazing to see. So, I know his ceiling is very high.”

Alabama currently has Jalen Milroe returning for the 2024 season. So, including Austin Mack, the future of the quarterback position is bright in Tuscaloosa.

Michael Penix predicts Kalen DeBoer will win national championship within three seasons at Alabama

Michael Penix also praised head coach Kalen DeBoer, and after playing in the College Football Playoff for DeBoer. In particular, he explained what makes his offense so good.

“Man, he is an amazing coach, man. He’s gonna push the guys extremely hard. He’s gonna make sure every player is 100% prepared, you know, come game day and man and you know, especially on the offensive side of the ball, you know, man, they’re gonna light it up,” Penix said.

“The offense that he installs you know, it’s amazing, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of pushing the ball down the field but obviously being smart with it and the timing of the plays, it’s perfect.”