Michael Penix Jr. shows off purple-centric Heisman ceremony outfit
None of the other three Heisman finalists had a suit that popped quite as much as the one Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. donned for Saturday evening in New York. That’s one of the advantages of wearing purple head to toe.
But Penix took the outfit to a different level of meaning. Along with the velvety looking fabric that his three-piece suit was cut from, Penix had a custom lining for his suit, with the names of all his Washington teammates inscribed into the fabric.
Unable to have his whole team present in New York, Penix found a different way for them to be present.
“My suit, I got the suit designed for me by Unique Threads, those guys did an amazing job. For me it was about picking the color at first and stressing those guys to make me look good today. One of the biggest things about the suit is I wanted it to be something that was special to me and be able to highlight others, as well. So I was able to have my teammates and coaches names on the inside of it, to just highlight those guys because without them I wouldn’t be here,” Penix said during a pre-ceremony press conference.
Plus, the purple paisley tie with yellow and other warm-color accents is a nice way to tie the outfit together, as is the large silver “P” lapel pin.
The sixth-year senior has thrown for a national-best 4,218 yards on a 65.9% completion rate to go with 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
His excellent play boosted the Huskies to an undefeated record, a win in the Pac-12 Championship for the first time in five years and a College Football Playoff appearance for the second time ever. Despite the immense weight of his accomplishments, Penix remained humble while accepting the award.
“It took a lot of hard work and dedication and just sticking to the grind for my journey,” Penix said on ESPN after winning the Maxwell Award. “There’s a lot of ups and downs. I faced a lot of adversity but just to have perseverance to continue to push through and having support.
“My family, right here next to me, just continued to support me and show me love each and every day throughout that whole process. They kept me kept me moving forward.”
Penix’s journey isn’t over yet. On Jan. 1, Washington will square off against Texas at 8:45 p.m. ET in the CFP Semifinal. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.