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From yo-yo'd recruitment to winding journey to stardom at Washington, Michael Penix Jr. is a college football unicorn

On3 imageby:Jesse Simonton•01/03/24•

JesseReSimonton

Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
(Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has had a wild, rollercoaster career unlikely to be replicated ever again in college football.) © Joe Nicholson | USA TODAY Sports

Spurred by a masterful performance from quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Washington continued its storybook season with a 37-31 upset win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl to remain undefeated and play for the national title on Monday. 

Penix Jr. was brilliant in the CFP Semifinal, throwing dime after dime to the tune of 430 yards and two touchdowns. Like a maestro, Penix orchestrated an offense to the perfect pitch, using all of the Huskies’ instruments (Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Ja’Lynn Polk and tight end Jack Westover) magnificently. 

The lefty quarterback uncorked his typical teardrop deep ball on the first play from scrimmage, and he flashed his full complement of skills the rest of the night — his accuracy, the quick release and underrated athleticism.

The sixth-year senior returned to Washington in 2023 for that very moment against the Longhorns, and afterward, all I could think about is how unique Penix’s story has been. 

He’s college football’s unicorn, and we won’t see another quarterback like him in the sport again. 

I remember covering Michael Penix Jr.’s recruitment way back in 2017. 

Then just a scrawny, 6-2 southpaw from Tampa Bay, Penix was one of a flurry of prospects to commit to Tennessee during the Vols’ spring game. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord liked him. Graduate analyst Nick Sheridan saw something special in him. 

And yet even then, Penix Jr. wasn’t seen as Tennessee’s top QB priority in the 2018 class. The Vols aggressively recruited and ultimately landed a verbal pledge from 4-star quarterback Adrian Martinez in the same cycle. Martinez was viewed as the future by Tennessee’s staff, yet Penix never wavered his commitment. 

Then the Vols’ disastrous 2017 season happened, and Butch Jones & Co., were fired. After a chaotic coaching search, Tennessee hired Jeremy Pruitt, and the ex-Alabama defensive coordinator and new OC Tyson Helton quickly began recruiting other quarterbacks.

Penix was originally told he still had a scholarship, but he had effectively been cast aside. Then just before he was set to take his December official visit to Knoxville, the 3-star Sunshine State native was told he no longer had a spot at Tennessee. 

Penix had hoped to early enroll but was suddenly left without a home. And although Willie Taggart and Florida State showed some interest late, it was DeBord and Sheridan, who left Tennessee for Indiana in 2017, who told then-Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen about an intriguing quarterback down in Tampa. 

In a rush, Allen and the staff went to Florida to meet Penix and his family, and a week later, Penix committed to IU. Penix redshirted the 2018 season, and Mike DeBord retired after the year. 

By the next season, Penix was ready to compete for Indiana’s starting job. 

Tom Allen’s new OC in 2019? None other than Kalen DeBoer. 

The QB and OC would develop a strong rapport, and even though that original relationship lasted just one season before DeBoer became the head coach at Fresno State, the bond paid dividends down the road. 

Flash forward five years, and Penix became an otherworldly quarterback playing for DeBoer again, putting Washington on his back to beat Texas and make the national championship game. 

It’s been a remarkable, unimaginable career, and Penix has one last game to write that final, perfect song. 

Michael Penix Jr. has gone from a prospect chewed up by the coaching carousel, to a promising Big Ten quarterback who nearly led Indiana to a spot in the conference championship game in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, to a guy who suffered multiple season-ending ACL injuries and seemed broken by the end of his Hoosiers’ career (5.8 yards per attempt with just four touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2021), to reuniting with DeBoer and developing into college football’s Legolas who fires arrows with the prettiest precision we’ve seen in years, to a sixth-year senior who finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up leading an undefeated team to a possible national championship in 2023. 

Stetson Bennett led Georgia to back-to-back national titles and was a 1-of-1 in the sport. Michael Penix Jr., has his own wild, unique journey to the national championship, and like Bennett, they’ll never be another college football quarterback with a story like Michael Penix Jr.