Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. named 2023 Maxwell Award winner

On Friday, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was named the 2023 Maxwell Award winner. The honor is given annually to the best player in college football. He was selected over Oregon’s Bo Nix and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

Penix earned it. 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. “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.

More on the Maxwell Award

Penix is only the latest selection in a long list of highly-touted talents. The Maxwell Football Club provided more information behind its selection process.

“The Maxwell Football Club has had over three-quarters of a century selecting the promising talent of tomorrow with educated accuracy,” the club wrote. “Recognizing talented players at the earliest stages of their careers has been a Maxwell standard. In fact, a majority of our Maxwell Award winners have experienced continued success at the professional level with several going on to be legends of the game.

“In 1935 when the Club was founded, weekly meetings consisted of informal sessions with football officials, coaches and the public to talk about the previous weekend’s games. At these meetings local high school and college players were honored. The Maxwell Football Club is the first organization to honor football from beginner to professional.

“The Maxwell Football Club first presented its namesake award in 1937. In 1959, following the death of its founder Bert Bell, The Maxwell Football Club’s Professional Player of the Year Award was instituted and christened the Bert Bell Trophy. The inaugural presentation of the Jim Henry Award to the Tri-State High School Player of the Year in 1985 and the addition of The National High School Player in 2007, the Maxwell Football Club solidified its status as the preeminent organization with a keen view of excellence at all levels of football.”