Michael Penix makes big play in first preseason appearance

The 2024 NFL preseason is in full swing, and the Atlanta Falcons are taking on the Miami Dolphins in Miami on Friday night. Preseason is always a time for coaches to trot out their rookies and get them some meaningful game reps. And on Friday evening, the Falcons got to roll out rookie quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. and get him some action.

He made a beautiful connection with Falcons’ receiver Chris Blair for a 41-yard pass.

Penix makes the connection downfield!

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Kirk Cousins won’t play at all on Friday night, so it’ll be a great opportunity for Penix to get some quality reps. The plan for the Falcons is to stick with Cousins as their starter for a few years, then gradually ease Penix into the starting role. But injuries happen all the time in the NFL.

Every team in the league is only a brutal hit or two away from their second string or third string quarterback. Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, which made him miss the majority of the 2023 season. He’s stated that he will be ready for Week 1 in a few weeks. Regardless, the Falcons have a great backup in case something happens to their starter.

Penix finished his night completing 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards and a passer rating of 76.0.

More on the prolific college career of Michael Penix, Jr.

He spent his first four seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, before hitting the transfer portal and joining the Washington Huskies for his final two years.

During his final two seasons with the Huskies, Penix became the first quarterback to throw for over 4,500 yards in back-to-back seasons since Patrick Mahomes did it at Texas Tech. He firmly cemented his status as one of the best quarterbacks in college football history, guiding the Huskies to a berth in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship. He also finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, with LSU QB Jayden Daniels bringing home the honor.

The second-place finish was the highest in school history for a player from the Washington program. In 2023, Penix carved up opposing secondaries to the tune of 4,903 passing yards, the second most in Pac-12 history. It was also the second straight season that Penix led the nation in passing yards. Penix also brought home Walter Camp first team All-American honors in 2023.

He put up one of the all-time great performances in College Football Playoff history against the Texas Longhorns in the 2024 CFP Semifinal (Sugar Bowl). Penix earned MVP honors in the Sugar Bowl after he completed 28 of his 38 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns, lifting the Huskies to a 37-31 victory.

In 2022, Penix threw for 4,641 passing yards, ranking second in the country in that stat. That impressive season helped him earn AP Comeback Player of the Year honors.

During his four seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, he completed 342 of 576 passes for 4,197 yards and 29 touchdowns, while throwing 15 interceptions. Penix had an extensive list of injuries during his time with the Hoosiers. In 2018, he appeared in three games as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in October. In 2019, the Florida native dislocated the joint in his non-throwing shoulder (right) in November of 2019. That ended his season prematurely.

Coming out of Tampa Bay Tech (Tampa, Florida), Penix was ranked as the No. 586 overall player in America and a three-star prospect. He was also rated as the No. 43 quarterback recruit in the country. During his time as a starter, he threw for 4,197 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Penix also played baseball and ran track during his high school days.