![]() The Hoosiers' offense played so well, in fact, that Fresno State hired DeBoer as head coach entering 2020. His second offensive coordinator, Kalen DeBoer, helped Penix play the best football of his career in 2019. His first offensive coordinator, Mike DeBord, announced his retirement following the 2018 season. Being able to have people around me who supported me and be there through those tough times helped me come out on the right side."Ī lot changed at Indiana during Penix's four-year run of terrible injury luck. Whenever it hits, you have to be ready and attack it with the right mindset. "Adversity is going to hit, going to find its way somehow someway. "It was something I had to learn came with the sport. "It was a battle in my mind," Penix said. That's how Penix ended his Indiana career. Then, as if the universe played some sort of cruel joke, Penix suffered an acromioclavicular joint separation in his shoulder Oct. He again came back, returning for the start of the 2021 season. Penix returned in 2020 and played in six games before suffering an ACL tear against Maryland. That'd prove to be a distressingly familiar pattern. ![]() It turned out to be a sternoclavicular joint issue. A first-half injury to his shoulder sent him to the locker room. He rewarded that faith by throwing for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 68.8% of his passes in six games. He returned in 2019 and was the program's no-doubt starter. Shrout, who is currently the backup at Arkansas State. The quarterback that Tennessee ended up taking over Penix? That'd be J.T. There was nothing that'd stop me or slow me down." "It was kind of a scramble, but not really. "It was just random," Penix said of losing his Tennessee scholarship. So instead of biting on late interest from new Florida State head coach Willie Taggart, Penix decided to go more than 1,000 miles from home and play for the Hoosiers. Indiana sent its entire staff - all 10 on-field coaches, plus head coach Tom Allen - down to Florida to recruit Penix and the family. ![]() "He was a victim of the coaching carousel. "It should be the poster story for the ugly side of recruiting that not everybody knows about," Roberts said. The Vols wanted to go another direction at quarterback. Then two weeks before the early signing period, just ahead of Penix's official visit, he got a call from new head coach Jeremy Pruitt's staff. Penix remained loyal, refusing overtures from other programs in the wake of Jones' firing. After back-to-back nine-win seasons, then-head coach Butch Jones and Tennessee stumbled to 4-8, which led to Jones' firing and scattering the staff that recruited Penix across college football. The next few months were tumultuous for the Vols. 154 overall prospect, Penix in the spring of his junior season committed April 22, 2017, to Tennessee. Two days later, the team's starting quarterback went up to Roberts and said, "I don't mind playing receiver.'"Ī smooth left-handed quarterback with the athleticism to make the Florida state track meet in both the 200 meters and long jump - he also starred in basketball and played centerfield - Penix emerged as an intriguing QB prospect during the 2018 cycle. His first throw was a 10-yard out route from one hash to the opposite sideline. ![]() Tampa Bay Tech had a returning starter who led the program to the second round of the playoffs, so Penix began spring practice as the third quarterback on the depth chart. Tampa (Fla.) Bay Tech head coach Jayson Roberts remembers thinking that Penix had to earn the starting job when he transferred into the school during the spring semester of his sophomore year. Get football and recruiting scoop on your favorite college team for $1 for first month.Įasy isn't really a word you can associate with Penix. Penix might be a Heisman favorite and the Huskies might be on the cusp of an unbeaten run to the College Football Playoff, but the 2023 season, like the rest of Penix's career, has rarely been painless.Įven Senior Night in Seattle required the Washington's offense to make a heroic last-second drive to win the Apple Cup against Washington State and preserve the hope of what Penix says is possible for his team: A national championship. Over the next seven weeks, Washington won seven straight games decided by 10 points or fewer. When looking back at his six seasons in college football - and many others before that as a relevant national recruit - Penix doesn't hesitate when asked how he'd describe his journey: "Perseverance. is taking a moment to think about his career. It's an off week for Washington after a 5-0 start, and Michael Penix Jr.
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