Penix Grabs Attention of Pro Day Scouts More with Feet Than Arm

The former Husky quarterback surprised people with hisu 40-yard dash time.

Michael Penix Jr. meets with local media members at UW Pro Day. / Dan Raley

For roughly the same amount of time it takes to play a University of Washington football game, 19 former Husky players auditioned for a huge gathering of NFL scouts and others taking copious notes during Pro Day on Thursday in Dempsey Indoor.

Everyone it seems had a notebook, a stopwatch or an iPhone at the ready to document someone or something. Even those not involved drew attention. Edge rusher Zion Tupola-Fetui, still nursing a season-long shoulder injury, sat and watched with his small dog perched on his lap. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, one inactive and the other involved for the scouts as wide receivers, traded scripted yet fun-loving insults in a media setting.

Fellow edge rusher Bralen Trice looked extremely mobile and powerful as he ran through different exercises, and could be a draft steal. Offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten appeared trim and athletic as they shared in drills and will go fairly quickly in the draft.

New Husky coach Jedd Fisch was in attendance. Old UW coach Kalen DeBoer, now at Alabama, texted a number of his former players to wish them luck. Warren Moon, the one-time Husky quarterback great and pro football hall of famer, held court to the end.

Out of all of this collection of Husky football talent and people posing around them, maybe the biggest development to emerge from this three and a half hours of show and tell came from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in three numbers.

Four point four six.

That would be his 40-yard dash time, contradicting anyone who says he's damaged goods from his time spent at Indiana and not very mobile. Different stop watches clocked him at 4.46, 4.51 and 4.53 seconds. Penix seemed overly satisfied by this. He took the lowest number, of course.

"I'm a 4.4 guy, in my opinion," he said. "It's unofficial, but I'm good. I just showed I can run. I feel good."

Penix next will turn to pre-draft visits with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, among others. He'll be at home in the Tampa, Florida, area when the NFL draft is held in Detroit on April 25-27. It's been an arduous process for him.

"The wait," he said. "I expected the wait, but it's long, it's a long wait. I'm just ready to get where I'm going so I can help a team win football games."

In Dempsey, he missed on just three of 60 throws, continuing to display a strong, accurate arm that could make him a first-rounder. Yet people seem more torn on his draft position than any of the other top six quarterbacks available. It doesn't worry him. He's almost reached the point where there's just nothing more for him to prove pre-draft.

"I'm not chasing for someone's respect," Penix said of the scouts. "I feel the real ones know, the ones who really watch, and they know football. They know what I can do on the football field."