ESPN Names Penix Second Best QB In 2023
Michael Penix Jr. set Husky Twitter on fire when he announced his return to college football in early December of 2022. The transfer from Indiana had arguably the greatest season a Washington quarterback has ever had in 2022, and has garnered the attention of the national media.
ESPN released their rankings of the top 10 quarterbacks for the 2023 season on Monday and listed Penix at number two, right behind 2022 Heisman winner, USC's Caleb Williams.
"A promising career seemed to have lost its promise. But Penix got healthy and moved to Washington to reunite with head coach Kalen DeBoer, his 2019 offensive coordinator at [Indiana]," ESPN's Bill Connelly wrote. "Most of his receiving corps and both offensive tackles return, too. There's plenty of talk about USC's potential out West, but the ridiculously resilient Penix and Washington could be major factors in the Pac-12 and top-10 races"
If the offensive line can keep Penix upright and healthy once again in 2023, he has a chance to cement himself in the record books. After setting the single-season record for passing yards at Washington, and throwing for the third-most touchdowns in one year, he could assert himself as the greatest quarterback in Husky history.
Realistically, it's fair to expect a little bit of regression from the historic numbers that he put up in 2022. However, even if the numbers are a little bit lower than last season's, he has a chance to move as high in the school record books as third in both passing yards and touchdowns in his career.
So far this spring, it doesn't look like Penix has lost a step, and seems ready to live up to the hype he's gotten from the national media. If he can live up to those expectations this fall, he could find himself in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation.
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