Facing Big Ten Reunion, Penix Projects Cool and Confidence

Four days before kickoff, the Husky quarterback seemed ready to go.

Michael Penix Jr. was surrounded, squeezed on all sides. Yet these were media types pressing up against him with questions, not pass rushers who haven't come anywhere near him in two games this season.

The veteran quarterback is a former Big Ten headliner who will take his new team up against his old conference when the Michigan State Spartans visit on Saturday. He's been entrusted with helping restore the University of Washington football program to previous competitive levels. So far, so good.

Penix exudes cool every time he steps on the field and takes a snap or stands off to the side and tells you what he's thinking. His Tuesday question-and-answer session was no different. It's big-game week.

"New season, you know a different team," he said of the UW makeover. "Obviously, we're still the Huskies, but it's not the same team as last year. You had some guys leave, whole new coaching staff, some guys came in. It's a different team. I feel like the mindset has been elevating."

Penix is careful in what he says, yet every so often you can draw a competitive response from him just with your choice of words put into a question.

For instance, was the Indiana transfer surprised to be playing a Big Ten team so soon, and this was how it was phrased to him, "after trying to get away from that league?"

To which Penix responded, "I wasn't trying to get away from nothing. I just thought this was my best opportunity just pursuing my career and my future. I knew the schedule when I first got here. I always knew the schedule. It's football man, let's go."

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HAND TO HAND COMBAT / Skylar Lin Visuals

Standing behind center Corey Luciano, Michael Penix Jr. calls out the signals and prepares to clap his hands, which is how he calls for the football. 

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LINE DANCE / Skylar Lin Visuals

Michael Penix Jr. is known as a savvy and cool-under-pressure quarterback, capable of reading almost any situation the defense presents him. 

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LEFT TURN :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Of the three scholarship quarterbacks on the UW roster, Michael Penix Jr. and Sam Huard are left-handers. It's  a rare occurrence for a college football team to have a pair of them. 

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HEAD BANGERS / Skylar Lin Visuals

Taj Davis and Michael Penix Jr. head butt each other in the end zone after hooking up for a 32-yard touchdown pass early in the season opener against Kent State. 

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PLUGGED IN / Skylar Lin Visuals

Michael Penix Jr. acknowledges he has a very good relationship with Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, with the two chatting continuously during breaks in the game.

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HATS OFF :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Michael Penix Jr. raises his helmet to acknowledge a Husky teammate's play after his day was done against Portland State. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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TUNNEL VISION / Skylar Lin Visuals

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. prepares to lead the UW football team out of the tunnel to face Portland State this past Saturday at Husky Stadium. 

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MAN WITH THE ANSWERS

Surrounded by reporters, UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. tells them how he and the Huskies were able to beat Kent State 45-20 in their season opener. 

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GETTING WARMER / Skylar Lin Visuals

As dusk settles on Husky Stadium for the season opener, Michael Penix Jr. loosens up his throwing arm. He went on to complete 26 of 39 passes for 345 yards and 4 touchdowns against Kent State.

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HOOSIERS HERO :: Junfu Han/USA TODAY Sports

Michael Penix Jr. played four seasons for Indiana, starting three of them, and led the Hoosiers to victories over Michigan State, Michigan and Penn State. Unfortunately, he got injured a lot. 

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In the previous two weeks, Kent State and Portland State couldn't stop him. Overseeing an offense averaging 571 yards per game, Penix has stood untouched in the pocket and completed 46 of 66 passes for 682 yards and 6 scores, just a few sizzling percentage points shy of 70 percent.

Amazing enough, he's been better that when he once completed 20 consecutive passes in a game, two shy of the Big Ten record, in 2019 — against Michigan State.

While it had to be similar to throwing a no-hitter of sorts, with each perfect pitch, Penix said he had no idea what he'd done until after the game. He was just caught up in the moment, dishing however he could in East Lansing, Michigan.

As the 11th-ranked Spartans come to town, Penix is in another groove, working with a new offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, someone he makes sure to credit at every chance.

"I understand everything Coach Grubb calls down," he said. "He definitely helps us out. Some of the looks he gets us in. Some of the looks we haven't seen and he make checks and puts us in a good look to beat that look. It's definitely crazy. It's something like I can go out and just have fun. Go through my reads. I know I'll find somebody open because I believe in Coach Grubb."

Consequently, the Huskies are big believers in their former Big Ten quarterback who emerged from a three-man competition and is giving them a chance to put all the pieces back together again. A win over the Spartans, and Penix split with them when he was at Indiana, would go a long way to bringing the slow-to-return fans, national rankings and excitement back to Montlake.

On Tuesday, the quarterback already had his game face on, looking over the press pass rush and barking out responses.

"It's definitely a great opportunity," Penix said. "They're a highly ranked team. We're definitely going to respect them, but we're definitely going to come out and have fun and do what we do — and that's win."

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