Inside The Huskies

Michael Penix Jr. Has Good First Day at Senior Bowl in Alabama

The former Husky quarterback throws well, makes himself available to everyone in Mobile.

Dan Raley

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Running around in the Alabama sunshine — in Mobile, not Tuscaloosa — former University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. appeared as relaxed as could be as he showed off his arm strength, his accuracy and his personality on the first day of the Reese's Senior Bowl festivities.

He talked about losing the national championship game with the Huskies  and how it took him a couple of days to get over it.

He assured Alabama media members that his former coach Kalen DeBoer would win a national title within three seasons of joining the Crimson Tide.

He stood and smiled for a photo op with fellow ex-Husky QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Two UW quarterback greats in Michael Penix Jr. and Marques Tuiasosopo meet at the Senior Bowl.
Michael Penix Jr. and Marques Tuiasosopo, two ex-Husky QBs, pose for a Senior Bowl photo / Tuiasosopo

On Tuesday, Penix even made a new best friend out of former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, while acknowledging how weird that might be to some people. 

"We've been having a good connection," Penix said. "I know [with] the Oregon and Washington thing, that's not what you would expect — the two of us to be close. But he's a good guy, a good athlete, as well. I'm glad to be around him and glad to be able to work with him this week."

As he went through the paces, with people being able to see him throw up close, the reviews on his quarterbacking were once again high level, similar to what everyone was saying following the Sugar Bowl win over Texas.

"I know he's the best deep-ball thrower here," marveled Jim Nagy, Senior Bowl executive director. "He really has a strong arm."

While Penix was impressing the Tuesday gathering of NFL personnel and scouts, former Husky offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten drew his fair share of praise.

The feedback on the Rosengarten was he had extremely quick feet and used his hands well, but lacked some power in his blocking.

Of the other Huskies invited to the Senior Bowl, linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio wasn't involved in the early proceedings while offensive tackle Troy Fautanu dropped out without ready explanation and was no longer listed on a roster.

Just 515 miles from his Tampa, Florida, home, Penix was one of three quarterbacks who threw on Tuesday, joined in these exercises by Notre Dame's Sam Hartman and Nix. 

He shared himself with practically every media entity on site that requested an interview, among them NFL Network.

While few people dare question his talent, the question marks that surround Penix are about his ability to stay healthy following four season-ending injuries at Indiana. 

The quarterback, however, shared with The Athletic's Bruce Feldman how he'd received a good report on his right knee after noted surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache examined him.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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