Penix, Latu and Gophers Back Share AP Comeback Player of Year Award
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found health and happiness as a college football player in Seattle this season, the opposite of what happened to edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who had to leave the city to make things right for him.
Two time zones away in Minneapolis, running back Mohamed Ibrahim stayed put in that Midwestern metropolis and regained all of the success he previously enjoyed and more.
That trio — which includes a current University of Washington football player and a former one — on Tuesday were named as the Associated Press comeback players of the year.
Typically, just one individual might be recognized for this accolade, but the rebound story for each of these three was just too compelling to try and separate them.
Penix stayed healthy for an entire regular season for the Huskies, 12 games in all, after playing for Indiana and suffering four season-ending injuries that required surgery. For the Hoosiers, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound junior was never able to get past the sixth game on the schedule.
Today, he's overcome all of that drawn-out misfortune to lead the country in passing with 4,354 total yards and 363 yards per game. He's helped guide the UW to a 10-2 season in the first year of Kalen DeBoer as coach and into the Alamo Bowl to face Texas (8-4) on Dec. 29 in San Antonio.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Latu, a junior from Sacramento, began his career at the UW and played a lot as a freshman in 2019 before injuring his neck in practice prior to the following season and having surgery. He was told by multiple specialists he needed to medically retire.
After missing consecutive seasons, Latu transferred to UCLA, following edge-rushing coach Ikaika Malloe from school to school during a coaching change in the Northwest.
Latu was able to gain medical clearance after his long football layoff, which included watching his former teammates practice and simply just tossing around a ball on the sideline.
Feeling renewed, the UCLA defender became one of the top pass rushers in the Pac-12 this season with 9 1/2 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. The coaches selected him as a first-team, all-conference player.
Latu and the Bruins (9-3) will face Pittsburgh (8-4) in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas.
Minnesota's Ibrahim, the non-Pac-12 member of this group, played only one game in 2021 after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in the season opener against Ohio State and returned fully recovered and dominant.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior from Baltimore this past season led the Big Ten in rushing with 1,640 yards, or 145 yards per game, and scored 19 touchdowns.
Ibrahim, an AP second-team All-America selection, ranks second in the nation heading into the Pinstripe Bowl, where Minnesota (8-4) will face Syracuse (7-5) on Dec. 29 at Yankee Stadium in New York.
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