UW's Penix Doesn't Shy from 2023 National Championship Talk

The question was asked and the Husky quarterback answered it.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The bold talk already has begun and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. hardly is deflecting, ignoring or backing down from it.

On Monday afternoon at an Alamo Bowl news conference in the Alamodome, the University of Washington standout offensive leader was asked point blank if he's coming back to the Huskies in 2023 in order to win a national championship.

Penix isn't shy about this subject at all. He offers no elusive spin move here as he would with pass rushers bearing down on him. He answered it straight up. 

"Yeah, for sure," the Tampa, Florida, native said. "You know that's definitely one of the reasons. I just feel there was a lot of stuff that happened that was great, but at the same time there was a lot that was left out on the table."

Penix said this after his 10-2 Huskies, on a six-game winning streak entering Thursday night's game against Texas, ran through their first San Antonio practice session at the University of Incarnate Word and before he visited Sea World in the afternoon, put on a wet suit and went for a ride in the water with an accommodating dolphin.

Yet the UW's increasing national championship possibilities, which seem to grow exponentially with each added Husky underclassmen announcing his own 2023 season return on the heels of Penix's bold decision, clearly will be part of the conversation going forward for the Huskies.

Penix could have put his name in the NFL draft and possibly been selected in the first round in April, a situation that few college football players in his situation would have rejected. Yet Penix did. He saw unfinished business in Montlake. 

"At the same time, I feel like just me coming back, being part of this program, being part of this offense for another year, getting it under my belt, I think it definitely will help elevate my game and I'll be able to help elevate everybody on the offensive side of the ball, as well," he said. "I feel like it was definitely the best decision at that time. That's all it was."

The left-hander, who leads the nation in passing with 4,354 yards this season, wants it all. He didn't mention the Heisman Trophy in 2023, but nobody asked him about that.

"I definitely feel like this team is definitely going to be in the national championship, Pac-12, all that," Penix said, rattling off different title opportunities. "That's the reason I came back."

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