Inside The Huskies

Penix Ready to Embrace Life as an NFL Starter

The former UW signal-caller will draw his first game-opening assignment as a pro player.

Dan Raley

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and the Falcons' Michael Penix Jr., the former Trojan and Husky, embrace after their recent game.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and the Falcons' Michael Penix Jr., the former Trojan and Husky, embrace after their recent game. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

A trip to Costco. The $1.50 hotdog. Mixing with the common man. Humble throughout..

Inside the wholesale retailer, one overcrowded with Christmas shoppers apparently oblivious to his presence, with him doing what everyone does by standing in line, is where Michael Penix Jr. took the phone call informing the former University of Washington quarterback it was time for him to eat as an NFL player, that he would become a starter.

How Americana is that?

By retelling that story, Penix gave football fans every reason to root for him when he makes his first career start behind center for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, replacing veteran Kirk Cousins against the New York Giants, in a game held in the largest city in the South.

"I just got to be myself," the lefty said.

The great injustice here has been that we've not seen the quarterback magic of the rifle-armed and creative-minded Penix for nearly a full year now, since he mesmerized the entire nation last New Year's Day from New Orleans with his let 'er rip passing performance in the Sugar Bowl against Texas.

It has taken until week 14 of the NFL schedule for the Falcons to give way on the high-priced Cousins and put their eighth overall draft pick to work in a carefully scripted moment against one of the two worst teams in pro football, with the Giants' 2-12 record matching the Las Vegas Raiders for general ineptitude.

Penix becomes the first first-round draft pick to start his initial NFL game as a rookie quarterback in week 14 or later, according to NFL Pro, since Patrick Mahomes was eased into the Kansas Chiefs lineup in week 17 against the Denver Broncos in 2017. Mahomes directed his team to a 27-24 victory on the road that day to close out the regular season.

Similarly unseating returning UW starter Dylan Morris in 2022, Penix has been nothing short of gracious toward Cousins in this QB passing of the torch, crediting the veteran with teaching him a lot and preparing him for the moment at hand.

However, the Atlanta franchise eventually will turn cold-hearted and cost-conservative toward Cousins, with ESPN's Adam Schefter -- who once worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer early in his career -- reporting the Falcons will cut the quarterback from the payroll before a $10 million roster bonus becomes due.

Cousins' removal as the starting quarterback in Atlanta was expedited by him getting physically beat up over the past month and limited in the throws he could make, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

All of this leads to Penix taking over and the Falcons expanding the playbook to accentuate the talents of a guy who led the UW to a 25-3 record and threw for 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns over two seasons, and wracked up 13,741 passing yards and 96 scores counting four other seasons at Indiana.

“Obviously Mike’s got some different skillsets that you can activate," Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. "Whatever he’s done at Washington, and what we’ve seen on the practice field, we’ll definitely activate that this week."

Penix will take over the reins of the Falcons with a host of one-time Huskies surrounding and supporting him.

Former UW coach Jimmy Lake is Atlanta's defensive coordinator and threw plenty of defensive wrinkles at the quarterback this week to get him ready for Sunday's game. Rookie edge rusher Bralen Trice, a third-round draft pick and a Penix teammate in Montlake, will encourage his teammate while working feverishly to return from a season-ending knee injury suffered in the preseason.

Then there's the down home Kaleb McGary, a former Husky lineman who will block for Penix from the right tackle spot. Asked if providing protection for a lefty would an adjustment for him, McGary would have none of it, responding, "It's football, man. Go. Play. Ball."

And that's what Michael Penix Jr. will do on Sunday, with the whole world watching, and Costco having to sell hotdogs to someone else on Sunday.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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