My two cents: Why Michael Penix Jr. should be Indiana's starting quarterback

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's the nature of the position that attracts all the attention. That's the way it is with quarterbacks, and it's the same at every level.

It's certainly no different at Indiana, where everyone has been waiting for weeks for a decision to be made on who is going to start for the Hoosiers when they open the season against Ball State on Aug. 31 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

It's not up to me, of course, nor should it be, but I do have an opinion on it after watching a half-dozen or so practices these first two weeks and knowing how critical this season is for Tom Allen, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer and this team.

The quarterback should be Michael Penix Jr., and for many, many reasons.

Penix is a redshirt freshman from Tampa who has a huge arm and the talent to make all the throws. Because he has a gun, he can fit the ball into tight windows when he has to, and against a lot of quality Big Ten defenses, that's a trait EVERY quarterback must have.

This is no dig on Peyton Ramsey, the incumbent starter from a year ago. This QB competition all fall between Penix, Ramsey and Jack Tuttle, the highly regarded transfer from Utah, actually has been pretty impressive. There's no question that all three have talent, and all could lead this team if they had to.

That talent level, though? Penix simply has more.

He has "upside,'' which is a word with no real defined meaning with quarterbacks. He's the most exciting of the three, the most dynamic of the three, the scariest of the three for opposing defenses.

And it's his time. Hand him the ball, and let's go.

Indiana is going to scrimmage on Saturday, and that's the likely last dress rehearsal for these guys to win the job. Because the competition has been so even through camp, we can absolutely believe Allen when he says Saturday "is a big day'' for these three QBs.

I never try to get into the heads of coaches, because even though I've been around the game for a long time, they all know far more football than I do. They also have more data, because they've been charting every single play in every workout, not only these first dozen events in August, but going back through the spring and summer as well.

So do they know already?

I'm guessing yes, but they've kept their specific thoughts to themselves. When available to the media, Allen and DeBoer — who has lit up scoreboards everywhere he's been — have towed the company line. They've talked about how well they've all played, how they've all grasped the nuances of a new offense pretty well, and how they've been good leaders throughout all these workouts.

And they're right. But now comes decision time, and it's all the little things that will make a difference.

Ramsey is a great kid who has the respect of his locker room. He has been good this fall in the workouts I've seen, but he's also been very conservative in making the safe throws. You can tell his 13 interceptions from a year ago — far too many — are on his mind. His ball doesn't quite have the zip on it that Penix's throws do. He seems to be playing with a safety net so far, obviously stressing ball security and not taking big risks.

Playing it safe might be something the coaches are doing now, too. If Ramsey, the incumbent, had stolen the show throughout fall camp, it would have been easy for them to name him the starter already and move forward.

Problem is, he hasn't.

There's a big portion of the fan base that watched Ramsey last year and they think he's just good enough to get you beat. That's not really fair, of course, and fan opinion and reaction should NEVER factor into any personnel decisions. It won't here either, just like my opinion has no bearing on their choice.

This decision had to be made last October as well, if you recall. Ramsey was really struggling to move the offense for weeks and Allen went to Penix in the Penn State game. He played well, but then got hurt, tearing his ACL and missing the rest of the season.

He missed all of the live reps during the spring too, but he was out there, learning everything about DeBoer's new offense while watching. He's had a great summer, he swears he's "absolutely 100 percent'' recovered from his knee injury, and he knows the playbook well.

Despite his age, he's also been a great leader this month. When receivers have run the wrong route, he's been all over them. When someone lines up in the wrong spot, he sees it immediately and gets all over them, too, and then takes a moment to talk to them after the play.

He is a leader. And he can lead.

It should be said that Tuttle has had a decent camp, too, but he hasn't done enough to pass the other guys. He's still a little tentative with his throws, like he's still learning as he goes and still not feeling all that comfortable. He'll continue to improve, and he'll probably be needed at some point.

So my thoughts on Penix aren't meant to be anything negative about Ramsey. The old football saying is that if you have two quarterbacks, you really don't have any. That's not the case here. Penix and Ramsey are both good.

But Penix is better. He gives Indiana the best chance to win.

Hand him the ball, and let's go.

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