Huskies Haven't Really Come Close to a Heisman

With the University of Washington football season opener just over a week away, people need to try a few things on for size and see how they fit.

Such as the UW, College Football Playoff qualifier.

Been there, done that.

Similarly the Huskies, as a Pac-12 championship game victor.

Been there, done that.

Then there's Michael Penix Jr., Heisman Trophy winner.

Whoa, now run that last one by everyone again, only say it more emphatically and treat it like you believe it's possible.

Because it is.

Previously, the Huskies have never come close to capturing college football's most illustrious individual accolade.

Consider that Steve Emtman, the UW's 1991 consensus All-America selection, Outland Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, has finished the highest of any Husky player in the final Heisman tabulation — fourth — but he pulled just 357 points in the voting system to winner Desmond Howard's 2,077 that year.

Also, Emtman was a defensive lineman. No defensive lineman from any school anywhere has ever won the Heisman. No matter how good he was at what he did, and his team went unbeaten and won a national championship, Emtman had no chance.

Now contemplate Michael Penix Jr.'s candidacy in the 88th year of the Heisman Trophy. Even as a Husky player well off the national media beaten path, yet thanks to his previous four-year stay in the Big Ten before moving to Montlake, he's legitimately a household name. He brings big numbers to this FBS beauty contest, about to get a lot bigger.

Most Heisman Trophy analysts are projecting Penix to finish anywhere from second to seventh in their preseason assessments, with the previous winner, USC quarterback Caleb Williams, rightfully so given an automatic nod to claim another trip to New York City and come home with more hardware.

However, Penix, after a week-long layoff to recharge a tired arm, just turned in a high-powered week that was almost breath-taking to watch, at least according to UW coach Kalen DeBoer, which should carry over into the coming season.

“He had an amazing week, probably as strong, if not stronger, as he was before the beginning of fall camp," DeBoer said. "[He was] throwing the ball really well, accurate. He’s throwing those balls from the hash to the sideline like we’ve all seen last year, maybe on another level.”

Just eight UW players, Penix among them, have finished in the Heisman Trophy's top 10 voting in any particular year. See the accompanying chart here for a full breakdown.

TOP HUSKY HEISMAN FINISHERS

4) Steve Emtman, DL, 357 points, 2022 (winner: Desmond Howard, WR, Michigan 2,077 points)

6) Jake Browning, QB, 132 points, 2016 (winner: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville, 2,144 points)

7) Greg Lewis, RB, 41 points, 1990 (winner: Ty Detmer, QB, BYU, 1,482 points)

8) Michael Penix Jr., QB, 114 points, 2022 (winner: Caleb Williams, QB, USC, 2,031 points)

8) Marques Tuiasosopo, QB, 41 points, 2000 (winner: Chris Weinke, QB, Florida State, 1,628 points)

8) Hugh McElhenny, RB, 103 points, 1951 (winner: Dick Kazmaier, RB, Princeton, 1,777 points)

9) Don Heinrich, QB, 153 points, 1952 (winner: Billy Vessels, RB, Oklahoma, 525 points)

9) Napoleon Kaufman, RB, 27 points, 1994 (winner: Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado, 1,743 points)

While USC's Williams has the inside track to accept another Heisman, just one player in nine decades has won two of them. In 1974 and 1975, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin was college football's finest player for 24 months. That's it.

Should the latest competition come down to Penix and Williams, their head-to-head meeting on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles could determine everything.

Granted, both the Huskies and Trojans need to be unbeaten entering that late-season showdown to each give their quarterback the best opportunity to win the Heisman.

Taking no chances, the UW coaching staff didn't hesitate to shut down Penix three weeks before the season opener against Boise State and enable his weary arm to recharge because the timing was right.

"If it was later in camp here, we’d want to keep a rhythm," DeBoer said. "We probably wouldn’t have shut him down to the extent we did.”

Penix, for his part, seems as well-positioned as any Husky headliner before him to become the first in school history to be so honored with a Heisman. He finished eighth in the 2022 balloting and stands to become the first UW player to make a pair of top 10 voting runs at the trophy.

He's a sixth-year senior who's seen and done nearly everything in the college game. He brings ample credentials after leading the nation in yards passing per game (357.0) and ranking second in overall passing yards (4,641) last season.

Typical of Penix, he's taking a low-key even pragmatic approach to this bid for personal glory as a potentially landmark season approaches for the UW.

"I'm looking to win a national championship," Penix said, "and with a national championship comes those awards, those big awards."

Still, say it out loud and see how it sounds: Michael Penix Jr., Heisman Trophy winner.

It would surprise no one, at least in Seattle, if the Husky quarterback were introduced in the same manner next December, with ESPN cameras recording everything, in New York City.

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