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Penix Future Job Prospects Are Looking Good With Each UW Outing

However, he won't be cooking burgers any time soon.
Dan Raley|
Penix Future Job Prospects Are Looking Good With Each UW Outing
Penix Future Job Prospects Are Looking Good With Each UW Outing

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Washington Huskies

Some enterprising fan at Michigan State held up a McDonald's job application with Michael Penix Jr.'s name on it and everyone can see how well that went over. After all, doesn't the overly successful University of Washington quarterback already own several Micky D franchises?

No, Penix someday soon will have a seat set aside for him in the back of his favorite midtown steakhouse in a big city somewhere and he'll be ordering the best red-meat entrees with all the trimmings as much as he pleases, not handing over a sack of hamburgers out a drive-through window.

"I don't know, it don't matter, I'm in the game, I'm locked in so I don't think in those kinds of ways," Penix said of the sign that confused him some when he saw it but still made him smile. 

Through three games, Penix has been a prime-cut quarterback all to himself, drawing raves from college football entities everywhere.

Coming off his sterling 27-for-35, 473-yard, 4-TD performance in two and a half quarters the UW's 41-7 victory in East Lansing, Penix has been named the Maxwell Award Player of the Week, the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week, the Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week and the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.

Yet the most meaningful accolade this week might have come from former Baylor and NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, who became the first to break from the otherwise unwavering belief that USC's Caleb Williams remains the Heisman front-runner no matter what because he previously won the thing.

"He's got it up and going," Griffin bellowed of Penix in a social-media video post.

OK, Griffin actually still owed the Huskies a solid after beating them 67-56 in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and outdueling Keith Price on the scoreboard though not in passing yards — Price threw for 438 yards to Griffin's 395.

In three outings so far, Penix has tossed the football for 450, 409 and 473 yards, totals that rank him fifth, eighth and third in per game totals in the UW record book. Overall, he owns five of the top nine all-time performances. Note that USC's Williams has 278, 319 and 281 passing games out of the gate. 

Remember, Penix has played in just 16 games for the Huskies and incredibly still needs two more UW appearances — California on Saturday night and Arizona the following week would get him there — to qualify in career statistical categories that use averaged numbers.

For instance, Cody Pickett remains the UW leader in passing yards at 255.5 per game over 40 outings, compared to Penix, who's at 373.4 through a Husky season and a quarter and closing in fast on the requirements for time served.

In his abbreviated Montlake stay, Penix now has 5,975 career Husky passing yards and this past week passed Damon Huard (5,886) and Marques Tuiasosopo (5,879), both four- or five-year Huskies, to rank sixth overall.

With a big outing against Cal, Penix could overtake Brock Huard (6,391) this weekend and next set his sights on Jake Locker (7,639) and the aforementioned Keith Price (8,919). He doesn't appear to have enough time to chase down Picket (10,220) and Jake Browning (12,296). 

Of course, combine the numbers from Penix's UW and previous 20-game Indiana stints and he has 10,172 career passing yards in college football and counting.

Penix has been so good this season he had a deflected pass at Michigan State end up in Ja'Lynn Polk's hands for a 30-yard touchdown catch. 

"I've just got to make a better throw, but everything is falling into our hands and I'm glad it fell into J.P.'s hands," he quipped.

All of these Penix numbers, accolades and projections are enough to make people dizzy these day, especially when considering the quarterback's take on things.

"We definitely haven't played our best football yet, but it'll come," the lefty said.

Just don't be waiting on him to submit that McDonald's job application any time soon — there's just not going to be any purple and golden arches. 

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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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