NFL Draft Profile: Michael Penix Jr., Quarterback, Washington Huskies
#9
Pos: QB
Ht: 6021
Wt: 218
40: 4.69
DOB: 5/8/2000
Hometown: Tampa, FL
High School: Tampa Bay Tech
Eligibility: 2023
Michael Penix Jr.
Washington Huskies
One-Liner:
QB with a booming arm that is best in a 5-wide, short passing game that attacks deep off of play-action and has solid maneuverability to his right to make off-platform throws but has poor throwing mechanics, struggles under pressure and is largely pre-determined with his reads.
Evaluation:
Michael Penix Jr has many tools of the modern-day franchise QB. It starts with his booming arm - fueled by insane upper body strength - that can make all the throws on the field, stretching defenses vertically and horizontally with ease. His deep ball accuracy is admirable and fun to watch when he drops balls into a bucket deep down the sideline. Furthermore, he has great feel for slot fades and has astute ball placement, outside and away from the CB to give his WR a chance. Penix Jr displays great timing out of 5-wide quick game concepts, especially over the middle of the field on Mesh and Spacing concepts. He shows good feel and understanding of when his receiver has a pre-snap leverage advantage and with the great velocity he puts on the ball, Penix Jr can complete passes into tight coverage with ease. In addition, his overall toughness is on display with how he likes to hang in the pocket and play within it, taking timely hits when he knows he can still deliver the ball in time. When necessary, Penix Jr shows exciting flashes of maneuvering the pocket to his right and while the technique isn’t always pretty, he makes eye-popping fadeaway throws off his back foot - 20, 30, 40 yards downfield. There are plays and drives where Penix Jr looks like a potential first-round QB; however, there are far too many moments where he also looks like he may never make the NFL. Mechanics will be his biggest needed improvement - he’s an upper-body dominant thrower who has a long windup but snappy release that doesn’t transfer energy efficiently from his lower body, causing misses high. Furthermore, Penix Jr rarely fully follows through with his hips on crossing routes, causing him to miss left-right. He also struggles with inconsistent and clunky footwork with heel clicks on his drop and loses his already shaky mechanics when under pressure, often throwing off his back foot with no balance in his base. The mental game is the next biggest improvement area for Penix Jr, as he is largely a pre-determined QB who will stare down his reads and make throws before he processes defenders post-snap leverage. In addition, while he shows good timing on throws over the middle of the field, he is often late on sideline throws like deep outs and comebacks, leading to turnover-worthy plays. QB with a booming arm that can make any throw on the field and has extremely accurate deep balls. Best in an up-tempo, 5-wide, short passing game offense that targets the middle of the field for rhythm throws, then attacks deep off of play-action. Likes to hang in the pocket but has solid maneuverability to his right to make off-platform throws. Poor throwing mechanics that rely on his upper body and lack follow-through from the hips, leading to misses high, left and right. Struggles to speed up his process and maintain mechanics while under pressure and is a largely pre-determined QB with his reads. Has the tools to become an above-average starter but needs plenty of developmental time on a patient team.
Grade:
7th Round
Background:
Michael Penix Jr. is coming to Washington University from Indiana where he played in twenty of the games for Indiana over his time. He had an excellent 12-5 record as well as putting up six rushing touchdowns showing he can not only throw the ball but be a factor in the run game. He was raised in Tampa, FL and attended Tampa Bay Tech where he found alluring success as a QB, passing for 2,165 yards, 30 touchdowns and four interceptions, plus rushing for 449 yards and 10 touchdowns. Penix Jr was awarded the 2016 Tampa Bay Times All-Hillsborough County selection and after high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 3-Star recruit, the 548th-best recruit nationally, the 21st-ranked quarterback recruit in the country and the 86th recruit in the state of Florida. Penix Jr committed to Indiana where he would redshirt his 2018 season due to a season-ending torn ACL. In 2019, the unfortunate injuries continued, after starting 6 games, Penix Jr would have a season-ending sternoclavicular injury. He flashed great promise in those 6 healthy games though, completing 110/160 passes (68.8% set single-season comp% record) for 1,394 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. 2020 was much of the same for Penix Jr, his season ended early once again due to another torn ACL after six games. He passed for 1,645 yards, 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, but saw his completion percentage fall to just 56.4%. Health will be a massive factor in his evaluation and draft projection, hopefully 2021 brings more fruitful luck. Despite just 12 starts to his name, Penix Jr is well respected, in 2020 he earned team captain recognition, as well as second-team All-Big Ten, voted by coaches and the media, he was a Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist, Davey O’Brien Award Class of 2020, Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Great 8 (Michigan, Ohio State), Manning Award Quarterback of the Week (Michigan, Ohio State), Maxwell Award Watch List and honored as Indiana’s Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player. Furthermore, Indiana coaches think very highly of Penix Jr off the field - Offensive Coordinator, Nick Sheridan said of Penix Jr’s leadership and confidence, “You earn that through time, through trust, through work ethic, through practice, through different experiences.” In addition, Hoosiers head coach, Tom Allen speaks highly of Penix Jr’s ability to rise to the moment, “He has a natural poise to him that is extremely evident when you put him in these environments. And it never seems to be too big for him.”
