Philadelphia Eagles Ex QB Michael Vick Idolized by Heisman Trophy Finalist Michael Penix Jr.
There are a lot of young quarterbacks watching Jalen Hurts lead the Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) today and there's a good chance one of them who makes it to the league will recall memories of watching him and others when they get ready to launch their own NFL careers.
Heisman Trophy finalist and Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is a little old to have idolized Hurts, but there's another Eagles quarterback he recalls fondly.
"I didn't grow up a fan of any NFL team," Penix Jr. said in an exclusive interview with Men's Journal. "I was more of a player guy. You know, I grew up watching Mike Vick a lot."
Penix Jr. is trying to do something Vick never could by winning the Heisman Trophy night and a National Championship this season. He and No. 2 Washington (13-0) will take on the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (12-1) at the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Year's Day.
But first, he'll be one of four candidates to attend Saturday night's Heisman Trophy presentation in New York City, joining fellow quarterbacks Bo Nix (Oregon Ducks) and Jayden Daniels (LSU Tigers) and Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
As part of the build-up to it all, he spent the day Friday working with a new team inside Raising Cane's Time Square franchise where he found that a lot of the same traits he also finds on the football field.
"It was an amazing experience," Penix said. "I feel like the teamwork definitely has a lot to do with how our teamwork is on a football field," he said of his day working for Raising Cane's. "We have to be able to communicate to make sure that we get the orders right and make sure that we're making the customers happy. Translating that to the field, it's just like communicating (and) making sure that everybody on the field knows the right play."
Heisman Trophy Finalist quarterbacks Bo Nix (Oregon Ducks, left), Jayden Daniels (LSU Tigers, center), and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington Huskies, right).
Photo Courtesy of Raising Cane's
Vick became popular because of what he could do on his own almost as much as what he did with his teammates at Virginia Tech and early in the NFL.
Penix Jr. is certainly no slouch on his own, rushing for 13 touchdowns in his collegiate career, but he doesn't have the legs Vick had.
Fortunately, he might be a better passer than his favorite player was, and his second-straight 4,000-yard passing season might be proof of that.
If he beats Texas and can navigate Washington to a National Championship, he'll be just the 10th quarterback in history to do both in the same season.
"This is obviously the biggest award in college football and I feel like this is something a lot of people dream of," Penix Jr. said of the Heisman Trophy. "I'm just super blessed to be in this position to be able to be up here on the stage with these three other contestants and I'm just super excited for the weekend."
