UW Huskies’ Michael Penix Jr. has Huard, Bumpus raving already
Sep 4, 2023, 1:40 PM
The No. 10 UW Huskies had the kind of opener that teams dream of all offseason. That especially goes for quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
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Penix led the Dawgs to a 56-19 victory over Boise State at Husky Stadium on Saturday, throwing 29 of 40 for 450 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
As impressive as the numbers are for Penix, the highlights are maybe even more so.
Monday on Seattle Sports, the station’s two resident college football experts raved about what Penix did.
“My man was making this game look easy,” said Bump and Stacy’s Michael Bumpus, a former wide receiver at WSU and in the NFL who now serves as a Pac-12 Network analyst. “Michael Penix makes the game look easy in a different way. He makes it look easy from the pocket, on time, dropping dimes over the shoulder. There was a couple plays where I felt like, alright, he’s in the complete zone right now.”
A few hours before Bump shared his thoughts, it was Brock and Salk’s Brock Huard – himself a former UW and NFL quarterback who now calls games as a color commentator for FOX – who heaped praise on Penix.
“I’d like to say Mark Brunell and I, pretty strong left-handed arms,” Huard said, referring to another former Husky QB who had success in the NFL. “… Neither him or me could throw a football like Michael Penix. He had a little play-action, a little movement in the pocket, and he threw a rail shot… that was about 58 yards nearly on the line. I threw a good deep ball, I could throw a decent hole shot at about 35, 40. He threw it 58 yards nearly on a line down the left-hand sideline. Like, his arm, it’s just different. When you can throw a football 80 yards like he can do it, you make those kinds of throws that others in this game just simply can’t make.”
Bump was also wowed by Penix’s arm.
“There was a back shoulder throw he made on the UW sideline to where I just threw my hands up and said, ‘Alright, my man is in the zone,'” he said. “The back-shoulder throw, it’s dang near impossible to defend if you do it properly, but it was a long throw. He’s on the left hash, he’s got to go all the way to the right sideline, I believe it was (UW wide receiver Jalen) McMillan down the sideline, the DBs on top, and that’s such a long throw – it’s about a 45-yard throw on a line. And I saw him make that throw, I saw him go through his progressions, then make that throw and I go, ‘Yeah, he’s in the zone.’ He just makes it look easy. He’s a veteran, the leader of this team, great start for UW.”
What Penix showed bodes well for his future.
“Penix is what the NFL is looking for. He’s like the low-risk type of guy,” Bumpus said. “… Won’t make the exciting, physical plays with his legs, but with his arm, he can make any throw.”
The UW Huskies continue play at 2 p.m. Saturday when they host Tulsa.
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