“It gets to where you can’t wait to play the next game:” How Michael Penix Jr. caught the attention of Falcons evaluators

FLOWER BRANCH, Ga. – Zac Robinson is an avid college football watcher every Saturday in the fall. Given his title as a professional offensive player, it might be difficult to turn his head as college games circle around the channel guide on his television.

However, as he watched the Washington Huskies take on the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff on the first day of the year, he was impressed. And by one person in particular: Michael Penix Jr., who put on a masterclass in high-level quarterback play on college football’s biggest stage.

“I think after watching that Texas game, that’s when you were like, ‘Oh, man, I can’t wait to watch the film on this guy and really, really feel.’ dive in,’” Robinson remembers thinking. .

In that game, a 37–31 victory for Washington, Penix threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns on 29 passes, leading the Huskies to their first national championship appearance in school history.

A few months later, this performance ended up in a film edit for TJ Yates’ preliminary rating reviews. He, too, was clinging to that Sugar Bowl victory as a lifeline to his intrigue at Penix.

“That game against Texas was really the game that reinforced for me that this guy is a real guy who has a chance to become a really good pro,” the Falcons quarterbacks coach said. “It was some of the pocket work that he did, the way he got the ball out, his accuracy down the field, his drive, his pace, his touch on all those throws. He can make every throw on the field, can touch every part of the field with his arm And he did it all while taking no sacks.

In basketball, shooters have a heat chart describing their range and accuracy from the floor. If Penix had a heat chart for his on-field accomplishments during his final year of college football with Washington, the entire field would light up.

And finishes are fun, right? Explosive plays are exciting to watch, right? If you watched Penix over the last couple of years, you’d probably agree.

After all, Penix was the first FBS player to pass for 4,500 yards in consecutive seasons since Patrick Mahomes did it in his college days.

Maybe that’s why Yates couldn’t stop watching Penix film, even beyond the playoff game that sold him on Penix’s talent.

“You look at it consecutively. You watch all these games and do all these things and the more you watch this guy play football, the better it gets,” Yates said. “We’re getting to a point where we’re looking forward to the next game and continuing to watch some of the things he’s doing.”