.png) Penix with theAtlanta Falcons in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 9 –Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (2000-05-08)May 8, 2000 (age 24) Cookeville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Tampa Bay Technical(Tampa, Florida) | ||||||||||||||
| College: |
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| NFL draft: | 2024: 1st round, 8th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Michael Tarrence Penix Jr. (/ˈpɛnɪks/PENN-iks; born May 8, 2000) is an American professionalfootballquarterback for theAtlanta Falcons of theNational Football League (NFL). After three seasons ofcollege football with theIndiana Hoosiers that were limited by injury, Penix had a breakout year with theWashington Huskies in 2022 when he led theFBS in yards per game and set the school season record for passing yards. The following year, he won theMaxwell Award after leading theNCAA in passing yards en route to an appearance in the2024 College Football Playoff National Championship. Penix was selected by the Falcons eighth overall in the2024 NFL draft.
Penix was born inCookeville, Tennessee, but later moved and was raised inDade City, Florida.[1] Penix attendedTampa Bay Technical High School and started at quarterback for the Titans for two seasons, passing for 4,243 yards with 61touchdowns and only sixinterceptions.[2] He committed toIndiana University to playcollege football.[3]
As a true freshman for theHoosiers in2018 at Indiana, Penix played in three games, suffered atorn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and wasredshirted.[4] He completed 21 of 34 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown.[5] Named the starter entering the2019 season,[6][7][8] Penix, however, only played in six games due to injury, completing 110 of 160 passes for 1,394 yards, with ten touchdowns and four interceptions.[9] Penix returned to Indiana as the starter for thepandemic-shortened season in2020.[10][11][12] On November 30, he was ruled out for the season after suffering atorn ACL in a win againstMaryland.[13]
Penix transferred to theUniversity of Washington in December 2021.[14] He was theFBS leader in passing yards per game for the2022 season (357) and led theHuskies to an 11–2 record.[15] He threw 4,641 passing yards, becoming the Washington Huskiesall-time single-season passing leader during the Alamo Bowl. He was named AP Comeback Player of the Year.[16][17]
In his senior year, Penix led the2023 Huskies to an undefeated 13-0 regular season, a victory over Texas in the CFP Semifinal Game, and the2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game, which they lost 34–13 to Michigan.[18][19][20] Penix won theMaxwell Award and finished second in theHeisman Trophy voting, the highest ever for a Husky.[21][22][23][24] He led the NCAA in passing yards with 4,903, beating his previously set University of Washington single-season passing yards record.[25] Penix was named MVP of the Pac-12 Championship Game, leading UW to a win overrival No. 5 Oregon, and threw for 27-for-39 for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception.[26]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2018 | Indiana | 3 | 0 | 0–0 | 21 | 34 | 61.8 | 219 | 6.4 | 1 | 0 | 125.6 | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Indiana | 6 | 6 | 5–1 | 110 | 160 | 68.8 | 1,394 | 8.7 | 10 | 4 | 157.6 | 22 | 119 | 5.4 | 2 | |
| 2020 | Indiana | 6 | 6 | 5–1 | 124 | 220 | 56.4 | 1,645 | 7.5 | 14 | 4 | 136.5 | 18 | 25 | 1.4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Indiana | 5 | 5 | 2–3 | 87 | 162 | 53.7 | 939 | 5.8 | 4 | 7 | 101.9 | 17 | −24 | −1.4 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Washington | 13 | 13 | 11–2 | 362 | 554 | 65.3 | 4,641 | 8.4 | 31 | 8 | 151.3 | 35 | 92 | 2.6 | 4 | |
| 2023 | Washington | 15 | 15 | 14–1 | 363 | 555 | 65.4 | 4,903 | 8.8 | 36 | 11 | 157.1 | 35 | 8 | 0.2 | 3 | |
| Career | 48 | 45 | 37–8 | 1,067 | 1,685 | 63.3 | 13,741 | 8.2 | 96 | 34 | 146.6 | 134 | 265 | 2.0 | 13 | ||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) | 216 lb (98 kg) | 33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) | 10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) | 4.58 s | 1.58 s | 2.61 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | ||||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[27][28] | ||||||||||||
Penix was selected by theAtlanta Falcons as the eighth overall pick in the2024 NFL draft.[29] The pick was seen as a major surprise because the Falcons had signedKirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract earlier in the offseason.[30][31][32] He was the fourth of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tied with the1983 draft for the most in NFL history.[33] Penix signed a four-year fully-guaranteed contract worth $22.8 million on June 24, 2024.[34]
Penix began his rookie season as a backup to veteran quarterbackKirk Cousins. On October 20, Penix made his NFL debut late in the fourth quarter during the Falcons' blowout loss to theSeattle Seahawks, completing his lone pass for 14 yards toCasey Washington.[35] Following poor play from Cousins, the Falcons announced on December 17 that Penix would replace Cousins as the starting quarterback, beginning with their Week 16 matchup against theNew York Giants.[36] In his first career start, Penix completed 18-of-27 passes for 202 yards, including one interception after a bobbled pass byKyle Pitts, as the Falcons routed the Giants 34–7.[37] In Week 17, onSunday Night Football, against theWashington Commanders Penix completed his first touchdown pass, toKyle Pitts, to tie the game with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter. He finished 19 of 35 passes, for 223 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. The game went into overtime, and eventually the Commanders won 30-24.[38] The game was the first time in NFL history that two rookie quarterbacks selected in the first round faced off against each other in a prime-time game, as Penix faced off against rookieJayden Daniels.[39] This loss would eventually eliminate the Falcons from Playoff contention, following a win the following week by theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[40]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2024 | ATL | 5 | 3 | 1–2 | 61 | 105 | 58.1 | 775 | 7.4 | 155.0 | 42 | 3 | 3 | 78.9 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | 5 | 3 | 1–2 | 61 | 105 | 58.1 | 775 | 7.4 | 155.0 | 42 | 3 | 3 | 78.9 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0 | |
On December 29, 2024, Penix announced his engagement to his girlfriend Olivia Carter.[41]
Penix is one of only twoleft-handed starting quarterbacks in the NFL, alongsideTua Tagovailoa.
Penix is aChristian.[42] His father was a running back for theTennessee Tech Golden Eagles in the 1990s and holds several school rushing records; his mother ran track at Tennessee Tech.[43]
