Washington junior Michael Penix is on top

By Arnie Leshin 

It’s a college football year with a long list of outstanding quarterbacks, but at mid-season, number one belongs to Washington junior Michael Penix. 

He is one of the many players who have extended their careers by taking advantage of the NCAA’s decision to provide an extra year of eligibility because of the disruptions of the 2000-21 pandemic year. 

Penix, who transferred to the Huskies in 2022 after four injury-plagued campaigns at Indiana, now leads the country with 383 yards passing per game for undefeated (6-0) Washington, the land’s fifth-ranked team. 

“The production,  the talent, all that, that’s one thing,” said Huskies’ head coach Kalen DeBoer. “The heart that he’s got, the guts he’s got, and the willingness to just grind through it. Grit. There’s not enough words to describe how I feel about him.”

 

These were the words after Washington’s exciting back-and-fourth 36-33 victory over ninth-ranked Oregon in their sold-out PAC-12 meeting last week at the Huskies. 

Penix is one of the five sixth-year players who made AP’s mid-season All-America teams that was selected by a panel of media members who vote each week in the Top 25.

The others are first-team players in North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson, Missouri defensive tackle Javon Foster, Connecticut offensive guard Christian Haynes, and Vanderbilt punter Matthew Hayball, the lone one on the second team. 

Penix’ prime target is Washington’s first-team All-America wide receiver Rome Odunze, a senior with great hands and excellent speed. The Huskies and Notre Dame highlight two players on first-team offense, with the Fighting Irish landing junior running back Audric Estime, and junior tackle Joe Alt. 

On the defensive first team, Alabama has junior edge rusher Dallas Turner and junior Kool-Aid McKinstry at cornerback. Two made the team from Iowa, and they are senior punter Tony Taylor and junior defensive back Cooper DeJean.      

And there are plenty of stellar quarterbacks out there, namely Louisiana State seniors Jayden Daniels of Louisiana State and Dillion Gabriel of Oklahoma. 

No. 3 ranked Ohio State has a pair of players on second-team offense in 

wide receiver Marvin Harrison and tight end Cade Stover. From the second-team defense, Texas has two interior linemen in T’Vondre Sweat and Bryon Murphy, as does Iowa with Jay Higgins at linebacker and Sebastian Castro at defensive back. 

Top-ranked Georgia has the weekend off, but No. 2 Michigan is at least a two-touchdown favorite at arch-rival, unranked Michigan State, No. 3 Ohio State is home to No. 7 Penn State, and No. 4 Florida State plays at No. 16 Duke.

Fifth-ranked Washington heads to unranked Arizona State, No. 6 Oklahoma welcomes unranked Central Florida, No. 8 Texas hits the road for Houston, No. 9 Oregon faces unranked Washington State, and No. 10 North Carolina is at unranked Virginia. 

In another tilt matching ranked teams, 11th-ranked Alabama plays at No. 17 Tennessee, and No. 14 Utah travels to No. 18 Southern California. No. 22 unbeaten Air Force takes off for Navy, which is 2-2 but coming off an unprecedented victory via a shutout.