Michael Penix Jr.

Michael Penix Jr. was a 3-star recruit out of Tampa Bay Tech High School who also starred in baseball and track. After Penix Jr. was not selected in the MLB draft, he decided to attend the University of Indiana to play football. In parts of four seasons with Indiana, Penix Jr. would only play in 20 games. He tore his ACL twice, including his true freshman season, which led to him being redshirted. After the 2021 season, Penix Jr. would transfer to Washington for a fresh start. After four injury-riddled seasons at Indiana, Penix Jr. would finally play a complete season and put up big numbers at Washington. He led the Huskies to an 11-2 record and threw for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns. In December of 2023, Penix Jr. would announce that he was returning to Washington for his sixth collegiate season. His big 2022 season would win him the 2022 Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year Award. Penix Jr. once again had a huge season in leading Washington to the College Football Playoffs. He thew for 4,218 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Huskies. He finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy race to Jayden Daniels of LSU.