‘It just looks easy for him’: After big Week 1, UW Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. sets sights on Tulsa

SEATTLE – In 2022, Michael Penix Jr. set a school record for passing yards (4,641); led the nation in passing yards per game (357); accounted for 35 touchdowns to only eight interceptions; engineered rivalry wins over Oregon and Washington State, plus an Alamo Bowl defeat of Texas; finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting; and was named The Associated Press’ Comeback Player of the Year.

Now, for the equal parts ridiculous and realistic question:

Can he be even better?

Penix looked the part in last weekend’s 56-19 win over Boise State, completing 29 of 40 passes (72.5%) for 450 yards and five touchdowns.

Consider perhaps his most impressive pass, a 50-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. With 11 minutes, 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the sixth-year senior took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff and shifted a few steps left to elude defensive lineman Braxton Fely, who was falling at his feet. After resetting, Penix threw a pass into Polk’s arms down the left sideline.

“Wow. Wow,” repeated ABC color commentator (and former Heisman quarterback) Robert Griffin III, taking time to compose himself. “Watch Michael Penix here, another play-action fake, with the movement in the pocket, and he just finds the Wi-Fi connection and air drops one in there to Ja’Lynn Polk!”

The Tampa, Florida, product completed 11 passes of 20-plus yards last Saturday, more than any player in the nation. Each were evidence of elite arm strength.

But this play showed everything else.

“People look at Mike as this guy that’s supernatural and he does all these things and it just looks easy for him,” UW offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Grubb said. “I thought that throw – sliding to his left, finding green grass in the pocket, quickly resetting his feet so he could make an accurate throw – shows the evolution of Mike.

“People ask, ‘Is he going to get better?’ I thought that was a great indicator of how Mike’s game has come along. Because right there most guys would have just continued sliding to their left and slide through the throw and potentially have an inaccurate throw … and that was a perfect ball. He couldn’t have thrown it any better.”

And yet, Penix’s improvement also transcends tape. Take the Indiana transfer’s response to consecutive punts to start the season.

“Mike never really rides up and down on the roller coaster (emotionally), so it’s about continuing to provide energy to the sidelines and to the guys when it feels a little like, ‘OK, what’s going on? Why aren’t we hitting on all cylinders yet?’ ” Grubb said. “And (it’s about) just making sure that belief is stoked with a really hot flame and they’re feeling good on the sideline and they know the next time we get the ball, we’re going to score.

“He’s improving at that all the time and bringing that same type of energy in practice. I love seeing that from Mike and I know his teammates do, too. Because when Mike’s operating on that level, everyone else is as well.”

That sentiment certainly applies to UW’s wide receivers – Polk, juniors Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, sophomore Germie Bernard, and redshirt freshman Denzel Boston.

Husky wideouts combined for 21 catches, 375 receiving yards and five scores against Boise State.

“Michael Penix, thank you. I appreciate you, buddy,” said associate head coach and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard, when asked how Penix has improved. “I think one of the main things he does is he’s on those receivers’ rear ends more than he has been ever before.

“Ultimately, it’s not about how we see it at the receiver position. It’s how the quarterback sees it. So it might be a slight break a half a yard sooner or any type of technique the quarterback wants. He’s doing a great job of making sure he’s voicing his opinion with those receivers and making sure they know exactly what he’s seeing, what the picture is that he’s seeing every single play.”

But don’t misunderstand: Penix isn’t perfect. After airmailing McMillan on a deep post for a would-be second-quarter score, the QB sunk into a sullen crouch.

“I was just thinking, ‘I got to get him one,’ ” Penix said after the game. “So I got him one the next drive.”

Penix made amends just four plays later, a pass McMillan centered under for a 38-yard score.

“Mike’s ownership on that (earlier miss) was fantastic,” Grubb said. “He felt like he could have set his feet a little bit more and made the throw, and he just missed. It’s not very often that 9 does miss, but that was one of them.

“I had four throw-aways (in the game), as far as incompletions. With him getting out of the pocket, that’s one of the rules of the quarterback room: ‘A throw-away is OK.’ Mike made some good decisions on that on Saturday and took care of the football and has always done a good job of that. You look at four or five incompletions that were true throw-aways, and it was a pretty good day.”

Husky fans can expect another productive day Saturday, when No. 8 Washington (1-0) hosts Tulsa (1-0) at 2 p.m. New coach Kevin Wilson inherited a group that ranked 99th nationally in total defense (414.3 yards allowed per game) and 117th in scoring defense (33.1 points per game) in 2022.

It’s entirely possible the Golden Hurricane have improved.

But as for Penix, the season opener speaks for itself.