Former Indiana football QB Michael Penix Jr ranked top-5 ‘most impactful’ transfer of portal era

‘I wouldn’t change my journey for anything’. That has been the sentiment from former Indiana football quarterback Michael Penix Jr throughout his career. Despite the ups-and-downs in Bloomington, his time at Indiana shaped him into who he is now, and the position he’s in. That position? A top-10 draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now off to Atlanta to begin his NFL career, it was a career that may never have reached that potential.

During his time at Indiana, Michael Penix Jr was better known for his injuries than his play on the field. A season-ending injury in three of his four collegiate seasons at IU limited him to just 21 total games.

He threw for 4,197 yards and had 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions in his IU career. It was his 2019 and 2020 seasons that made him a household name, however. He threw 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions and totaled 3,039 yards. He was 10-2 as a starter in those two seasons.

But, after another season-ending injury in 2021, Penix Jr and Indiana decided to go in different directions. It was the fresh start that Penix Jr needed.

He would go on to transfer to Washington ahead of the 2022 season to play for former Indiana football offensive coordinator Kaleb DeBoer. Penix Jr played the 2019 season at Indiana under then-offensive coordinator DeBoer. In his one season with DeBoer he threw for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns to four interceptions. A season-ending injury kept Penix out of what could have been the first bowl victory for Indiana since 1991.

His transfer to Washington has put him up there with some of the best transfers in the portal age of college football.

“Michael Penix Jr. won 25 of 28 games played at Washington. After reuniting with Kalen DeBoer, Penix helped lead the Huskies back to the College Football Playoff with a runner-up finish in 2023,” 247Sports national writer Cody Nigel wrote. “The former Indiana quarterback struggled with injuries throughout his time in Bloomington, but remained healthy enough to put up big numbers in the Washington offense. Penix led the nation in passing yards (4,903) and attempts (555) last season. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, which is the highest ever for a player from Washington.”

In fact, Penix Jr was ranked the No. 5 ‘most impactful’ transfer since 2018, when the transfer portal became what it is today — the best recruiting tool.

Penix Jr, who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy this year, led Washington to a 14-1 record and loss in the National Championship game.

He led the nation in passing yards with 4,903 and was third in passing touchdowns with 36. He finished with 9,544 passing yards in his two seasons at Washington with 67 touchdowns. He holds five of the top 10 single-game passing yard performances in Washington program history.

“Man, I feel like everything happened for a reason,” Penix Jr said postgame following a 37-31 win over Texas in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. “Coming out of high school, I’m going to be honest, when I committed to Indiana University, my dad, he didn’t really want me to go there. He didn’t understand why I was going there. So that was something that was hard for me, just having somebody that I love the most not really, he didn’t see my vision. But obviously, it led me to Washington.

“Going to Indiana helped me meet Coach (Kalen) DeBoer and our relationship that we built throughout the years has been amazing. I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else. So I’m super blessed.”

For his career, Michael Penix Jr totaled 13,741 yards with 96 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

“I said all the time, I wouldn’t change my journey for anything,” Penix continued. “That might seem crazy to say because of what I’ve been through. If I would say that I had to get hurt four times for me to get to this point, that’s not something that I would have thought of. But, man, I feel like it was all worth it. I feel like everything I’ve been through is definitely worth it and shaped me into the person, the player, and the man I am today.”

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