INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Penix Jr. never felt like he couldn't make a national championship game.
Even when he was at Indiana University from 2018-21, and his team posted a combined record of 21-24 in four seasons, Penix Jr. thought anything was possible.
"I wouldn't say I ever felt like this wasn't possible," Penix Jr. said after his Washington Huskies beat the Texas Longhorns in the 2024 Allstate Sugar Bowl to qualify for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. "All things are possible when you believe in God. It was a tough time, you know? I was going through some tough things throughout my career.
"I always say, I feel like everything I've been through built me for this moment, you know, built me into the person and the player I am today. I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm super blessed to be in this position. I'm super blessed to be able to do it with the dogs."
Penix Jr. suffered major injuries in each of his four seasons with the Hoosiers. In both 2018 and 2020, Penix Jr. sustained season-ending ACL injuries. His 2019 and 2021 seasons were cut short by sternoclavicular joint and dislocated shoulder joint injuries.
"I say it all the time, I wouldn't change my journey for anything," Penix Jr. said in a Sugar Bowl postgame press conference. "Obviously, 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 to get to this point, you know, that's not something I would have thought of. I feel like it was all worth it, man. I feel like everything I've been through was definitely worth it to be the person, the player and the man I am today.
"I'm just super blessed to be in this position, and to be able to be on the other side of everything that I've been through and continue to climb. You know, I just continue to trust my faith and trust everything I believe in. I just let everything go and have fun and not really worry about anything that I've been through. But always remembering where I came from to get to here, it's definitely made my journey even more special."
In a September interview with the Pac-12 Network, Penix Jr. admitted that the injuries took a toll on his mental health. The 23-year-old even said his doctor did not medically clear him ahead of the Hoosiers' 2021 season-opener against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Indiana lost the game, 34-6, and Penix Jr. threw three interceptions — two of which were pick-sixes — on a knee that was still recovering from a 2020 ACL tear.
"There were times when I'd wake up the day of the game, and I'd wait until my roommate leaves, and I'd just lie on the floor, and I'd just cry to God, just praying that he'd protect me that day because I knew where my head was at the time, and it wasn't truly fresh," Penix Jr. told the Pac-12 Network.
When he was healthy, Penix Jr. was a difference-maker for the Hoosiers. Penix Jr. averaged about 164 yards passing and 1.5 touchdowns per game. Penix Jr. also ran for 165 yards and six touchdowns during his time at IU.
Penix Jr. left IU for Washington ahead of the 2022 season, joining head coach Kalen DeBoer in Seattle. DeBoer was Indiana's offensive coordinator during the 2019 season — arguably Penix's best campaign with the Crimson and Cream.
During his postgame press conference at the Sugar Bowl, Penix Jr. admitted going to IU was helpful because he met DeBoer. The chance meeting, however, almost didn't happen, according to Penix Jr.
"I feel like everything happens for a reason," Penix Jr. said. "... I'm gonna be honest, coming out of high school, 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. That was something that was hard for me, having somebody I love the most, he didn't see my vision.
"Obviously, it led me to here. Indiana helped me meet coach DeBoer. Our relationship we've built throughout the years has been amazing. I wouldn't want to play for anybody else. I'm super blessed."
Before he committed to Indiana, Penix Jr. had offers from Oregon, Tennessee and Arizona, according to his 24/7Sports recruiting profile.
With the Hoosiers in 2019, Penix Jr. passed for 232 yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game. He played in six contests that season.
When Penix Jr. transferred to Washington ahead of the 2022 season, he and DeBoer picked up right where they had left off.
Penix Jr. passed for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2022. He also rushed for 92 yards and four touchdowns last season.
This year, Penix Jr. has racked up 4,648 yards through the air and 35 touchdowns. He's also added three touchdowns on the ground.
Penix's statistics put him squarely in the 2023 Heisman Trophy conversation. He finished second to LSU's Jayden Daniels, who ended this season with 4,946 total yards and 50 touchdowns.
For Penix, however, the yards and touchdowns he amassed were more of a means to help his team win games than a way to get his hands on the Heisman.
"As far as the Heisman thing, that's over, man," Penix Jr. said. "It don't matter. Right now, we're looking to win a national championship. That's been my goal since day one. You won't find an interview or anything of me saying that I want to win the Heisman. That was never my goal. My goal was to win football games for this team ... and we've been doing it. We're 14-0 here, and we've still got one more to go. So, that's my focus.
"And the Heisman committee, I've never talked down on them at all. They do an amazing job with their votes. Jayden Daniels, he's an amazing player. He made plays all throughout the year as well. I don't take anything away from him and the decision that they made. The only thing I can account for is what I can do to help this team win football games. That's what I'm all about."
Penix's Huskies beat the Longhorns, 37-31, on Monday at the Superdome in New Orleans. Pac-12 champion Washington will play undefeated Big Ten Champion Michigan at NRG Stadium in Houston on Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Penix Jr. won't be the only former IU quarterback on the field next Monday. Jack Tuttle, who was Penix's backup at IU, is now Michigan's second-stringer. Tuttle appeared in 15 games at IU from 2019-22.
Tuttle threw for 901 yards and five touchdowns as a Hoosier. Tuttle now backs up Michigan starter J.J. McCarthy, who has racked up 3,022 yards and 25 total touchdowns so far this season.
Penix Jr. has already beaten Michigan once in his career. In 2020, the Hoosiers beat the Jim Harbaugh-coached Wolverines, 38-21. Penix Jr. went 30-of-50 for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Michigan finished the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 2-4 record.
"He's a super great player," Harbaugh said of Penix Jr. at a pre-national championship game press conference on Wednesday. "My impressions of him when he played at Indiana were the same. Big-time arm talent, tremendous presence in the pocket, sees the field really well.
"He is so polished. Watching him and his accuracy, his decision-making, timing, he has really just continued to have this tremendous presence of going through progression, feels pressure, will drop it off to a check-down. Yeah, it's at an elite level."
Penix Jr. doesn't believe his past success against the Wolverines will have much do with how well he plays in next Monday's national championship game. The left-handed passer implied that he actually hasn't gleaned much from his previous outing against Michigan.
"I want to say I can't really use anything from my past playing them because obviously I played them with a totally different team, so it was a totally different time," Penix Jr. said at a Wednesday press conference. "That was the year of COVID as well. Nothing that happened before will carry over to what we have to prepare for come Monday. But I'm just super excited for the opportunity, and I know my guys will be ready."