Mariner Talk Chat Forum

One-Liner:
QB with a booming arm that is best in a 5-wide, short passing game that attacks deep off of play-action and has solid maneuverability to his right to make off-platform throws but has poor throwing mechanics, struggles under pressure and is largely pre-determined with his reads.

Evaluation:
Michael Penix Jr has many tools of the modern-day franchise QB. It starts with his booming arm - fueled by insane upper body strength - that can make all the throws on the field, stretching defenses vertically and horizontally with ease. His deep ball accuracy is admirable and fun to watch when he drops balls into a bucket deep down the sideline. Furthermore, he has great feel for slot fades and has astute ball placement, outside and away from the CB to give his WR a chance. Penix Jr displays great timing out of 5-wide quick game concepts, especially over the middle of the field on Mesh and Spacing concepts. He shows good feel and understanding of when his receiver has a pre-snap leverage advantage and with the great velocity he puts on the ball, Penix Jr can complete passes into tight coverage with ease. In addition, his overall toughness is on display with how he likes to hang in the pocket and play within it, taking timely hits when he knows he can still deliver the ball in time. When necessary, Penix Jr shows exciting flashes of maneuvering the pocket to his right and while the technique isn’t always pretty, he makes eye-popping fadeaway throws off his back foot - 20, 30, 40 yards downfield. There are plays and drives where Penix Jr looks like a potential first-round QB; however, there are far too many moments where he also looks like he may never make the NFL. Mechanics will be his biggest needed improvement - he’s an upper-body dominant thrower who has a long windup but snappy release that doesn’t transfer energy efficiently from his lower body, causing misses high. Furthermore, Penix Jr rarely fully follows through with his hips on crossing routes, causing him to miss left-right. He also struggles with inconsistent and clunky footwork with heel clicks on his drop and loses his already shaky mechanics when under pressure, often throwing off his back foot with no balance in his base. The mental game is the next biggest improvement area for Penix Jr, as he is largely a pre-determined QB who will stare down his reads and make throws before he processes defenders post-snap leverage. In addition, while he shows good timing on throws over the middle of the field, he is often late on sideline throws like deep outs and comebacks, leading to turnover-worthy plays. QB with a booming arm that can make any throw on the field and has extremely accurate deep balls. Best in an up-tempo, 5-wide, short passing game offense that targets the middle of the field for rhythm throws, then attacks deep off of play-action. Likes to hang in the pocket but has solid maneuverability to his right to make off-platform throws. Poor throwing mechanics that rely on his upper body and lack follow-through from the hips, leading to misses high, left and right. Struggles to speed up his process and maintain mechanics while under pressure and is a largely pre-determined QB with his reads. Has the tools to become an above-average starter but needs plenty of developmental time on a patient team.

Grade:
7th Round

57reasons wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 14, 2022 7:54 am

wow, it never ceases to amaze me how much more detail scouts get than i do when watching football. i guess they have more film on him from indiana - hard to see where they could have gotten all that from just his first two games as a Dawg.
sounds like another of many likely to be a far better college player than pro. not because he lacks tools, more about the good system match.

In other words, had the field been 99 yards long instead of 100, the Penix-led offense would have scored seven touchdowns Saturday.

“One of the biggest testaments to his character is the ability to continue to move plays and continue to extend plays,” Taualapapa said. “It’s easy to follow a leader like that. Of course, he’s always going to be humble and what not, but we know he’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever grace an offense.”

Indeed, Penix is going to remain humble. He went out of his way to praise teammates Saturday — particularly his offensive line — noting that the Spartans recorded no sacks. Even when asked directly to comment on his own performance, he refused, saying “I know you’re trying to say it’s about me, but it’s not about me.”

Well, it’s not all about Penix. The Huskies used each phase of the game to establish themselves as a national threat Saturday, taking a 39-14 lead before two late Michigan State touchdowns elicited a modest scare. The defense held the Spartans to 42 rushing yards, and Polk tallied 153 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. But the QB was the main course on the Montlake menu.

This didn’t look like a fluke game for Penix, who compiled 682 passing yards and six touchdowns against one pick in his first two outings of the year. His ability to stay healthy may still linger (he has never played more than six games in any of his previous four collegiate seasons) but his ability to produce seems firmly established.

As Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer said: “You got a guy you can win football games with, not a guy who can just manage a game.”

Polk took it a step further when asked about his quarterback: “I don’t think nobody has seen anything just yet.”

No, they definitely saw something. Something special. The best may be yet to come for Penix — but that was the best this program has seen in years.

D-train wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 19, 2022 4:51 pm

MSU will be hosting Ohio St. Saturday. Will be interesting to see how that goes. If they play them tough it will help our National standing even more.

D-train wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 19, 2022 4:51 pm

MSU will be hosting Ohio St. Saturday. Will be interesting to see how that goes. If they play them tough it will help our National standing even more.

D-train wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:48 pm

Thanks it was Wisconsin who the Cougs beat.

Cougs Ducks game will be interesting Saturday.