Inject this into my veins.

[D-train]

By Mike Vorel
Seattle Times staff reporter
It isn’t difficult to draw parallels between Michael Penix Jr. and Austin Mack.

Ryan Grubb has already done it.

When Mack — a four-star quarterback in the 2024 class — took an unofficial visit to Washington on Jan. 21, he was treated to a peek into his possible future. Grubb, UW’s second-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, prepared clips of passes Penix completed last season … alongside identical throws by Mack.

Penix drops a dime. Mack drops a dime.

Penix. Mack. Penix. Mack.

Present. Future. Repeat.

Granted, the details were different. Penix routinely ruined overmatched Pac-12 secondaries in his first season as Washington’s starter — throwing for a school record and nation-leading 4,641 yards, with 35 total touchdowns and eight interceptions. Mack, meanwhile, flourished in his first season as the varsity starter at Folsom (Calif.) High — completing 70.4% of his throws for 3,498 yards, with 42 touchdowns and just five picks.

Their ages are different. (Mack is 16, while Penix is 22.)

Their frames are different. (Mack is 6-6, 215, while Penix is 6-3, 213.)

Their throwing hands are different. (Mack is a righty; Penix is a lefty.)

It’s an imperfect comparison — but you get the point.

In Penix’s success, Mack saw the possibilities.

“It was everything [that attracted me to Washington],” Mack told The Times Monday. “They’re the No. 1 passing team in the country. Mike Penix is the No. 1 passer in the nation. That definitely stood out a ton. Coach Grubb and [head coach Kalen] DeBoer, they also really stood out to me, especially when I was there for my unofficial [visit]. Seeing them and having those conversations with them really stood out.”

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Enough so that Mack — ranked as a four-star recruit, the No. 7 quarterback, the No. 8 player in the state of California and the No. 53 overall prospect in the 2024 class by 247Sports — announced a verbal commitment 10 days after completing his official visit. He chose the Huskies over Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State and more.

Mack effectively ended his recruiting process 11 months early.

And the decision, it seems, was a mutual one.

“On the unofficial [visit], I was with my parents and we had a ton of really good conversations with coach Grubb and coach DeBoer, which really helped my parents with feeling good about it,” Mack said. “After that it was really like a family decision. It was time to pull the trigger. For me especially, I was set. It was up to them, if they were good with it.”

It helped, of course, that Grubb declined an Alabama offer to remain at Washington roughly 24 hours before Mack made his announcement. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound passer said Grubb’s continued presence is “definitely super important, because it’s not every day you get offered a job at Alabama. It really just proved how strong the culture they created there is, and that’s really inspiring for me. Especially with me being committed there now, I’m really excited to join that culture and build it up even more.”

But when will he begin to build? Though Mack is 16 — young for a high school junior — and has a single season of varsity starting experience, it’s possible he could graduate early, reclassify into the 2023 class and join the Huskies this offseason. Four-star 2023 freshman Lincoln Kienholz’s December flip to Ohio State and redshirt sophomore Sam Huard’s subsequent transfer to Cal Poly left UW with just two scholarship quarterbacks this winter, sixth-year senior Penix and fifth-year junior Dylan Morris.

During last week’s signing day, roughly four hours before Mack announced his commitment, DeBoer said on Pac-12 Network that “we certainly know we need to have another quarterback in our program. I think it’s tricky because it’s not going to be an upperclassman necessarily, because Mike [Penix] is here. Sitting behind him, if you’re on your last year or so [of eligibility], isn’t that attractive. Finding a younger guy could possibly be the route to go.”

Should Mack go that route, he’d have a year to learn from DeBoer and Grubb, digest UW’s offense, study Penix and embrace the strength and conditioning program, before competing for the starting job in 2024. Or he could stay and thrive in his senior high school season, before joining a two-quarterback class alongside three-star Garfield signal caller and Husky commit EJ Caminong.

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Mack — who declined to comment on the prospect of reclassifying — may have a decision to make.

Either way, he’s proven willing to wait for his opportunity.

“Personally, it wasn’t that difficult, because I knew there was a plan,” said Mack, when asked about his two-year wait for Folsom’s starting quarterback job. “I knew I wasn’t good enough. I knew I had to get better to play at that high of a level, especially being the quarterback at Folsom. I used that as my motivation to get better through the offseason between my sophomore and junior year. That really helped me.”

Sooner or later, Mack is headed to Seattle — same as another Folsom Bulldog, in former Husky quarterback Jake Browning. The Bengals’ Browning just completed his fourth NFL season, after leaving UW with numerous school records and more wins (39) than any QB in Pac-12 history. And after Mack committed last week, Browning reached out with congratulations and an open-ended offer for future advice.

It’s natural, given their shared positions and paths, to search for similarities between the two.

And for Mack, Husky quarterback comparisons are nothing new.

[D-train]

This kid was born AFTER then Hawks first SB.

[Captain 97]

So the kid is a 16year old Jr. and he is thinking of graduating early and coming to school this fall as a 17 year old? Do we really want that? Wouldn't we prefer to give his body a chance to mature a little before he starts eating up eligibility?

[Michael K.]

So the kid is a 16year old Jr. and he is thinking of graduating early and coming to school this fall as a 17 year old? Do we really want that? Wouldn't we prefer to give his body a chance to mature a little before he starts eating up eligibility?

Tough call. That said, the expectation is more than likely that he starts the year after Penix leaves. So, wouldn't he be better equipped to have his body mature during his Red Shirt year here than while being The Man? No chance I would want to forgo my Senior year of HS, but I also wasn't going to soon compete for the starting QB at the UW.

[Captain 97]

So the kid is a 16year old Jr. and he is thinking of graduating early and coming to school this fall as a 17 year old? Do we really want that? Wouldn't we prefer to give his body a chance to mature a little before he starts eating up eligibility?

Tough call. That said, the expectation is more than likely that he starts the year after Penix leaves. So, wouldn't he be better equipped to have his body mature during his Red Shirt year here than while being The Man? No chance I would want to forgo my Senior year of HS, but I also wasn't going to soon compete for the starting QB at the UW.

If your telling me that he is going to be starting at age 18 in 2024 no matter what, then I guess it doesn't matter if they use his redshirt at age 17 or not. However, If he isn't physically or mentally ready at 18 then you just burned a year of eligibility by bringing him in at age 17. I'd rather just see him come in for spring ball in 2024.

[Michael K.]

If your telling me that he is going to be starting at age 18 in 2024 no matter what, then I guess it doesn't matter if they use his redshirt at age 17 or not. However, If he isn't physically or mentally ready at 18 then you just burned a year of eligibility by bringing him in at age 17. I'd rather just see him come in for spring ball in 2024.

Then he has to learn the offense, learn the system, learn how to be away from home, etc. I am saying, get all that shit out of the way when we don't even need him on the field. I get your point too, but I think they expect him to start right away, and he has that type of talent. Is another year of HS going to make him more ready than spending an entire season not even worrying about getting on the field because he is behind Penix and a veteran backup?

I have to believe he is going to mature physically the same either way, but he will be getting better nutrition and better coaching here. Better strength and conditioning. He will be learning the offense, etc. NOW, I'd be more worried about the mental aspect. Can he handle being away from home, can he handle being a football player in college at 17, with all the distractions, all the girls, etc? That would concern me more than his physical makeup. He's not getting on the field that first year while Penix and Morris are hear unless a catastrophe strikes anyway. So why does it matter what location he is at while he grows and matures?

If the question is why not let him come in Morris' Senior year and Red Shirt? If it's another year of eligibility you are worrying about? Then I am even more worried, because he needs to be better than Morris. I think the best way for him to become that sooner is to get the best help possible. Seems to me that would be here and not in HS. Personally? I'd miss Friday Night light's of my senior year. I don't think he will want to pass that up. But, for the Huskies? All the risk is in having him NOT here, not in having him spend his Red Shirt year behind two vets learning the school, the offense, etc. I don't think eligibility is that big of a deal anymore, since the best one's are going to leave early. Had Penix not had health issues he would have been an early first round pick and would be long gone. Red Shirting seems less and less important now, to me.

So, long answer short. I think his best chance to start the year after Penix leaves, or to be an effective starter that year? Is to spend what would be his Senior year here, not in HS. But, again, it's not a choice I would make, and probably wouldn't suggest it for my son.

[Michael K.]

Maybe this should have been a new topic, but I guess the debate is over. He is coming this summer.

Mack — a 6-foot-6, 210-pound prostyle passer from Folsom (Calif.) High School — will reclassify into the 2023 class and join the Huskies this summer, he announced Tuesday.

That’s a critical development for UW, considering the Huskies have just two scholarship quarterbacks on their current roster — sixth-year senior starter Michael Penix Jr. and fifth-year junior Dylan Morris. UW’s quarterback depth was depleted by redshirt sophomore Sam Huard’s transfer to Cal Poly last month and four-star freshman Lincoln Kienholz’s flip to Ohio State before December’s signing day.

Mack is just 16 — young for a high school junior — and has started only one season of varsity football. Granted, he excelled last fall, completing 70.4% of his passes while throwing for 3,498 yards with 42 total touchdowns and five interceptions — leading the Bulldogs to a 12-2 record and a section championship.

Instead of adding an extra season of game experience, Mack will spend the 2023 campaign learning from Penix, Morris, UW coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Grubb — all while absorbing the Husky offense. He’ll benefit from early exposure to UW’s strength and conditioning program as well.

The hope is, after spending a full season in the system, Mack will be ready to compete for the starting job in 2024.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... subscriber

It also helps spread out the recruiting classes at that position.

Besides, UW has an additional quarterback commit in the 2024 class — three-star Garfield signal caller EJ Caminong.

Mack was previously ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit, the No. 7 quarterback in the country, the No. 8 player in California and the No. 53 overall prospect in the 2024 class — but he’ll now graduate from Folsom a year early to kick-start his college career.

[Captain 97]

Everyone thought Huard had the talent too....

[Michael K.]

Everyone thought Huard had the talent too....

Huard isn't the first highly touted QB not to make it. There is also a long list of highly touted QBs that did make it, so not sure what your point is? Huard might have been the man next year had Penix left to go Pro, who knows? I like the thought of a highly touted talent coming in and learning from these coaches...you know, the ones that made Michael Penix a Heisman candidate and Jake Haener a fucking Hero?

[Captain 97]

Everyone thought Huard had the talent too....

Huard isn't the first highly touted QB not to make it. There is also a long list of highly touted QBs that did make it, so not sure what your point is? Huard might have been the man next year had Penix left to go Pro, who knows? I like the thought of a highly touted talent coming in and learning from these coaches...you know, the ones that made Michael Penix a Heisman candidate and Jake Haener a fucking Hero?

My point is, a 16 year old shouldn't be graduating early to burn a year of college eligibility at age 17 just because he MIGHT have the talent to start at age 18.