FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will get his first start of his career in Week 16.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris released a statement saying as much Tuesday night. Kirk Cousins will not be the Falcons' starting quarterback against the New York Giants on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Penix will be.
Professionally, Penix's tenure is only just beginning. He has appeared in two games already, but he cleaned up garbage snaps. So, they don't say much about his potential.
Case in point, Penix took the final seven snaps in the Falcons' 34-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 20 and the final 13 snaps in the Falcons' 38-6 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 17. In those very limited opportunities, Penix completed three of his five passes for 60 yards.
"I think he's a young man that stays ready," Morris said Oct. 23. "He's a young man I got a lot of confidence in if something were to happen for him to go in and execute what we got to get done because of what I see in practice. So, (his debut) wasn't one of those things where I actually went over to him and said anything to him. I looked him in the eyes to see if he was ready. He was ready to go."
The Falcons didn't draft Penix in the first round for no reason. His 2022-23 seasons at the University of Washington alone justify the decision. Those numbers are the ones that speak volumes. Not his NFL ones — yet.
In his final two collegiate seasons, Penix completed 65.4% of his passes for an average of 340.9 yards per game with 67 touchdowns. His 9,544 total yards, which was an FBS best, broke down into 4,641 in 2022 and 4,903 in 2023. That made him the first FBS player to pass for 4,500-plus yards in back-to-back seasons since Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes did so in 2015-16.
The Huskies went 11-2 and defeated the University of Texas in the Alamo Bowl in 2022. Washington then went 14-1 and lost to the University of Michigan in the national championship in 2023.
"We got a lot of conviction on Michael," Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said after Round 1 of the draft. "You can go watch where he got torn down in that championship game versus Michigan, where it didn't go as well. We can watch the Texas game where he played lights-out. But you can watch the body of work throughout the season and you can watch him go about his business, how he learns, how he grows, how he makes decisions and makes it happen. There will still be a learning curve when you come to the National Football League. There's going to be some things he'll be asked to do that he wasn't asked to do in college that he can learn. I just think this is the perfect situation for him."
Penix's history proved he can endure, too.
Before he transferred to Washington, Penix played for Indiana University from 2018-21. He sustained four season-ending injuries in those four seasons, ultimately playing in just 20 games. He completed 59.4% of his passes for an average of 209.9 yards per game with 29 touchdowns when healthy.
That's likely not how Penix envisioned his early years of collegiate ball. In the end, however, the adversity made him stronger.
So, when Penix first learned of the quarterback situation in Atlanta, he embraced it. He has done everything the Falcons have asked of him since arriving in April. Sunday will be no exception.
"I'm ready," Penix said Dec. 2. "I have to be because you never know when the opportunity will come, so I always stay ready."
