There’s a blurred line between courage and calamity.
Through five weeks, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. leads the nation in passing (346.6 yards per game) and ranks fifth in touchdown passes (16), 16th in yards per pass attempt (9.1) and 22nd in pass efficiency rating (166.16). He has succeeded, at times, by completing the improbable pass — a back-shoulder dart between defenders or a timing route released before his receiver exits his break. And that production has further emboldened offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, in turn, to maximize his redshirt junior’s immense skill set.
Penix can make every available throw … but because he can, does that mean he should? When it comes to his strong-armed distributor, how does UW coach Kalen DeBoer distinguish between bravery and unnecessary risk?
“Honestly, it’s a really good question,” DeBoer said Monday, three days after UW’s 40-32 loss to UCLA. “Because we sit here and we put our stamp of approval on how he throws guys open, how he anticipates, and how guys are barely out of their breaks and the ball’s out. On the one (interception against UCLA), the defender’s literally spinning in the ground as the release is happening.
“Mike’s anticipating; that’s what he’s trying to do. That’s what’s made him so successful. He learns from it. It’s not been a common thing for him, as we’ve seen through five games, to turn the ball over.”
And yet, Penix made two critical second quarter interceptions against UCLA — on “a couple reads where he just needed to stay through his progression, move on from a decision that wasn’t good, go to the next option and play through it,” Grubb said Monday. The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder has tossed 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions through five games this fall, and his 11 completions of 30 yards or more ranks fifth in the nation.
In most cases, UW has benefited from Penix’s precision and bravery.
But the Indiana transfer understands there’s a balance there, too.
“As a quarterback you just want to be smart with the ball, try to protect the ball as best you can,” he said. “It’s not really a fine line. It’s just a feel. It’s having the reps and feeling the guys out there, seeing the defensive backs’ techniques and stuff like that. That helps me. That’s just a feel thing. I know I can make any throw on the field, so if I feel I can make it, I’m going to throw it.”
Still, Penix’s ball security may be especially vital this season, considering the inconsistent UW defense. The Huskies surrendered 40 points and forced just one punt against UCLA, needing fourth-down stops at their own 3- and 16-yard lines to limit further damage.
Penix’s decision making process may ultimately be limited by his own defense.
“My defense on that ’97 team was spectacular,” said former strong-armed WSU quarterback Ryan Leaf, who threw for 3,968 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading the Cougs to a Rose Bowl berth in 1997. “So they could back me up throwing a pick, trying to make a big play. I don’t know that Washington has that. And if that’s the case, then Michael has to have an understanding in games that he can’t afford to turn it over.
“The reason they’ve been successful is because he hadn’t been sacked and he hadn’t turned it over, and as soon as they went on the road both those things happened and you see they lost the football game. So I think it’s imperative for him to understand that he’s got to be perfect this year. He can’t make those mistakes.””
Penix was plenty successful in the second half against UCLA. In the third quarter, trailing 40-16, the Tampa product looked left on third-and-8 and drilled a 20-yard strike between three Bruins to wide receiver Rome Odunze — in the same spot where he surrendered the previous picks.
“He does a good job of not playing the last play (again) or getting stuck,” Grubb said. “That was really my message to him (at halftime): ‘Hey, you’ve just got to get back on the horse and leave that decision in the past.’ I thought he did a good job of that. Halftime came at the right time where I could sit down with him and get him recalibrated a little bit.
“He made a first down throw to Rome on the left sideline in the same section where really he’d thrown both of his picks, to his left. He stood up and made an incredible throw and showed no fear on that. I thought that was evidence that he was moving the right way again.”
Despite the picks, despite the deficit, Penix completed 19 of 23 passes (82.6%) and threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone.
“I don’t back down from anything,” Penix said Tuesday, when asked specifically about the Odunze completion that followed his picks. “It doesn’t matter what (coverage) they gave me or what happened any time before. That was a play (the interceptions) that was already in the past. I have a 1-0 mindset. So just staying levelheaded play in and play out, I really don’t worry about anything that already happened. I just go out there play to play and live in the moment.”
With a 4-1 record and a No. 21 national ranking, Penix and Co. have plenty to play for. On Saturday, he’ll encounter an Arizona State secondary that ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in opponent pass efficiency rating (134.6), seventh in pass defense (225.2 yards allowed per game), seventh in opponent yards per pass attempt (7.2) and eighth in opponent completion percentage (64.7%).
Prior to the season, Odunze said Penix has “some talents that God has gifted him with that aren’t regular.”
Deciding when to use them, of course, is a talent of its own.
Williams to redshirt
UW junior safety Cam Williams informed coaches prior to the UCLA game that he plans to redshirt the 2022 season, according to a source. Williams — who started 10 games from 2019 to 2021 — played sparingly in the first four games this fall and has decided to maintain an extra year of eligibility. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Senior Alex Cook and junior Asa Turner earned starting safety roles prior to the season, and converted husky nickel Kamren Fabiculanan has started each of the last three games beside Cook following Turner’s injury. Though Turner could conceivably return against Arizona State, UW currently has just four other available scholarship safeties — Cook, Fabiculanan, redshirt freshman Makell Esteen and true freshman Tristan Dunn. (Redshirt freshman Vince Nunley is out for the season with an injury.)
Williams — a 6-0, 207-pounder from Bakersfield, Calif. — has produced 49 tackles, three interceptions and one forced fumble in 24 career games.