I, like most of us, have been wowed by some of the things we've seen Michael Penix Jr. do over the last few seasons. That lefty flick of the wrist, when it's 'on', is a true thing of beauty to behold. I am pulling for Penix to succeed as much as anybody and obviously the injury setbacks he has suffered are gut-wrenching and even seem unfair. But I feel an honest assessment of the situation is in order.
A couple of years back it was Penix v Ramsey. Many in the pro-Penix crowd made it seem like Penix was waaaay better than Peyton Ramsey right from the get-go. I tried not to pit one against the other, I always tried to take the approach of doing what was best overall for Indiana Football. And I genuinely liked and like both Penix and Ramsey. That said, I knew inevitably one of them had to be the odd man out. That's just the way it is in competitive sports.
My position was that yes clearly Penix had superior ability when compared to Ramsey but in terms of actual production that gap wasn't really as great as maybe some made it out to be. What Peyton lacked in physical ability he made up for with experience and moxy. From the perspective of Indiana Football it was a great position to be in - two solid Big Ten quarterbacks. Peyton had the edge in terms of command and consistency but Penix was more explosive. I ultimately agreed with the decision to start Penix but cautioned there would be growing pains. Penix wasn't going to come in and win the Heisman. In hindsight I feel my assessment was accurate. In his career (Northwestern included), Ramsey threw for 8,314 yards and 54 touchdowns. That's pretty noteworthy. You'll never convince me that those who were eager to throw Peyton Ramsey under the bus weren't underestimating the kid significantly.
Then last year Indiana went on that magical run. Amid the excitement and jubilation I think some of Penix's sloppiness and fundemental breakdowns were being overlooked because Indiana was beating Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State and giving College Football Playoff contender Ohio State all they could handle. It's hard to blame fans for not wanting to get bogged down in the minutia of elite quarterback play but for Penix the footwork issues were there, accuracy was dropping off, and at times it seemed like Penix had his mind made up where he was going with the ball before it was snapped. I and a few others mentioned some of these things but it mostly got lost in the shuffle amid the drama and elation of being ranked 7th in the country and a legitimate part of the New Year's Six discussion.
This past off season and going into Fall Camp the emphasis and discussion was rightfully on three straight season-ending injuries. What seemed to get overlooked in the conversation was that it's not just about having to recover physically and the mental implications of that, it's about three straight offseasons without spring ball and the opportunity to develop as a player and student of the game. How could that not put Penix behind the curve developmentally? That's thousands of reps that he never got in. That's muscle memory and reaction time that never got downloaded. And on top of that Penix has to deal with the psychology of three major injuries in live game action.
And so now here were are, I don't think it's unfair to wonder if Penix should even be the starter going forward. His play has been so poor through three games that you could even argue that it's myopic to not ask the question.
My initial thought was give Penix one more week to get right against Western Kentucky. But then I thought, what if he doesn't play well? What if it's more of the same? Then all the sudden Indiana is potentially throwing a still inexperienced Jack Tuttle into the fray just as the Hoosiers start the Big Ten gauntlet. So you can make the argument that if a move is going to be made at the quarterback position, this is the week to make it.
I'm honestly torn. I'm glad it's not up to me. Right now I'm leaning more towards going with Tuttle. Big time college football can be pretty cutthroat, that's just the nature of the beast. I want Penix to succeed and hope that he ultimately does but the question at this point is what is best for Indiana Football?
A couple of years back it was Penix v Ramsey. Many in the pro-Penix crowd made it seem like Penix was waaaay better than Peyton Ramsey right from the get-go. I tried not to pit one against the other, I always tried to take the approach of doing what was best overall for Indiana Football. And I genuinely liked and like both Penix and Ramsey. That said, I knew inevitably one of them had to be the odd man out. That's just the way it is in competitive sports.
My position was that yes clearly Penix had superior ability when compared to Ramsey but in terms of actual production that gap wasn't really as great as maybe some made it out to be. What Peyton lacked in physical ability he made up for with experience and moxy. From the perspective of Indiana Football it was a great position to be in - two solid Big Ten quarterbacks. Peyton had the edge in terms of command and consistency but Penix was more explosive. I ultimately agreed with the decision to start Penix but cautioned there would be growing pains. Penix wasn't going to come in and win the Heisman. In hindsight I feel my assessment was accurate. In his career (Northwestern included), Ramsey threw for 8,314 yards and 54 touchdowns. That's pretty noteworthy. You'll never convince me that those who were eager to throw Peyton Ramsey under the bus weren't underestimating the kid significantly.
Then last year Indiana went on that magical run. Amid the excitement and jubilation I think some of Penix's sloppiness and fundemental breakdowns were being overlooked because Indiana was beating Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State and giving College Football Playoff contender Ohio State all they could handle. It's hard to blame fans for not wanting to get bogged down in the minutia of elite quarterback play but for Penix the footwork issues were there, accuracy was dropping off, and at times it seemed like Penix had his mind made up where he was going with the ball before it was snapped. I and a few others mentioned some of these things but it mostly got lost in the shuffle amid the drama and elation of being ranked 7th in the country and a legitimate part of the New Year's Six discussion.
This past off season and going into Fall Camp the emphasis and discussion was rightfully on three straight season-ending injuries. What seemed to get overlooked in the conversation was that it's not just about having to recover physically and the mental implications of that, it's about three straight offseasons without spring ball and the opportunity to develop as a player and student of the game. How could that not put Penix behind the curve developmentally? That's thousands of reps that he never got in. That's muscle memory and reaction time that never got downloaded. And on top of that Penix has to deal with the psychology of three major injuries in live game action.
And so now here were are, I don't think it's unfair to wonder if Penix should even be the starter going forward. His play has been so poor through three games that you could even argue that it's myopic to not ask the question.
My initial thought was give Penix one more week to get right against Western Kentucky. But then I thought, what if he doesn't play well? What if it's more of the same? Then all the sudden Indiana is potentially throwing a still inexperienced Jack Tuttle into the fray just as the Hoosiers start the Big Ten gauntlet. So you can make the argument that if a move is going to be made at the quarterback position, this is the week to make it.
I'm honestly torn. I'm glad it's not up to me. Right now I'm leaning more towards going with Tuttle. Big time college football can be pretty cutthroat, that's just the nature of the beast. I want Penix to succeed and hope that he ultimately does but the question at this point is what is best for Indiana Football?
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