DIPRIMIO COLUMN: With Michael Penix Jr., The Best Is Still Ahead

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - You want flawless, examine the Hope Diamond.

You want poise, passion and potential, consider redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the Indiana Football Hoosiers.

Are they in midseason form?

Heck, no.

But you can see the potential if they get there.

When they get there.

Penix is the catalyst. He has to be. Quarterback, more than any other position in sport, dominates. Good running games and great defense only take you so far these days. The strong-armed mobile guy who leads, reads and executes is the ultimate offensive football weapon.

Penix showcased the fearless advantage coach Tom Allen wants during Saturday's 34-24 win against Ball State. He threw for 326 yards, and it would have been more than 400 if not for at least three dropped passes. He ran for 67 yards on just seven carries.

You'd better believe defensive coordinators will notice.

The only IU freshman quarterback to do better in his college debut was Hall of Famer Antwaan Randle El, who threw for 385 yards and ran for 82 yards against Western Michigan in 1998.

"I've heard of him," Penix said. "I don't know him."

But he did know who to credit for his success.

"I couldn't do it without the O-linemen, without the running backs making their blocks and the receivers making great plays."

Receiver Nick Westbrook, who made the biggest play with his 75-yard first quarter touchdown catch, is well aware of Penix's break-a-defense upside.

"It's another thing the defense has to worry about. He's not just a pocket passer. He's a pocket passer who can run. He lives up to it."

Or, as Allen puts it, "He just has a poise about him. When the pressure comes, he just shrugs it off. He has a lot of instinctive things."

Penix has plenty of learning and growing to do. His two interceptions were the biggest examples, but not the only ones.

He missed some reads, misfired on some passes against a Ball State defense that will never be confused with, say, Alabama's. He sometimes throws 90 mph when 60 mph will do. Big deal. Even the best and most experienced quarterbacks struggle, but not often, and rarely when it matters most.

Allen understands that. He didn't name Penix the starter to have a quick hook the moment mistakes happen.

"You're going to have some growing pains. He has never been a starter in college before, and they did a good job of disguising stuff."

After the second interception, Allen said, "I just patted him on the tail and told him to flush it. I didn't want to give him a pep talk, didn't want to talk about anything negative. I believe in the kid. It's not going to be all roses every time he's out there."

Added Penix: "They were just mental errors. I flushed it. The team kept me up. We kept working."

It showed big time near the end of the first half. IU was pinned at its own 10-yard line with just over a minute left. Allen could have gone conservative and run out the clock with a 13-10 lead.

Instead, he had Penix throw it and throw it and throw it. The result – a 49-yard Logan Justus field goal and a 16-10 edge.

"You turn that offense over to him, you've got to trust him," Allen said. "It's about growing. You can't simulate those situations in practice. As much as possible, we wanted him to move us down the field.

"You saw the upside I've seen throughout fall camp."

You also saw a guy not hindered by the surgically repaired knee that limited him to three games in 2018.

"It felt fine," he said. "I wasn't worried about it at all."

Nerves, he added, also weren't a problem.

"I wasn't too nervous. Mostly anxious. I've been preparing in the film room to be ready to execute."

Westbrook helped Penix stay calm with some pre-game advice.

"I said, 'Dude, there's only one way to get through it, and that's to play your game. Mistakes happen. You just have to bounce back.' That's exactly what he did. He showed up when we needed him."

That included with his legs. Penix busted runs as long as 24 yards, which bodes well for the future.

"I go through my reads, and I have a pull read. If I can pull it, I'm gone. It keeps drives alive. It helps the team get points."

Penix completed passes to seven receivers. Whop Philyor and Ty Fryfogle each had six. Westbrook only had three, but they went for 103 yards and a touchdown.

"Whoever is open, that's who I look for." Penix said. "I go through my reads. I try to make sure I put it in an accurate spot."

Penix did all of this, by the way, despite a struggling rushing attack. Take away his running and the Hoosiers managed just 81 yards on 26 carries. Stevie Scott III, an 1,100-yard rusher last year as a true freshman, had just 48 yards on 19 carries.

That was enough against Ball State, which loaded up the box to stop the run. It won't be against Big Ten beasts such as Ohio State and Penn State.

"We didn't run well," Scott said. "It's the first game. We'll fix it. We're not stressing. We have a long season ahead of us. We're looking to run harder and stronger."

College football in the 21st Century features offense as never before. The coaching mantra that defense wins championships gets flipped faster than a politician's promise.

Look at Big Ten opening-day scores. Penn State and Maryland each put up 79 points. Wisconsin got 49. Rutgers put up 48. Ohio State had 45. Illinois had 42. Michigan got 40. Iowa (38), Nebraska (35) and Purdue (31) also kept the scoreboard operator busy.

Granted, these came against opponents that will never be confused with, say, Clemson, but that misses the point, which is offense rocks, so yours had better join in the fun, or else.

That's why IU paid plenty to hire Kalen DeBoer away from Fresno State. The guy knows offense and mindset, delivering an 1-0 approach -- in essence, you strive to win every moment, every play, every opportunity by giving it everything you've got -- the Hoosiers fully embrace.

"That's the first mindset we always preach," Westbrook said. "We went 1-0 throughout the game. There were good times and bad times, but we kept going 1-0 and we ended up with a W."

Penix is capable of unleashing the full potential of DeBoer's offense, including making big plays at any time.

"It's huge," Allen said. "When you're calling defense and you're worried about the deep ball all the time, it could happen at any second.

"That's the thing about Michael that's so different. He doesn't have to set his feet (to throw deep); he doesn't have to have everything perfect. He can just flick it, running left or right or whatever he's doing. That's unique. It' affects the way you (call defense)."

On Saturday, DeBoer gave a hint of his offensive innovation with a fourth-quarter, two-point conversion try. The game's outcome was still very much in doubt and DeBoer trusted true freshman David Ellis to execute.

Ellis, who's listed as an athlete with running back and receiver primary roles, was more than up to the task. His first option was to run. Ball State had that covered. His second option was to throw, but the primary receiver wasn't open. That left tight end Peyton Hendershot, who had never been thrown to in all the times they'd practiced the play.

Allen noticed.

"He's a true freshman, so that's pretty impressive."

It wasn't all impressive on Saturday. Passes and interceptions that couldn't be dropped were. Tackles that had to be made weren't. Penalties that shouldn't have happened did.

"Our (poor) tackling surprised me," Allen said. "I saw lot of guys try to shoulder tackle. That's got to go. That doesn't work."

The good news – it all can and will be fixed. Season openers are seldom works of football art.

With the victory, IU's aspirations remain on track. Ultimately, though, a great season comes down to great quarterback play. Saturday's game suggested the best is still ahead.

"It was a boost of confidence for the whole team to see Michael play like that in his first start," Scott said. "He threw it well and was very poised in the pocket. It should be a big season."

DIPRIMIO COLUMN: With Michael Penix Jr., The Best Is Still Ahead

Players Mentioned

David Ellis

Ty Fryfogle

Peyton Hendershot

Logan Justus

Michael Penix Jr.

Whop Philyor

Stevie Scott III

Nick Westbrook

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