Washington Huskies’ quarterback Michael Penix Jr. continued to accrue accolades on Friday afternoon after leading his team to a 14-1 record and throwing for a school-record 4,903 yards in 2023. Penix, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy was named the No. 3 player from the college football season by Pro Football Focus.
The only players PFF deemed better than Penix in 2023 were LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner, and former UW turned UCLA Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu.
Penix joined his teammates wide receiver Rome Odunze at No. 7 and edge rusher Bralen Trice at No. 13 inside the top 15 of the analytics site’s rankings. In just two years on Montlake, Penix cemented himself as arguably the greatest quarterback in Washington history.
His 36 touchdown passes in 2023 are the second most in a single season, behind only Jake Browning’s 43 touchdown year in 2016, and he moved into third place on Washington’s all-time leaderboard for passing touchdowns, trailing only Browning and Keith Price.
Penix’s historic season also moved him to third in Washington’s record book for career passing yards, behind Browning and Cody Pickett.
Best Players from the 2023 College Football Season:
🟣 #3: Michael Penix Jr, Washington pic.twitter.com/xo5cIkBQkL
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 9, 2024
While he couldn’t finish Washington’s 15-0 season, falling to the Michigan Wolverines in the national championship, his performance in the Sugar Bowl against the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl will go down as one of the greatest in College Football Playoff history.
Penix completed 29 of his 38 pass attempts for 430 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Huskies pulled off a 37-31 victory in New Orleans, which gave Washington its first shot at a national championship since 1991.
Now, Penix is pushing to be the first Washington quarterback picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft since Jake Locker in 2011 and could further cement his legacy at Washington with a solid NFL career.