Quarterback is one of IU football’s most straightforward and predictable position groups heading into 2020, but it’s also one of the program’s youngest and least experienced.
After multiple injuries forced him to start just six games last season, redshirt sophomore Michael Penix Jr. is primed to be the go-to option at quarterback for the Hoosiers again. This time, however, head coach Tom Allen won’t be able to rely on Peyton Ramsey as a backup should Penix remain fragile. This offseason, Ramsey decided he’d use his final year of eligibility as a grad transfer at Northwestern.
Next season has potential to be the breakout campaign Penix has been looking for if he can stay healthy, but the other two scholarship quarterbacks on IU’s roster will likely have opportunities to prove themselves too. With Nick Sheridan making the jump from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator, you never know how the Hoosiers will get their best playmakers involved.
Michael Penix Jr. (RS. Sophomore)
The Hoosier offense had been lacking a quarterback as capable as Penix for years, and his first season as a starter was nothing short of impressive.
The then-redshirt freshman completed 110 of his 160 pass attempts (68.8%), a single-season completion percentage school record, and scored 12 total touchdowns to just four interceptions. That wasn’t the only program record Penix shattered in 2019. In a 40-31 road loss to No. 25 Michigan State, Penix completed a school-record 20 consecutive passes as he threw for a career-high three touchdowns.
The only negative part of Penix’s game is that he’s injury-prone. The quarterback has now undergone a pair of season-ending surgeries in his two years at IU and missed a handful of games recovering from minor injuries. While he has the ideal mix of mobility outside the pocket, arm strength and accuracy, we’re yet to see what kind of impact he can have on the team over the course of an entire season.
Jack Tuttle (RS. Sophomore)
Jack Tuttle maintained his four years of eligibility when he transferred to IU from University of Utah last winter, but we’ve barely had a look at him since his arrival in Bloomington.
As a redshirt freshman, Tuttle appeared in garbage time at the end of three lopsided wins and two blowout losses. He accumulated 54 total yards on 20 touches in those five games, but it's too small of a sample size and too early in his career to judge him solely off that tape.
The former four-star recruit out of San Marcos, California is bound for more opportunities on the field next year, but his spot as Penix’s backup isn’t a lock. Tuttle’s attitude and mindset in fall camp will set the tone for the rest of his sophomore campaign, and he’ll have to stay prepared to be thrown into the game at any point on short notice.
Dexter Williams (Freshman)
Dexter Williams is the quarterback room’s lone true freshman. Standing at 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, Williams was one of the members of the program’s incoming recruiting class that enrolled early at IU this spring.
The Georgia native and three-star prospect was more of an under-the-radar recruit for the Class of 2020, and he capitalized on his lone Power-5 offer. Williams ranked nationally as the class’ No. 21 dual-threat quarterback and was also recruited by Army, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina, among others.
Williams has even more balance than Penix when it comes to scrambling out of the pocket and asserting himself in the run game, but there’s no guarantee we’ll see much of the freshman in 2020.
With a redshirt season still on the table for the quarterback, IU’s coaching staff will cautiously manage Williams’ playing time assuming he starts the season on the active roster.
Redshirt freshmen Grant Gremel, Will Jontz and Zach Merrill round at the position group as walk-ons, but it’s the three scholarship quarterbacks that will be the main contenders for playing time next season.
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