Penix earns Preseason Big Ten honor

The preseason awards continue to pour in for Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., as the Big Ten recognized the redshirt junior with Big Ten football preseason honors.

A media panel selected the 10-member list, which is made up of five players from the East and five players from the West.

The distinction comes a day after Penix was second in voting for the preseason Offensive Player-of-the-Year Award.

Penix returns to the field this season after tearing his ACL for the second time in his Indiana career. He was recently named to the Maxwell Award watch list and the Davey O'Brien watch list. Penix threw for 1,645 yards with 14 touchdowns to four interceptions on a 54.6 completion percentage (124-of-220) last season. He played in six games before suffering an ACL injury against Maryland.

Below is the full release.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana redshirt junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. received Big Ten football preseason honors, the league announced on Thursday morning in conjunction with the start of B1G Media Days in Indianapolis. A media panel selected the 10-member list, with five representatives each from the East and West Divisions.

Penix, who was named to the Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award Watch Lists earlier this week, was a 2020 team captain, a second-team All-Big Ten honoree (coaches, media), and IU's Anthony Thompson Most Valuable Player alongside linebacker Micah McFadden.

The Tampa native completed 124-of-220 (56.4 percent) for 1,645 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he rushed for a pair of TDs. He averaged a Big Ten-leading 274.2 yards per game (18th nationally) and recorded a 136.54 pass-efficiency rating. Penix started all six games in which he appeared before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Maryland win (Nov. 28). Entering the Terrapins game, he led the league in passing yardage, passing yardage per game (312.2, 9th nationally), passing scores, completions, attempts, 60-yard passing plays (4, T-2nd), 50-yarders (6, T-7th), 40-yarders (tied 6, T-33rd), and 30-yarders (11, T-39th).The southpaw owns a 10-2 record as a starter and is 255-of-414 (61.6, 2nd in program history) for 3,258 yards with 25 touchdowns, eight INTs, and a 143.8 pass-efficiency rating in 15 games.

He has 189 yards on the ground on 47 attempts (4.0 average) with four TDs.

The full list of Big Ten football preseason honorees is as follows:

EAST DIVISION

Michael Penix Jr., QB, IND

Thayer Munford, LT, OSU

Chris Olave, WR, OSU

Garrett Wilson, WR, OSU

Jahan Dotson, WR, PSU

WEST DIVISION

Tyler Linderbaum, C, IOWA

Mohamed Ibrahim, RB, MINN

Brandon Joseph, S, NU