Despite missing the entire spring due to rehabbing from another torn ACL he sustained a season ago, Indiana quarterback Michael Penix is the fifth best returning quarterback this season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) College.
A season ago, Penix put up impressive numbers before suffering a torn ACL against Maryland. For the season, Penix had led the Big Ten in passing yards, passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts and ended the season as a Second Team All-Big Ten Conference honoree despite getting injured. Penix threw for 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions in six games last season before his injury.
The other top five were: Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma), Sam Howell (UNC), D'Erio King (Miami), and Dillon Gabriel (UCF).
The bottom five were: Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson), Myles Brennan (LSU), and Kedon Slovis (Southern California).
PFF College had the following to say on Penix:
"Despite playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in college football in 2020, Penix managed to post an 82.9 PFF grade in six starts before tearing his ACL in Week 13. Only four other FBS quarterbacks spent a higher rate of their dropbacks under pressure than Penix at 41%, yet the Hoosier overcame that to put together quality play. He was calm in collapsing pockets with monsters along opposing defensive lines hurling their bodies at him, converting pressure to sacks at an astronomically low rate of 7.4% (best in the FBS)."
PFF College said Penix's 2020 season was not a surprise after what everyone saw in 2019.
"None of this is surprising after what we saw from Penix back in 2019 when he posted an 84.0 PFF grade in six starts. One thing that was different in 2020, however, was the bouts of inaccuracy, but he still managed to produce plus results in that area by ranking 19th in the FBS in percentage of accurate passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield. Penix ended up leading all Power 5 quarterbacks in big-time throw rate this past season and was establishing himself as one of the top passers in the country before the injury. As long as he can stay healthy, the Hoosiers can be a top-10 team again in 2021."
Both Penix and Indiana head coach Tom Allen have said they expect Penix to not only suit up, but start on Sept. 4 when the Hoosiers open the 2021 season at Iowa.
"We expect him to be ready to play to start the season. We expect him to be full go to start the season," Allen said.
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
