Michael Penix Jr. will lead Huskies to surprise success

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Win the locker room. It starts with that for Connor Bazelak. He transferred from Missouri to make a run at Indiana's starting quarterback job, and he'll have to earn it.

That means more than throwing a pretty pass.

"The biggest thing is getting to know the players," he says. "That's such a big part of being a good team, players meshing and trust each other and love each other. It takes time. That's what I'm working on."

Win the games. It drives Jack Tuttle. He's set to begin his fourth season as a Hoosier, and has his own starting quarterback ambitions, but more importantly, a determination to blast away the sting from last season's 2-10 record.


Jack Tuttle of the Tacoma Washington Tuttles?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., saying it's "time for a fresh start somewhere else,'' entered the NCAA's transfer portal on Sunday and plans on playing his 2022 college season elsewhere.

Penix, a heralded recruit out of Tampa, Fla., has spent four years in Bloomington and will graduate in May. He has played well and was a critical piece in the Hoosiers' resurgence in 2019 and 2020, but he also has had a career defined by injuries. He didn't finish any of his four seasons in Bloomington.

It was a difficult decision, he said, but it's also one that had to be made.

"I talked to Coach (Tom) Allen about it, and it's my decision,'' Penix said Sunday during a telephone interview. "Look, I'm a Hoosier, and I'll always be a Hoosier. I'm graduating in May and I have loved everything about playing for Coach Allen and being a part of this team. These are my brothers.

"But I just want a new start, a new beginning. I want to finish my college career the best way possible, and I think I need to do that somewhere else.''

Penix earned the starting job during his freshman year in 2018, but tore an ACL in his first start against Penn State and missed the remainder of the season. He won a training camp battle with Peyton Ramsey to start the 2019 season and played well, but missed some time early in the season with a shoulder strain and then was knocked out for good in early November with a fracture clavicle against Northwestern, and was lost for the season again.

He was spectacular in 2020 in leading the Hoosiers to a record-setting season that saw the school's first top-10 ranking in more than 50 years. The Hoosiers were ranked No. 7 in the country after a 4-0 start that included rare wins over Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan.

He gained national notoriety in the 2020 season opener against Penn State, stretching out on a dive just barely inside the pylon for a two-point conversion to give Indiana the victory.

He also threw for 491 yards and five touchdowns in Indiana's only loss, 42-35 at Ohio State to the team that would eventually lose in the national championship. It was the second-most yards in school history.

But the following week, he tore his ACL for the second time in a win over Maryland, and was lost for the season. He spent eight months rehabbing trying to get ready for the 2021 season, but he was rusty and went just 2-2 in his first four starts this season. And on Oct. 2, he was brought down hard on a tackle at Penn State and separated the AC joint in his left throwing shoulder.

He wound up missing the rest of the season — and the Hoosiers never won another game, dropping eight games in a row.


Like everyone says - he stays healthy we have QB1

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