Michael Penix Jr. was surrounded, squeezed on all sides. Yet these were media types pre sing up against him with questions, not pa s rushers who haven't come anywhere near him in two games this season.The veteran quarterback is a former Big Ten headliner who will take his new team up against his old conference when the Michigan State Spartans visit on Saturday. He's been entrusted with helping restore the University of Washington football program to previous competitive levels. So far, so good.Penix exudes cool every time he steps on the field and takes a snap or stands off to the side and tells you what he's thinking. His Tuesday question-and-answer se sion was no different. It's big-game week."New season, Adam Clendening Kids Jersey you know a different team," he said of the UW makeover. "Obviously, we're still the Huskies, but it's not the same team as last year. You had some guys leave, whole new coaching staff, some guys came in. It's a different team. I feel Sam Vigneault Women Jersey like the mindset has been elevating."Penix is careful in what he says, yet every so often you can draw a competitive response from him just with your choice of words put into a question.For instance, was the Indiana transfer surprised to be playing a Big Ten team so soon, and this was how it was phrased to him, "after trying to get away from that league?"To which Penix responded, "I wasn't trying to get away from nothing. I just thought this was my best opportunity just pursuing my career and my future. I knew the schedule when I first got here. I always knew the schedule. It's football man, let's go."The veteran quarterback is off to a sensational start with the Huskies.1010 ImagesIn the previous two weeks, Kent State and Portland State couldn't stop him. Overseeing an offense averaging 571 yards per game, Penix has stood untouched in the pocket and completed 46 of 66 pa ses for 682 yards and 6 scores, just a few sizzling percentage Nick Foligno Jersey points shy of 70 percent.Amazing enough, he's been better that when he once completed 20 consecutive pa ses in a game, two shy of the Big Ten record, in 2019against Michigan State.Scroll to ContinueWhile it had to be similar to throwing a no-hitter of sorts, with each perfect pitch, Penix said he had no idea what he'd done until after the game. He was just caught up in the moment, dishing however he could in East Lansing, Michigan.As the 11th-ranked Spartans come to town, Penix is Brandon Dubinsky Kids Jersey in another groove, working with a new offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, someone he makes sure to credit at every chance."I understand everything Coach Grubb calls down," he said. "He definitely helps us out. Some of the looks he gets us in. Some of the looks we haven't seen and he make checks and puts us in a good look to beat that look. It's definitely crazy. It's something like I can go out and just have fun. Go through my reads. I know I'll find somebody open because I believe in Coach Grubb."Consequently, the Huskies are big Markus Hannikainen Women Jersey believers in their former Big Ten quarterback who emerged from a three-man competition and is giving them a chance to put all the pieces back together again. A win over the Spartans, and Penix split with them when he was at Indiana, would go a long way to bringing the slow-to-return fans, national rankings and excitement back to Montlake.On Tuesday, the quarterback already had his game face on, looking over the pre s pa s rush and barking out responses."It's definitely a great opportunity," Penix said. "They're a highly ranked team. We're definitely going to respect them, but we're definitely going to come out and have fun and do what we doand that's win." as