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Michael Penix Jr. leads all returning college QBs in big-time passing ability

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

When it comes to big-time passing ability, not many college quarterbacks are better than Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), no quarterback in college football had a better big-time throw percentage in Power 5 football during the 2020 season. Penix had a 10.3% success rate on big-time throw percentage, best among quarterbacks in the power conferences last year.

During the 2020 season, Penix completed 56.4% of his passes for 1,645 yards with 14 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. Indiana was 5-1 with Penix under center last fall, with the only loss coming to Ohio State.

Penix missed the final two games of the season because of a knee injury.

This year, Penix will be entering his third year as the starter for the Hoosiers. The one concern for the quarterback is his health, as he’s not yet completed a full season without injury. Indiana’s offense was running on a completely different level when he was on the field. When he was injured, the Hoosiers really struggled to get into the end zone.

Indiana has a tough opening game this season, starting with a road contest against Iowa. Penix will have a difficult challenge in his first game back from the injury.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB