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Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. to Return for Senior Season, Forgo 2023 NFL Draft
Dec 5, 2022
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 19: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Washington Huskies passes during the second quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Husky Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Washington Huskies will get another year of Michael Penix Jr. under center.
Penix announced Sunday that he has decided to forgo the 2023 NFL draft and return to Washington for his senior season. He said it was "one of the hardest decisions" of his life, before closing his post by saying that he believes the team will reach new heights next year.
The 2022 season was Penix's first with Washington. He spent the first four years of his college career at Indiana, where he was plagued by injuries, including a torn ACL in 2018 and 2020. He never appeared in more than six games in a season with the Hoosiers, posting a 12-5 record.
It wasn't until this year that Penix broke out as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
The 22-year-old leads college football with 4,354 passing yards and 362.8 passing yards per game. In addition, Penix has completed 66 percent of his passes and tossed 29 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Led by Penix, the No. 12 Huskies finished the regular season 10-2. They are set to face the No. 21 Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
Penix's draft stock rose significantly this season, and he was expected to be a Day 2 pick at the latest had he decided to declare for the draft. Now that he's returning to Washington, he'll get to improve his draft stock even more.
With Penix's decision to return to Washington, the focus will be shifted to wide receivers Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, who both could declare for the 2023 draft.
Odunze put together his best season this year, catching 70 passes for 1,088 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games. He also rushed for six yards and a score. McMillan also had a career year, catching 71 passes for 1,040 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games.
If both receivers return to Washington in 2023, the Huskies could make some serious noise in the Pac-12.
Jimmy Lake Fired as Washington Football Coach; Bob Gregory Named Interim HC
Nov 14, 2021
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 06: Head coach Jimmy Lake of the Washington Huskies looks on during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Washington Huskies football team fired head coach Jimmy Lake on Sunday and named assistant coach Bob Gregory the interim head coach.
According to The Athletic's Christian Caple and Bruce Feldman, Lake is owed a $9.9 million buyout, which will be paid out on a monthly basis through January 2025, though the buyout amount will drop should he earn additional compensation elsewhere during that time period.
Washington athletic director Jen Cohen later noted Lake's dismissal wasn't due to just "one factor," per ESPN's Kyle Bonagura:
There wasn't one factor that led me to this decision. Wins and losses, no fan support—[those are some] of many factors that you're considering when you're making a decision this impactful. What I would just say is this was a very thoughtful decision that took me a lot of time and I had a lot of counsel in evaluating it. There's just not one incident or one factor that led me to this today.
Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel previously reported Lake was expected to be fired.
Lake was suspended for Saturday's Arizona State game after hitting and shoving linebacker Ruperake Fuavai during an in-game scuffle against Oregon last week.
"We have high expectations of conduct for our coaches, and we will not shy away from those expectations," athletics director Jen Cohen said Monday in a statement.
In the wake of the suspension, Lake was also accused of shoving wide receiver Quinten Pounds during a 2019 game against Arizona, per Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times.
Washington has a 4-6 record so far in 2021, a disappointing showing for a team that was ranked No. 20 in the preseason Associated Press poll.
The Huskies suffered a Week 1 loss to Montana, and the season continued to unravel as they went just 3-4 in Pac-12 play to sit fourth in the North division.
Lake led Washington to a 3-1 record during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but his tenure as head coach is now over after just two seasons.
He initially joined the program in 2014, working his way up from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator. He was elevated to head coach after Chris Petersen stepped down following the 2019 season.
The 44-year-old also has NFL experience, working as a defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions earlier in his career.
Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake Allegedly Shoved Player in 2019
Nov 13, 2021
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 06: Head coach Jimmy Lake of the Washington Huskies looks on after losing to Oregon Ducks 26-16 at Husky Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
After being suspended earlier this week for shoving and hitting current linebacker Ruperake Fuavai, Washington head football coach Jimmy Lake has been accused of doing something similar to another player two years ago.
Per Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times, Lake is accused of shoving wide receiver Quinten Pounds at halftime of a 2019 game against Arizona.
“Lake comes in on just a complete rampage pretty much, picks up Quinten Pounds and throws him into a locker,” one eyewitness told Vorel. “Those lockers there were wooden lockers, and it was violent. It really caught everyone by surprise. It was really unprompted. He just kind of did that and then went on a tangent about how the offense needs to start playing better.”
There are some conflicting reports about the nature of the alleged altercation. One current player who was on the team at the time told Vorel he "was standing right next to Lake. Nothing malicious happened."
In a statement included in Vorel's report, Lake denied the allegations that "anything improper went on at halftime of the University of Arizona game in 2019."
Washington athletic director Jen Cohen, who also provided a statement, said "one individual mentioned an alleged incident involving Coach Lake during the 2019 football game at Arizona" during the school's investigation into the incident involving Fuavai.
During the Huskies' Nov. 6 game against Oregon, Lake was seen on the sidelines hitting Fuavai on the helmet and shoving him in the back after the linebacker was involved in a minor skirmish with a Ducks player.
On Monday, Cohen announced Lake was suspended for this week's game against Arizona State.
The statement did note Washington's athletic department, school president and members of the executive staff did "not believe that his actions were intentional or deliberate."
Lake's alleged shove on Pounds occurred when he was still an assistant on the Huskies staff under former head coach Chris Petersen.
After Petersen stepped down following the 2019 season, Lake was hired as his successor.
Jimmy Lake Suspended 1 Game by Washington After Appearing to Strike Ruperake Fuavai
Nov 8, 2021
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 06: Head coach Jimmy Lake of the Washington Huskies breaks up players after the game at Husky Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. Oregon Ducks beat Washington Huskies 26-16. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Washington Huskies football coach Jimmy Lake has been suspended one game without pay after an incident with linebacker Ruperake Fuavai, per Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times.
Lake appeared to strike Fuavai in the helmet during Saturday's 26-16 loss to Oregon after the player was involved in a scuffle with the opposing team. The coach denied hitting the player after the game.
"I separated him," Lake told reporters. "I didn't strike him. I separated him."
Athletics director Jen Cohen announced Monday Lake will miss the next game against Arizona State with defensive coordinator Bob Gregory serving as interim coach.
"While we do not believe that his actions were intentional or deliberate, we can have no tolerance for a coach interacting with a student in the manner Coach Lake did," Cohen said in a statement. "We have high expectations of conduct for our coaches, and we will not shy away from those expectations."
Lake apologized to Fuavai and the team in a statement on Monday:
It continues a staff shakeup for Washington after the team announced the firing of offensive coordinator John Donovan on Sunday, elevating Junior Adams to play-calling duties.
The Huskies (4-5) currently rank 109th out of 130 FBS teams with an average of 22.0 points per game.
Lake is in his second season as the team's head coach, although the 2020 campaign was limited to just four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The squad began this year with high expectations ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press poll, but a Week 1 loss to Montana set the tone for an up-and-down season.
The 44-year-old first came to Washington in 2014 after working as a defensive backs coach at both the college level and in NFL. He worked his way up to defensive coordinator before replacing Chris Petersen as head coach in the 2020 season.
After serving his one-game suspension, Lake will try to close the year strong with games against Colorado and rival Washington State.
Washington Investigating Coach Jimmy Lake After He Appeared to Hit LB Ruperake Fuavai
Nov 7, 2021
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 06: Head coach Jimmy Lake of the Washington Huskies looks on before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Saturday's 26-16 loss to the rival Oregon Ducks isn't the only concern for the Washington Huskies.
Washington athletic director Jen Cohen told reporters that the school is investigating head coach Jimmy Lake after video appeared to show him hitting Huskies linebacker Ruperake Fuavai on the helmet before shoving him on the sidelines.
"We are aware of an interaction between head coach Jimmy Lake and a student-athlete during the first half of Saturday's game," Cohen said. "We have high expectations of the conduct of our coaches, and we are working to gather more information on this matter."
Lake ran over to Fuavai when the linebacker was getting in the face of Oregon wide receiver Jaylon Redd on the sidelines after a play.
"I went in to separate them and push them back," Lake said, per Kyle Bonagura of ESPN. "After that, we settled down a little bit. That was our deal all week long was, 'We got to have poise.' We knew this was going to be a very heated matchup and there was going to be a lot of trash-talking. And when we stepped in there, we were glad that a penalty wasn't thrown on our guys to put us back even further on that kickoff return."
He also argued against the notion he punched Fuavai, saying, "I separated them. I didn't strike him. I separated them."
Lake was already in the headlines leading up to the game for appearing to take a shot at Oregon's academics when he said, per Bonagura, "In our world, we battle more academically prowess teams."
Washington hired Lake after former head coach Chris Petersen stepped down following the 2019 campaign. He was previously the defensive coordinator for the Pac-12 program.
The Huskies went 3-1 during his first season while playing the shortened 2020 schedule but are just 4-5 this year with headline losses to Oregon, Michigan, UCLA and Oregon State, as well as an ugly loss to Montana of the FCS.
The head coach will be even further under the spotlight after Saturday's incident as his team looks to turn around the season and finish on a strong note.
SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 06: Oregon Ducks running back Travis Dye (26) runs the ball during a college football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies on November 06, 2021, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The No. 4 Oregon Ducks football team defeated the host Washington Huskies 26-16 on Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
Oregon running back Travis Dye rushed 28 times for 211 rushing yards and one touchdown to lead the Ducks, who scored 21 consecutive points to take a 24-9 lead with 14:53 remaining in regulation.
Washington responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by a Sean McGrew touchdown. However, Oregon then milked 8:59 off the clock on a 15-play, 43-yard drive that ended with a punt that pinned Washington at its 10-yard line with 2:09 remaining.
The Huskies could not take advantage and decided to punt the ball on 4th-and-10 with 1:57 left and two timeouts remaining. That strategy backfired when the ball was snapped out of the end zone, leading to a safety that effectively ended the game.
Oregon improved to 8-1 overall (5-1 Pac-12). Washington fell to 4-5 (3-3 Pac-12).
He gashed the Washington defense for 7.5 yards per carry on a night where Oregon could not muster 100 passing yards. The weather had something to do with that, but the Ducks couldn't do much through their air regardless (4.9 yards per pass attempt).
That didn't matter with Dye and the Ducks' offensive line dominating the Huskies' front seven. His 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth gave Oregon a 23-9 edge.
As James Crepea of the Oregonian noted, Dye had 21.25 touches for 136.5 total yards with eight touchdowns during four October matchups. Head coach Mario Cristobal told reporters that Dye "is as valuable of a player as there is in the entire country for us."
Jordan Kent of Talkin' Ducks' believed Dye to be the team's offensive MVP thus far.
Travis Dye has been the offensive MVP of the season IMO. #GoDucks
It's hard to argue otherwise, especially after the junior out of Norco, California, recorded 45 more rushing yards than Washington had scrimmage yards (166).
He's stepped up as the Ducks' RB1 when CJ Verdell suffered a season-ending leg injury against Stanford on Oct. 2. Verdell is a talented back, and this team would be even more dominant with him and Dye sharing backfield duties.
However, Dye is doing work after answering the call, and the Ducks will now likely move into the top three of the College Football Playoff picture after No. 3 Michigan State's loss to Purdue.
Washington Has No Answer for Ducks' Defense
It was a nightmarish evening for the Washington offense, which couldn't get much of anything going outside one fourth-quarter drive.
Quarterback Dylan Morris completed just 15-of-27 passes for 111 yards (4.1 yards per attempt) and one interception against a fierce Oregon defense. The Huskies didn't have a play go for 20 or more yards all night.
Washington only had 2.3 yards rushing on the night, with McGrew getting just 3.2 yards per carry as the RB1.
The Huskies scored two touchdowns, but one of them was largely thanks to a Carson Bruener interception of Brown that let the Huskies start their drive at the Oregon six-yard line. Two plays later, McGrew scored on a one-yard run.
Only one of Washington's drives went for over 22 yards, and that was the 75-yarder ending with McGrew's second score. Washington had a couple of nice chunk plays (a 15-yarder to tight end Cade Otton, a 19-yarder to McGrew) in addition to a defensive pass interference that kept the drive going.
But Washington had no answers for the Ducks' defense otherwise. Nine straight drives (not counting a first half-ending kneeldown) resulted in zero points during one stretch. After their first touchdown, the subsequent four drives consisted of 12 total plays for 43 yards, three punts and an interception.
Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell was Washington's biggest problem. He finished with 10 tackles and two pass breakups as he did work in run and pass defense. Jeffrey Bassa added a sack, and Jordan Happle got an interception.
Credit to Washington for keeping this a one-score game late into the fourth quarter, but the Ducks' defense and Dye's running proved to be too much.
What's Next?
Both teams play at home on Saturday.
Oregon will host Washington State at 10:30 p.m ET at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Washington will welcome Arizona State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Washington Won't Pursue Bowl Game Due to Ongoing COVID-19 Outbreak
Dec 18, 2020
Empty seats are shown at Husky Stadium during an NCAA college football game between Washington and Oregon State, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in Seattle. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans were not permitted to attend the game. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Washington Huskies' football season has come to an end due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within the program.
Athletic director Jennifer Cohen said in a statement the team won't pursue a bowl game:
The Huskies have been unable to play since their Dec. 5 loss to Stanford due to coronavirus issues in the program. Their regular-season finale against Oregon scheduled for last Saturday was canceled.
PerMike Vorelof the Seattle Times, as of Wednesday, Washington was reporting "25 active positive cases of COVID-19 in its athletic department—14 more than a week ago."
Washington was supposed to play USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, but the team had to withdraw from the game. The conferenceannouncedMonday that Oregon would replace the Huskies to play the Trojans.
The Huskies will finish the 2020 season with a 3-1 overall record and winners of the Pac-12 North Division.
