How did Geno Smith spend his New Year’s Night?
The same way 18 1/2 million other television viewers and most of the Pacific Northwest did: Wowed by Michael Penix Jr.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback has a personal rooting interest in Penix. The Washington Huskies’ dart-throwing quarterback has led UW to a 14-0 season and into the national championship game against 14-0 Michigan Monday night in Houston.
Smith and Penix trained and threw together before these Seahawks and Huskies’ seasons.
So, yes, Smith was enraptured Monday night at his TV displaying Penix’s latest mesmerizing performance: 430 yards passing with two touchdowns against one of the nation’s best defenses, as Washington beat Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl national semifinal.
“I did watch. I did watch the game,” Smith said.
“I thought he played phenomenal.”
This coming Monday night, Smith will either be packing up for a long Seahawks offseason without a playoff berth for only the third time in 12 years. Or he will be preparing for a second career playoff start. The latter, if Seattle (8-8) beats Arizona (4-12) in the desert and Chicago (7-9) wins at Green Bay (8-8) at the same time Sunday (1:25 p.m.)
Either way, Smith will carve out time to watch his guy Penix go for UW’s first national championship in 33 years.
“Shoot, man, I hope they pull it off, get the win and bring it back to Seattle,” Smith said.
The pulsating Sugar Bowl was the Huskies’ 21st consecutive victory, all with Penix as their QB. He’s bulled through four-season ending injuries, two reconstructive knee surgeries and a transfer from Indiana to Washington.
“It’s been a great story for them, a great story for Mike and all the things he’s battled back from,” Smith said.
“I’m just proud to see him doing his thing. He’s doing a great job.”
Penix, 23, was drawn to Smith’s own reclamation story.
Smith was 24 when lost his starting job with the New York Jets in his third NFL season a decade ago. That was after a teammate sucker-punched him in his jaw in the locker room. He then spent seven years on a series of one-year contracts as a backup for four teams.
Then before last season, after three seasons as Seattle’s backup who almost never played, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll chose Smith as the team’s starter after it traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in March 2022.
This past offseason, a mutual acquaintance — Smith thinks it might have been Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, he’s not sure — passed Smith’s mobile phone number to Penix. At the time the Huskies’ quarterback was training before his second and final season as Washington’s starter. Penix led major college football with 4,641 yards passing last season after reuniting with Kalen DeBoer, his former offensive coordinator at Indiana, who’d become the new head coach at UW.
Penix got Smith’s number after the Huskies had a practice at the Seahawks’ Virginia Mason Athletic Center this past offseason. They’d never met.
Penix basically cold-called the NFL veteran. They set up a workout together.
“I got a chance to throw with Mike in the offseason and had a chance to talk to him,” Smith said last month. He’s a really special player and a special guy. To be able to kind of share Seattle with him is awesome.”
Michael Penix Jr. and the NFL
Now Penix is preparing for his final game of a college career that began in the summer of 2018.
How long ago was that?
Smith was throwing four passes all season, almost never playing as Philip Rivers’ backup on a 12-4 Los Angeles Chargers team that year Penix played as a freshman at Indiana.
After he led college football in yards passing last season, Penix, All-American wide receiver Rome Odunze and other Huskies decided to return to Washington for this season instead of entering the NFL draft as they could have last spring.
Wednesday, Penix reflected on those decisions and what they’ve led to for his Huskies.
“Yeah, it’s been real special. The position we’re in right now, I know that we all chose to come back,” he said. “We saw the vision, and we believed that we could be able to achieve the greatest things out there. This team has been doing that. We’ve been on a mission. We’ve just been truly blessed.
“But at the same time, it took a lot of hard work to get here. And it wasn’t always perfect, but we always found a way to make it work.
“Man, it’s just hats off to this team and just our grit and our determination and our will to win each and every week.”
Penix was the runner-up to LSU’s Jayden Daniels for the Heisman Trophy last month. Penix is shooting up to the top of NFL draft boards. League scouts drool over the strength and unique accuracy of his left, throwing arm, plus his ability to avoid pass rushers and his magnetic leadership.
Smith said he has no doubt Penix is going to be doing next year what Smith is doing now, playing quarterback in the NFL.
They have a shared background to know what that takes.
“I think Mike has a bright future,” Smith said. “He’s a guy who, obviously, has a ton of talent. And I think he has the ability to play in this league.
“I know he does.”
