Healthy Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. will test Iowa’s defense

CEDAR RAPIDS — He’s ready to go.

“As far as the trust level goes, I trust my knee. I trust that everything is OK,” Michael Penix Jr. said. “The trainers have been doing a great job of getting me back on the field, and I’m 100-percent confident that I’m going to have a great season this year. As far as the injuries and all that, I’m not worried about that. I just want to go out and play football.”

Which the Indiana quarterback does very well when he’s healthy. The redshirt junior from Tampa, Fla., was a second-team All-Big Ten guy in the truncated 2020 season, helping the Hoosiers to relevance and a New Year’s Day bowl.

But that 2020 season came to an end in late November when Penix blew out his knee and had to have surgery. It was the second time in three seasons he tore his ACL, and he’s missed time all three of his years in Bloomington due to injuries.

There was some question whether he’d be ready for Saturday’s opener against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, but Coach Tom Allen said his southpaw star is a full go, the catalyst for Indiana’s potent short passing game.

Iowa goes into Saturday’s 2:35 p.m. kickoff ranked 18th nationally and Indiana 17th.

“It has been a process for him,” said Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. “I give Mike a lot of credit. It’s a challenge to get your body right while also preparing mentally and physically for a season. That’s a challenge he has had to go through here the last couple of months. He’s had a great attitude about it, the training staff has done a phenomenal job.

“When you’re coming off one of those injuries, every day is a new day. Just because you feel great one day doesn’t mean you’re going to feel good the next. Mike has pushed through that.”

Penix threw for 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns in the six games he played last season, his 274.2-yard-per-game average leading the Big Ten. He is 10-2 as Indiana’s starter and has a school-record completion percentage of 61.6 in his career, which is first in the program’s history.

He’s got a good receiving corps surrounding him, including senior Ty Fryfogle, who was the Big Ten’s Receiver of the Year in 2020.

“(Fryfogle) is as good as we’re going to play against, but the guy that really makes them go is (Penix),” said Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. “And having him back, we expect him to be a challenge for us. They can hit you in a lot of different ways.”

This will be a definite challenge for Iowa’s secondary, which is considered to be the strength of the defense and potentially one of the best, if not the best, in the Big Ten.

“I would say that we are really encouraged with Michael’s progress,” Allen said. “I really commended him on buying into that (rehab) process and how hard it is. You’re going through fall camp, fall camp is hard, and he’s doing more than he’s ever done.

“He bought into that. He understood that was part of it. It was a constant process to get him ready for Sept. 4. So very encouraged by his progress, and he’s right where we hoped he would be, and he’s 100-percent ready to be the starter on Saturday. So that’s great.”

Penix, whose memorable, disputed two-point overtime run in the 2020 opener that beat Penn State, said he isn’t concerned about absorbing contact or maneuvering out of the pocket. He is that confident in the health of his knee.

He also isn’t concerned with the weight of the expectations the Hoosiers and himself are facing.

“Just growing up, (going) all the way back to when I was younger, I’ve always felt like somewhat of that pressure, from everybody just expecting something or just knowing who I was,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old. The game of football is football. You’re trying to score on offense, as quarterback you’re trying to throw it to your receivers, just make plays. I’m always going to find the best way to make plays, no matter what. I don’t pay attention to the outside stuff. I just try and stay focused and locked in and do what is best for the team.”

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