David Chao, MD
2 min read • February 25, 2024
Posted in
Despite suffering two ACL tears in the same knee during his college career, our panel of doctors gave Michael Penix Jr. no medical downgrade entering the NFL Draft.
No doubt the NFL Combine medical staff will look rigorously at his two ACL repairs, but as long as he doesn’t have articular cartilage damage the concern is small.
Penix played his final two seasons at Washington without injury issues. He compiled 4,600+ passing yards, had a completion percentage of over 65%, 30+ passing touchdowns and fewer than 12 interceptions in back-to-back seasons with the Huskies.
His previous four seasons at Indiana were a different story.
The left-handed pocket passer elected to go to the University of Indiana as a three-star prospect out of Tampa, Florida.
He won the starting job as a freshman, but suffered a torn ACL in his left knee just three games into the season on Oct. 20, 2018.
Penix returned on Aug. 31, 2019 and played in 6 games, racking up 1,394 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions for the Hoosiers. However, on Nov. 2, 2019 he suffered a sternoclavicular joint sprain and clavicle fracture to his right, non-throwing shoulder.
He underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season.
Almost a full year later, Penix suffered a torn ACL in the same left knee on Nov. 28, 2020.
That injury kept him off the field the rest of the regular season, but he returned for next season’s opener on Sept. 4, 2021.
The recovery less than 11 months from his second ACL tear was unusual and even Penix admitted he did not have doctor’s approval to return to the field in 2021.
"The 2021 season was real hard for me," Penix said in an interview. "A lot of people don’t know, I was coming back from my second ACL tear, and the Monday of the week of the first game, I get a phone call from the doctor that did my surgery, and he’s like, ‘Hey, you’re not cleared yet from me, but if you wanna play, then you can play.'"
Unfortunately, Penix lasted just five games in his junior season. He suffered an AC joint sprain to his left, throwing shoulder on Oct. 2, 2021 that caused him to miss the rest of the college season.
Roughly 46% of mock drafts have Penix getting drafted in the first round, according to NFL mock draft database. Overall he’s projected to go in the second round with the Falcons at pick No. 43 a popular destination.
During his four seasons at Indiana, Penix had 29 passing touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 21 games with a completion percentage of 60.2%.
At Washington the following season, he passed for 4,641 yards with a 65.3% completion percentage, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
In his final season with the Huskies, he upped that to 4,903 yards with a 65.4% completion percentage, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading the Huskies to the National Championship game, where they lost to No. 1 Michigan.
Written by David Chao, MD
