Until he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in November, Indiana University quarterback Michael Penix Jr. used his speed and slipperiness to dart around defenses.
Now, his No. 1 concern as he seeks to rebound from surgery is to be careful not to slip on ice or snow on campus sidewalks.
“I take safe precautions when I walk,” Penix said Monday in a Zoom press conference as he delivered a state-of-the-knee progress report for Hoosier football plans.
Although Penix has not begun running as part of his rejuvenation program just yet, he said he plans to be ready to play in IU’s fall 2021 opener against Iowa on Sept. 4.
Penix was one of the Hoosiers’ breakout stars in a breakout coronavirus-interrupted season that concluded with a nationally ranked team and a bowl game as IU shocked much of the nation.
The shifty quarterback was an explosive piece of the offense as IU captured some milestone historical victories in the Big Ten and generated loud fan talk. Then he suffered the injury during a Nov. 28 27-11 home win over Maryland on a play that did not appear as devastating as it turned out to be.
The ACL knocked Penix out of the lineup for the rest of the season, the third season-ending injury at IU for the redshirt sophomore who was earning national attention, especially after throwing for nearly 500 yards against Ohio State.
Despite his time spent in Bloomington, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound thrower from Tampa has not yet turned 21. This is the second time Penix has incurred a tear in the same ligament. He also had clavicle surgery. As the Hoosiers were rolling to a 6-2 record last fall, Penix amassed 1,645 yards passing with 14 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.
Penix performed well enough in his — and the league’s — shortened season to receive second-team All-Big honors, although backup Jack Tuttle moved to No. 1 on the depth chart. Tuttle will occupy that spot when IU opens spring practice March 9.
The question is how Penix will be six months later when the season begins anew. He has Sept. 4 highlighted on his calendar, although his workouts for now are built around rehab, not playcalling.
“More rehab stuff right now,” Penix said. “On the field will come later.”
IU coach Tom Allen called it heartbreaking when Penix was ruled out for the end of the 2020 season, and Pennix said when the injury happened with him simply running out of bounds on a 21-yard gain, it was demoralizing at first.
“At the beginning, I was kind of down,” Penix said.
He said family, friends and teammates rallied around him to boost his spirits, and his demeanor seemed placid, even though it is a disappointing second time around for him with the same ligament.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” Penix said.
Between medical experts, trainers, coaches and senior athletic director for football performance Aaron Wellman, Penix has a multitude of eyes on his knee.
“There are good days and bad days and pushing through bad days,” Wellman said. “We’re just trying to get the strength and power back in that leg.”
The “symmetry,” as Wellman added, meaning between the right and left legs.
“He’s a competitor,” Wellman said. “He wants to come back and be even stronger than prior to the injury.”
Penix said he does have bad days rehabbing when the leg is bothersome.
“You have some days you really don’t feel good,” he said. “I may be stiff and have some soreness sometimes.”
Yet according to the overall plan for the notoriously slow-to-rebuild knee ligament, Penix said his improvement is “on schedule, maybe a little bit ahead of schedule.”
As for IU’s schedule, assuming football is back to its normal routine of being played when school starts in the fall of 2021, Penix looks around at what Indiana accomplished this year and all of the talent returning and sees only big things happening for the Hoosiers.
“It’s going to be a great season,” Penix said. The quarterback and the team, he said, will be “chasing greatness.”