Allen Updates Status of All-Big Ten QB Michael Penix
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Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
While the Hoosiers prep for the Outback Bowl against Ole Miss, All-Big Ten quarterback Michael Penix is beginning his road back to the field. Penix tore his ACL trying to get out of bounds on a run against Maryland in late November. Indiana head coach Tom Allen provided an update on Penix’s status on Wednesday.
“At this point it's it's just pure rehab,” Allen said “and it's so critical, and obviously you've done this before so he knows this, but it's so critical that you rehab at a high level, for this type of an injury to maximize your performance. When you do do come back to have no issues with it or any type of stiffness or any type of of lack of mobility in that knee so he knows he has to really attack these rehabs right now which he's already started to do that, which is great. and the surgery was it was a great success.”
With an injury like this occurring so late in the season, there was some concern about how much time Penix would miss. Allen provided a blueprint for his expectations of a timeline.
“I don't see him going through full spring at all but you'd like to be able to get him to where he's able to go in the summertime and start all the throwing and all different movements in and out there with receivers and all that.” Allen said “It's just the timeline we're going to go through all this and once it all kind of plays itself out all depends on how things progress from the doctors perspective but right now he's on schedule. So, I don't see him being involved with much with spring, but definitely we'll see him after that and it should be full bore for the start of the season, that's the expectation fully healed fully ready to go and fully ready to be our quarterback in 2021.”
Penix started six of the Hoosiers seven games in 2020 and earned second-team All Big Ten honors. He completed 124-of-220 (56.4%) of his passes for 1,645 yards, 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He provided the Hoosier fans with plenty of highlights this season, most noticeably “The Reach” that clinched the win over then-No.8 Penn State to open the season.