Michael Penix Jr. returns to Dade City, Florida as grand marshal of MLK Day Parade
DADE CITY — The bumps and bruises from the national title game weren't completely gone, and training for the NFL scouting combine starts in just a few days. Throw in a couple of flights back and forth across the continent and University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would have had a good excuse to just stay in Seattle and heal.
But Dade City was calling and — as history has demonstrated repeatedly — Penix isn't one to take the easy way out.
Penix returned to this west-central Florida town of about 6,000 people Saturday to fulfill a commitment he made months ago. He served as the grand marshal for Dade City's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade which drew several thousand people to the downtown streets.
"This is where it started," Penix said. "This is home. I owe a lot to this community and these people."
The literal and figurative sting of a loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff national championship game last Monday night wasn't about to keep Penix away.
"Not a chance," Penix's mother, Takisha, said when asked whether her son ever considered backing out of the trip home. "He hasn't been able to spend much time here the last few years. He really wanted to come home and see the family and friends that he loves so much."
The parade was the culmination of a love story that played out over a season in which Penix won the Maxwell Award as college football's best player and finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy.
For one season anyway, the University of Florida and Florida State football programs took a back seat as the locals focused their attention and passion on what may have been the best team ever to come out of the Pacific Northwest and, certainly, the best quarterback to ever come out of Dade City.
Throughout the fall, it wasn't unusual to see someone walking the streets of this town (35 miles north of Tampa) wearing a Penix jersey or to hear someone in the supermarket or barber shop talking about Dade City's pride and joy.
On Monday night, Penix fans packed Beef O'Brady's (Dade City's only sports bar) to watch the title game. There wasn't an open seat in the house and every television in the place was tuned into the game. It was more of the same Saturday as Penix sat in the back of a red Mustang convertible and rode up Seventh Street and down Meridan Avenue — the town's two main streets.
Along the route, fans wore replicas of Penix's purple and white Huskies No. 9 jersey, carried posters with his name or picture and cheered wildly as the quarterback passed by. Looking as calm and poised as he did in the pocket during the regular season, Penix smiled and waved to a lot of familiar — and unfamiliar — faces in the crowd.
"Thank you. I appreciate you," Penix repeatedly said to a crowd that was close enough to hear him.
On a day when the major theme was unity, Penix brought Dade City (a melting pot of demographics) together.
In a post-parade ceremony highlighted by a "unity prayer'' in a courtyard off the Historic Pasco County Courthouse (there is a new courthouse where county business is conducted, but the old one is still used as a symbol of Dade City's past), community leaders heaped praise on a young man who has surpassed former pro tennis star Jim Courier as Dade City's biggest celebrity.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Dade City is truly blessed," Mayor Jim Shibe told the crowd. "Little Mike, you have brought glory to Dade City. You're an outstanding example for this community and the nation."
Michael Penix Sr. was star running back in high school
Yes, even after being the big man on campus while playing for Indiana University and Washington, Penix is still known as "Little Mike" around Dade City. That's because Michael Penix Sr. is "Big Mike." The elder Penix was a star running back at Pasco High School and also excelled in basketball and track in the early 1990s. The Penix name is royalty in the community. Through the years, Penix's relatives have excelled in athletics, served on the city council and worked in law enforcement.
The younger Penix even took his first steps into an end zone at Pasco High's W.F. Edwards Stadium in the days when his father, who went on to play at Tennessee Tech, was an assistant coach for the Pirates.
Penix Jr. started to follow in his father's footsteps and spent his freshman and sophomore years as a backup quarterback at Pasco, Dade City's only high school. But a tough choice was made after his sophomore season. Pasco was going with a wishbone offense and the Pirates no longer were the powerhouse they were back when Penix Sr. played there.
The family moved to Plant City, and the younger Penix transferred to Tampa Bay Tech, where he blossomed as a pocket passer. From there, the Penix story is well known. He went to Indiana for three seasons, and each time he was approaching the top of his game, he suffered an injury. He twice tore his anterior cruciate ligament and also was sidelined by a shoulder injury.
But his luck changed when Indiana offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer became Washington's coach in 2022. Penix followed him and had two stellar seasons as the Huskies went 25-3. DeBoer left Washington last week to take the University of Alabama job and Penix is headed for the NFL. Penix said he hasn't had a chance to speak with DeBoer about the decision but understands how some may view the Crimson Tide job as a step up.
Less than 48 hours after his arrival in Florida, Penix was heading back to Seattle. From there, he'll leave later this week for combine training in California.
"I still have a lot of work to do," Penix said after spending an hour signing autographs following Saturday's festivities. "I still need to get better at a lot of things."
How do you improve on two seasons at Washington that included 9,544 passing yards and 67 touchdown passes? NFL scouts view Penix as one of the best deep-ball passers to come along in years.
"Just a lot of little things," Penix said. "I can always get better."
Does Penix have a future in the NFL?
Despite all his college success, there has been speculation that Penix's injury history could cause him to tumble in the NFL draft. But maybe Penix's doubters should stop focusing so much on his knee and shoulder.
Instead, maybe they should look at his heart.
"My faith in God helped me get through those injuries," Penix said. "I never stopped believing that I could do it. I always had faith."
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And, a part of Penix's heart always will be in Dade City.
"I love you all," Penix told the crowd before being escorted off to spend a few precious hours with his family.
And Dade City loves Penix. Things sometimes can be slow to change in this sleepy Southern town. But one thing is sure to change.
In a few months, the University of Washington jerseys will be put in closets. They'll be replaced by jerseys of whatever team drafts the man who was called a "hometown hero" by several speakers Saturday. Wherever Penix ends up, a large chunk of Dade City will follow.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returns to Florida for MLK parade
