What Washington QB Michael Penix sees in Michigan football defense

Michael Penix Jr. faced off against Michigan football once before, and it didn’t end up very well for the Wolverines.

Granted, that was in 2020, when a reeling maize and blue team coming off of an unexpected loss to rival Michigan State, traveled down to an empty Memorial Stadium in Bloomington to face an upstart Indiana team.

Penix had yet to transfer to the Huskies, but that 2020 year was the sole season in which the quarterback had faced the Wolverines. Riddled with injuries over the years, the Washington quarterback found new life after moving to Seattle, and he’s the engine that makes Kalen DeBoer’s team hum.

But as far as takeaways from the only time he took the field against Michigan, Penix said on Wednesday, he has little, if anything, he can go off of.

“I don’t really remember much. I just remember winning really. That was during the COVID year and it’s a totally different ballgame,” Penix said. “But I’m always confident in myself and this team and the preparation that our coaches give is going into each game. I feel pretty excited for the opportunity.”

At that time, Penix faced Don Brown in his last year coordinating the defense and he carved up two emerging defensive backs in Vincent Gray and Gemon Green. While that duo would improve greatly in 2021, what Michigan has in the defensive backfield is much different with Will Johnson and Josh Wallace at corner and Rod Moore and Makari Paige at safety.

Now, Jesse Minter is running the show, and he’s really put on a clinic, especially in terms of coverage. The former defensive backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens drew high praise from Ohio State star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. when he said he hadn’t seen coverages thrown at him like what he saw on November 25. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe was confident in his ability to dissect what Michigan would throw at him, and yet, he passed for a season-low 116 yards against the Wolverines.

Penix is similarly confident, but he feels as if his…