Michael grew up in Dade City & played for Pasco his freshman & sophomore years; the coach at Pasco mostly operated out of a wing-T, run-oriented offense, so Penix transferred to Tampa Bay Tech after his sophomore season & played there his last two years of HS.
He played pretty well at Indiana, just couldn't stay healthy. They've had two winning seasons in about the last 15 years or so; not a coincidence that they were the two seasons in which he was healthy enough to start over half of the games. His four years at Indiana:
* year 1, won the starting spot as a true freshman; tore ACL in 3rd game, out for season
*Year 2, won starting spot, injured shoulder (non-throwing) in 6th game, out for season (they were 4-2 when he got hurt)
*year 3, won starting spot, tore ACL again, non-contact injury, out for season (they were 5-1, with the loss being a 7 point loss to tOSU
*year 4, season-ending shoulder separation (throwing arm) in 5th game
He then transferred to Washington to play for Deloach, who'd been his QB coach/OC his first 2 or three years at Indiana.
The other interesting thing with him is that, in his junior year of HS, he'd committed to play for Tennessee. The following season (his HS senior year), Jones got fired at the end of Tennessee's season & they replaced him with Pruitt. The new OC under Pruitt did not think Penix was a good fit for the offense they planned to run, so the week before signing day the Vols withdrew the scholarship offer, leaving him stranded with very little time left. Someone from Jones' staff had gotten hired at Indiana & suggested that they go after him, so that's how he ended up at Indiana.
