Dissecting the quarterback play at the Senior Bowl (so far)
Purple Insider correspondent Terry Horstman breaks down everything he's seen from the last two days at the Senior Bowl
By Terry Horstman
MOBILE, Al. — Every few years, the stars align and bless the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama with not one, but two premium quarterback storylines. A few years ago it was Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts wowing NFL scouts and media alike in the practices at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama. A couple years before that it was Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen, two soon-to-be top ten picks who dazzled the NFL Draft community in attendance.
At this year’s Senior Bowl, the game’s 75th Anniversary, all eyes are on two quarterbacks who have absolutely put on a show all three of the previous times they’ve stepped on the field against each other. Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr, are now teammates for the week on the National Roster in Mobile where for three days they swap over-scrutinized-rep for every over-scrutinized-rep. The draft stock for both players has been a practice of volatility. Where either one goes (or doesn’t go) will be two of the more fascinating stories of this draft cycle and the Vikings could end up right in the middle of those respective crosshairs.
I cover Oregon State football for the ‘Belligerent Beavs podcast’ and ‘Cream: a college football SubStack,’ so I’ve watched these two a lot (as an Oregon State alum it makes me very happy to see these two going pro). I’m personally higher on Penix as a prospect, but think both would be a good fit for the Vikings (and we know Penix already looks good in purple). I came into the Senior Bowl with both of them ranked closer to the trio at the top of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Heisman Winner Jayden Daniels, than I do to Michigan Quarterback JJ McCarthy at the No. 6 QB. The two Senior Bowl practices so far in the books haven’t done much to change my mind, but there have been some fun observations from both sessions so far.
My clear cut No. 1
Starting with Penix, I don’t know if the former Washington standout by way of Indiana has convinced any of his critics that he’s a first round pick with his performance in Mobile so far, but he has undoubtedly been the most impressive quarterback in Senior Bowl practices. The ball is exploding off of his arm and he appears to be fully recovered from the ankle injury he sustained in UW’s national championship loss. Penix critics may not immediately be turning into believers, but Penix believers have been given plenty more reason to hold onto that belief through 48 hours in Mobile.
In any all-star game setting, you can expect a fair amount of ‘getting to know each other’ vibes from the players on the field. There have been miscues, overthrows, underthrows, weird snaps, and all manners of sloppiness through the practice reps by both teams so far. Though Penix’s performance has risen above the exhibition level that’s present around him. Of the ten prettiest throws by any of the quarterbacks in Mobile this week, I would confidently say that Penix owns nine of them.
The confidence he’s displayed on the field is matched by what he says off the field. Of course, no player is going to come down to the Senior Bowl and say things like “I actually don’t know if I’ll be able to run an NFL offense,” or “yeah, teams should be worried about my injury history.” But Penix speaks to the media with a maturity and a sincerity that turns his “advanced” age (he’ll turn 24 in May) entering the draft from a con into a pretty strong pro.
“I don’t take back anything that I’ve been through,” Penix said when asked about all the injuries he’s had to overcome to reach this point. “Obviously I’ve been through a lot of injuries and it was tough at times, but I do feel like it all prepared me and built me into the player and person that I am today. It taught me a lot. It taught me patience, it taught me love for the game. It taught me how much I love the game, because you know in those times it can get tough, but I knew I was never going to hang the cleats up and I continue to keep going.”
The hype train for Penix may have gotten out of control during the College Football Playoff national semifinal against Texas, but the Tampa Bay product also had incredibly strong performances against quality defenses in Oregon (twice), Oregon State, and Utah. Anyone claiming the darts upon darts he threw against Texas were a one-off should revisit all of his tape.
What about Bo?
Switching gears to Penix’s Senior Bowl teammate and Pac 12 (rest in peace, Conference of Champions) adversary, Bo Nix, who has captured more top-end first round hype in the draft community than Penix, but has had a bit more of an up-and-down performance in Senior Bowl practices.
I’m doing my best to read everything that’s coming out from my hundreds and possibly even thousands of colleagues covering the Senior Bowl and the coverage of Nix is the draft season in a nutshell. On one rep he connects with Jerry Rice’s son Brendan out of USC on a perfectly thrown ball in the back of the endzone and he’s going to win more Super Bowls than Jerry did. On the next rep he underthrows Michigan’s Roman Wilson and he’s the worst quarterback who has ever lived.
Nix handles the volatility off the field with the grace and aplomb you’d hope to see in someone you’re trusting with the future of your franchise. When asked about the many analysts and the many concerns they have about his game, he smiles ruefully and quips “out of my control,” allowing enough seconds of silence to fill the room to make you think he’s just imagining the several hundred times he’s hit a wide open receiver between the numbers.
I wouldn’t say either of these quarterbacks are setting the world on fire, but I think all but Penix can think of multiple throws they’ve made in practice they’d like to have back. No matter what happens over the next few days, Nix will still have plenty of fans when the draft curtains close on Mobile (being one of the most efficient college quarterbacks of all time will do that).
He’s also managed a healthy amount of adaptability in his collegiate career, and perhaps written his own master class in how to successfully transition through constant coaching turnover.
“I think it’s important, you know, with five offenses in five years. [I had] five different playcallers, so I’ve been around the block,” Nix said. “I’ve been able to learn from a lot of different people who have had a lot of different success. They’ve been able to coach a lot of great quarterbacks in the past. Along the way I think I picked up a lot from each individual, I grew and during my time I had a lot of experience to grow. However that translates, I think it will just show the adaptability and the comfortability that I have. I took it as a fun challenge.”
Is there no one else?
Despite what Senior Bowl coverage might lead you to believe, Penix and Nix are not the only two quarterbacks here. They’re joined in Mobile by Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, Tennessee’s Joe Milton, Tulane’s Michael Pratt, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, and the local kid South Alabama’s Carter Bradley.
Most Vikings fans probably won’t feel like the future of the franchise is in good hands if any of those remaining names are the lone quarterback selected by the team in April. I’m not here to change that sentiment and I haven’t observed anything in Senior Bowl practice that would lead me to think otherwise.
However, I can’t leave this piece on Senior Bowl quarterbacks without mentioning that the executive director of the Senior Bowl, Jim Nagy, has mentioned recently that there are always players who the league is much higher on than the media is. In this Senior Bowl, the two quarterbacks at the top of that list are Rattler and Milton.
Both players are true gunslingers and have athleticism and tools on top of tools, but both are still super raw and have way too many flags for me to justify the Vikings spending a day two or day three pick on acquiring their services. If there weren’t tons of holes throughout the rest of the Vikings roster, then maybe a late round QB flier would make sense, but as it stands today, I don’t think that’s a luxury they have.
Someone needs to play defensive line after all.
Terry Horstman is a Minneapolis native who podcasts about his alma mater Oregon State on the Belligerent Beavs Podcast and covers the Minnesota Lynx for The Next
I appreciate the unexpected onsite coverage. On a broader note, even when one disagrees with the positions being taken, PI readers always get our money's worth.
No-one knows which QBs prospects will be able to perform against NFL competition, but gosh, it's hard to look at Penix and think this is a guy who will be able to stay healthy at the next level.