Michael Penix Jr, Former Washington Huskies QB

A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you.

Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you.

Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. I'm Tony and this is the Tony Kornheiser show. Wow, that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is. So what exactly is the show about?

Been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world and we get weekly picks from a monkey. Do you really need more than that? I might just tell you about my bunker game of the latest failed entry in my quest to find the best coffee ice cream. No schmutz please.

Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show Coast to Coast on CBS Sports Radio. I'm still soaked from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that we did. Michael Penix Jr. probably thinks I'm like a crazy person as I'm like soaked from head to toe.

I got a towel on me right now. So what a way to finally meet Michael Penix Jr. I've been a big fan of the last two years and what he's been able to do at Washington.

You know a lot of people know I picked Washington to win the Pac-12 this past year and he's joining us as he gets ready for his next chapter and that's to be a pro quarterback and he's here today on behalf of star and he joins us right now on the show. Mike, great to see you. How are you? Yes sir, good to see you. I'm doing good. How about you?

Well I'm doing fantastic. So you look back at this year. You know I thought you guys could win the Pac-12. I didn't expect you guys to be in the national championship game before the start of the season. To see the way that it came together the last two years when you transferred over from Indiana to Washington and now that chapter's over.

Just how do you kind of reflect on it? Man it's been amazing. You know it took a lot of hard work and dedication. You know there's a lot of people that was counting us out. You know even towards the end of the season we were still undefeated. You know a lot of people didn't expect us to to do what we did this past year. You know but it's been great. You know the journey has been fun and that team and that team has battled through so much adversity. You know I knew that you know everything that we got we deserve.

I said this to Roma Dunze yesterday. It made me so annoyed going into that Texas game and I know you guys can't focus on the gambling lines right but how you guys were an underdog after we just saw the week before or a few weeks before the Pac-12 championship game everyone was picking Oregon. They made them a nine and a half point favorite. I never got what people were trying all throughout the year to just take away and discount your team and not just give them the praise that they were deserving.

Yeah I don't know where they come from. You know but obviously that's stuff we can't control. I mean we do see it. You know we use it as motivation. You know it's not necessarily we want to prove other people wrong but we want to prove ourselves right.

You know since day one you know before this past season I said that I wanted to win a national championship. You know we fell just short you know but we made it. We had the appearance and we had an opportunity to do it and nobody seen us there.

You know nobody saw us there at that point of the time. Whenever I said that you know some people might have laughed whenever I said it you know but for us to you know overcome a lot of hardship and um you know adversity that we face throughout the season to be able to get to that point you know it just speaks volumes for our team. Now you have Kalen DeBoer leaving Washington and he's the new head football coach at Alabama. I've been a big believer in Kalen DeBoer but what are Crimson Tide fans getting and how do you kind of think he's going to do? Man you're going to get a winner. You know that's that's number one.

You know you're going to get a winner. You know I mean obviously uh Alabama they they love to win. You know they've been winning for a long time and coach DeBoer everywhere he's been he's won. You know he's won championships at different levels and um man he's going to continue to do it.

You know he's going to continue to win. His record speaks for itself and um man he's just a humble guy and a guy that's going to work work for everything that uh he he deserves and that he got. Was that kind of crazy process how that that all did uh go down where you guys are in the national championship game all right obviously you lose the national championship game then shortly after that out of nowhere Nick Saban retires and then boom DeBoer's uh going from purple to to to Crimson Tide red. It's crazy it's crazy you know but that's how the sports world is now you know coach Saban he did an amazing job you know throughout his career coaching um obviously you know he would he would get looked at as one of the greatest of all time in college football um so um I mean he felt like his time was done and uh coach DeBoer you know he saw the opportunity present itself and he felt like that was best for him and his family you know and um you can't fault somebody for that decision. What was the mental grind like for you because I remember when you were at Indiana um I love bringing up to Penn State fans by the way because they're all like he didn't score a touchdown I'm like what does a scoreboard say so regardless exactly I remember you at Indiana unfortunately a lot of injuries and when you elected to go to Washington and team back up with Kalen DeBoer no one was thinking you know or talking what you ended up doing you know into existence so how did you kind of you know mentally go through all the injuries and still find it a way to be playing your best two years of football when you needed to? For me it's just uh keeping my faith you know it just keeping my trust in God you know um obviously it didn't it didn't go how I wanted to like as far as the injury part but I felt like everything I've been through helped shape me into the person and the player I am today you know and um obviously family family and friends you know close ones around me always continuing to keep me motivated you know keeping my head lifted up high and um gave gave me that dedication that I that I wanted to continue to to do what I love and I knew that I was never gonna quit you know that's that's nothing that that ever crossed my mind you know but it did get tough at times you know but I knew that deep down the side you know I wasn't gonna quit and I was gonna do whatever I could to make sure I get back on the field. I don't know if you've heard this um but I want to bring it up to you to give you a chance to respond as Michael Penick Jr. is joining us and I'll preface it by saying I really hate the draft process and all the narratives that form with the draft process and people get told things and it just because you get told something you don't know where it's coming from if it's to try to maybe hurt your draft stock so you fall down so a team could get you but we had one of these draft guys on Tony Pauline a week and a half ago two weeks ago and he said I hear Michael Penick Jr. people are concerned about his work ethic and I'm sitting there and I'm like hold on this is the guy who was at Indiana and he went through everything he went through and he was just one of the best quarterbacks in the nation for the last two years so when you hear people call into your you know call your work ethic into like a little bit of skepticism and they try to say you don't have a good work ethic do you even like understand where that stuff comes from? I don't listen to it you know I know myself you know I know what I've been through to get here and I know the amount of work that I put in to get here and I'm gonna continue to put that work in you know the doubters and the haters you know it never goes away you know it never goes away so I can't let it control me and what I want to do and shape my future you know for me I just got to continue to be myself and do the things that I've been doing to get here and continue to get better each and every day. Are you the best quarterback in your opinion in this draft right?

For sure. Without even question I like the confidence like that but when you look at some of these other quarterbacks what stands out to you to like with the Caleb Williams, Drake May, Jayden Daniels, some of the guys that people talk more about. I mean those guys are great quarterbacks you know I'm not taking nothing away from them but I just feel like myself I feel like my skill set is unmatched you know I don't feel like they can make some of the throws and a decision that I make you know but they do a lot of great things for their teams and on film you know obviously Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, they both won Heisman's so they're respected in that way as well as you know so Drake May he played really well early early you know second year you know third year and so they they see they see those things you know but at the same time for me I can't focus on that you know I know I know the player I am and whatever team choose to drive me they're going to get championships out of me so. Yeah I love that answer Michael Penix Jr. here with us do you get too caught up because you know there's going to be 9,000 mock drafts from now until then some days I see you in the first some days I see you in in the second round do you get caught up in all that just naturally as a human being?

No I don't I don't really be on social media that much and I don't watch TV so it's like I'm working I'm working. Alrighty how about Roma Dunze this dude's a stud another guy Washington guy didn't get enough respect I feel like through the process you know people want to talk about who they want to talk about what's the team getting in Roma Dunze? Man he's going to get a worker a hard worker and obviously a guy that's going to make any play on the field you know I know I could put the ball anywhere and he'll make the play you know and just an unselfish guy you know a guy that that truly loves the game and truly loves the guys around him and does everything for those people around him you know you see him in practice going 100 each and every rep you know run plays pass plays if he got a block he knows the ball coming the ball is not coming it doesn't matter you know he's gonna he's gonna be the same person and I feel like that's what helped our connection you know with me and all my receivers you know those guys always gave me 100 effort each and every day and their work ethic is unmatched in that position I believe. Growing up who are some of the football players quarterbacks that you really like to watch? Mike Vick Mike Vick as a lefty obviously Mike Vick obviously he did a lot of great things for the league as well and Teddy Bridgewater when I was growing up out of high school I seen him whenever he was dominating at Louisville and the things that he was doing I like what he was doing at that time so.

If he didn't suffer that knee injury I really think he would have been a special player. For sure for sure no doubt. So tell me what you're doing today on behalf of Starry's. Yeah so Starry I'm partnering with Starry you know which is a a lemon lime um flavor soda and it has a clear crisp and refreshing taste and um man it hits different you know every time every time you drink it you know it's like it's it's a refreshing you know for sure and um they're making their first time first Super Bowl appearance on Sunday with ice spice as a matter of fact yeah and uh so I feel like everybody should tune in you know just uh to see why why it's time to see other solos so um I'm super excited for for the partnership.

All right here's the toughest question you're going to be asked in this draft process. We know what you're drinking. One one meal left in your life. What's the meal that you're getting? Oh spaghetti. Oh you're spaghetti guys.

Spaghetti because it's it's not it's not really bad for you I mean it's carbs you know it's good. I love that. Give me a thought of the game coming up on Sunday you got Brock Purdy you got Patrick Mahomes obviously one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and you look ahead at this matchup from a quarterback perspective what really jumps out to you? Yeah um what really jumps out to me um you seen that uh Pat Mahomes you know obviously a hall of fame quarterback you know he's been doing it you know um at a high level you know for a long time and um man it's hard to bet against Mahomes but obviously Brock Purdy you know a guy that a lot of people feel like you know he still has to prove himself and um he's been playing very well you know he brought him to a Super Bowl and I don't feel like that's easy in this league so um for him to be able to accomplish that to even be here in this uh moment you know I feel like uh that just speaks volumes on what he is as a player and as a person as well you know but um man it's gonna be a great game I don't really I don't really have a team that I would say will win but um I wouldn't bet against Mahomes personally but um yeah it'll be a good game. This could be an interesting time for you as last one with Michael Penix Jr. so you're getting ready to embark on your NFL journey you're here right at the site of the Super Bowl and you're getting ready for for Super Bowl Sunday you know when you're here do you start to envision yourself okay that this is reality like next year I'm gonna be in the league and I'm gonna have this task you know at hand of trying to go go win a Super Bowl. For sure man I'm super excited for the opportunity you know whatever opportunity I get whatever uh wherever I end up you know I know I'm gonna make the most out of the opportunity and you know one day I do I do want to win Super Bowl so um I'm looking forward to it and I'm super excited for it. Now I could just feel that the chip that you have on your shoulder when people continue to doubt you what do you say to people that are saying oh Michael Penix Jr. was a great two-year run man he's too old he's not going to be a successful NFL quarterback what do you say to those people? Just watch.

Just watch you gotta light it up in the NFL I feel it and your accuracy is just I mean this in a positive way it's just flat out stupid. I appreciate it. Especially that Texas game man you owe me some good money in that Texas game so I appreciate that um alrighty I appreciate you doing this thanks so much good luck. Yes sir I appreciate you. He is Michael Penix Jr. Zach Gilp show right here on CBS Sports Radio we'll take a time out Joe Montana gonna join us on the other side update time first here is the act man Rich Ackerman.

A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring but the runners-up get nothing. One retired cop return. That's one retired quarterback read the script.

Oh sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter but you're on a roll.

The ring of comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. Okay picture this it's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-track all-wheel drive and three-row seating my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. I'm Tony and this is the Tony Kornheiser show. Well that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is so what exactly is the show about?

It's been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world and we get weekly picks from a monkey. Do you really need more than that? I might just tell you about my bunker game and the latest failed entry in my quest to find the best coffee ice cream. No schmutz please.

Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Get ahead of postage rate increases this year with Stamps.com. It's like your own personal post office. Sign up with promo code program for a four-week trial plus free postage and a free digital scale. No long-term commitments or contracts. That's Stamps.com code program.