How Geno Smith, Michael Penix Jr. trained together before these Seahawks, Huskies seasons
His teammates were chanting “Heis-man! Heis-man!”
He had the most valuable player award in his hand from the Pac-12 championship game. He’d just won that by leading his Washington Huskies to a fourth-quarter rally over rival Oregon.
Michael Penix Jr. then finished his reply to ESPN interviewer Holly Rowe on the field in Las Vegas last Friday night. He used a line very familiar to Seattle football fans.
“I have to say, man, they tried to write us off,” Washington’s quarterback said of his doubted Huskies. “We ain’t write back.”
There’s a reason why Penix chose Geno Smith’s now-famous line from the Seahawks quarterback’s postgame interview on Lumen Field.
Smith said “They wrote me off. I ain’t write back, though,” after the seven-year NFL backup for four teams and Seattle beat Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in the 2022 season opener 15 months earlier.
This past offseason, a mutual acquaintance — Smith thinks it might have been Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, he’s not sure — had passed Smith’s mobile phone number to Penix. At the time the Huskies’ quarterback was training before his second and final season as Washington’s starter.
The 33-year-old Smith, 10 years older, hadn’t met Penix. But he had admired UW’s QB from across Lake Washington in 2022 while Penix led major college football with 4,641 yards passing.
Smith knew Penix’s journey to UW. He knew Penix had bulled through four major injuries, including two torn knee anterior cruciate ligaments. Those shortened all four of his seasons at Indiana.
Penix had admired Smith for the NFL veteran sitting on benches of four different teams for seven years up to 2022. Then last season Smith broke four Seahawks season passing records, made the Pro Bowl for the first time and started his first career playoff game.
So Penix acquired Smith’s number after the Huskies had a practice at the Seahawks’ Virginia Mason Athletic Center this past offseason and basically cold-called the NFL veteran.
“I got a chance to throw with Mike in the offseason and had a chance to talk to him,” Smith said Thursday, three days before the Seahawks (6-6) play at the San Francisco 49ers (9-3).
“He’s a really special player and a special guy. To be able to kind of share Seattle with him is awesome.”
Smith shares more than just the city with Penix on their workout.
Both quarterbacks are the same height, 6 feet 3.
They are nearly the same size; Smith is 224 pounds and UW lists Penix at 213.
Both have cannonading arms and unique accuracy on deep passes.
The NFL veteran also shares tips of the quarterbacking craft with Penix.
That workout with Smith worked out OK for Penix.
Since then, Penix has led the Huskies to a 13-0 season, the conference title and a place in the College Football Playoff Jan. 1 against Texas (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl.
This season he became the first Husky to throw for 4,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
Friday, Penix was to be in New York preparing to attend the Heisman Trophy ceremony. He’s a finalist to become the first Heisman winner in UW’s storied football history.
“I hope he wins it,” Smith said. “I think he’s had a great year. I think when you look at all the candidates, to lead his team to 13-0 and all of the great things that he’s done throughout the year, he’s got the numbers, he’s got the moments. I think he deserves it.”
Yes, since their workout Smith has been admiring Penix’s work across the lake from the UW campus.
“I love what they’re doing at U-Dub,” Smith said in his weekly between-games press conference at Seahawks headquarters. “I hope they win it all.
“Rooting for Mike.”
This time next year, Penix will with Smith. In the NFL.
Later Thursday, in the locker room before he headed out to Seahawks practice, Smith said of Penix: “He’s a great player and a great guy. He’s been through so much.”
As for Penix pulling out Smith’s “ain’t write back” line last week after winning the Pac-12 title, Smith said: “That was awesome. Appreciate him doing that. That was pretty cool.”
Geno Smith’s new issues
Smith’s season with the Seahawks hasn’t been as meteoric and starring as Penix’s has been for UW.
Smith has had a see-sawing season of turnovers and sacks interrupted by stretches of brilliant play. He has 15 touchdown passes but has committed 11 turnovers. He’s often held onto the ball too long among his 27 sacks in 12 games.
His Seahawks have lost three in a row, and four of their last five games, to fall from first place in the NFC West to third place in less than a month.
Even when Smith has played a brilliant game — 23 for 41 passing for 334 yards, three touchdown throws to Metcalf — he and his Seahawks lost last week at Dallas 41-35.
Sunday in Santa Clara, California, Smith and his offense get what’s been a no-win proposition for the Seahawks the last two seasons: playing the 49ers. San Francisco has won four consecutive games in the series. That includes 41-23 the last time the Seahawks went to the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, in the wild-card playoffs last January.
San Francisco’s defensive front with studs Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead again dominated Seattle’s offensive line in the Niners’ 31-13 win over the Seahawks at Lumen Field Thanksgiving night.
Smith knows the key to the rematch, to Seattle closing the three-game lead San Francisco has on it in the division with five games to play.
“It starts up front,” Smith said Thursday. “With them, there’s first-rounders across the board. They have really stout guys on the interior. They’ve got great edge rushers. Their front seven is one of the best in the league.
“You talk about their linebacker corps, you talk about just the way that they fly and make plays all around the ball. They’re a great team, great defense. ...
“But,” Smith said, “we’re another great offense. I feel like we’ve got an opportunity to really prove ourselves, to showcase what we knew all along about ourselves.
“This is a great test for us. They’re a great team and we look forward to the opportunity.”
Smith is playing hurt this weekend.
He said the bruised triceps on his throwing arm Aaron Donald gave him Nov. 19 in Seattle’s loss at the Los Angeles Rams is “getting better. Still not 100%. Not close to it. But getting better.”
Dallas edge rusher extraordinaire Micah Parsons hit Smith’s arm during the game last week in Texas. After the game, Smith posted then took down from his social-media account online pictures of a throwing arm as purple as Penix’s Huskies game jersey.
Asked Thursday if that set back the recovery of the triceps, Smith avoided the question.
“We’re getting better,” he said. “We’re getting better every day.”
Then at practice Smith was affected by a new issue the team listed following the workout: a groin injury. The Seahawks listed him as a limited participant in practice Thursday.
Shane Waldron’s likely new plan vs. 49ers
Yet Smith will play on. He knows Seattle must win, pronto, to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Seahawks currently are the ninth seed in the NFC, immediately behind Green Bay and the Rams. Only the top seven make the postseason.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s plan against the 49ers on Thanksgiving called for deep passes to test San Francisco’s secondary that had given up some big plays and seven pass-interference penalties the first 10 games. That plan failed. While Smith held the ball waiting for Metcalf and wide receiver Tyler Lockett to run their longer, deeper routes, Bosa, Armstead and the Niners’ defensive front sacked Smith six times.
This time against the 49ers, Waldron assuredly will have a game plan more similar to what Smith executed so well last week at Dallas: Shorter, quicker passes. And more running plays, even if they aren’t gaining yards. Zach Charbonnet, starting for injured Kenneth Walker had 19 carries against the Cowboys even though Seattle averaged only 3.3 yards per rush.
Charbonnet, again playing while Walker had an oblique injury, had just three carries over Seattle’s first 19 plays against San Francisco on Thanksgiving. The Seahawks fell behind 24-3, and that was that.
Walker practiced Thursday for the first time since he got hurt in that Rams game three weeks ago. It appears he’s going to play Sunday.
Waldron said he — and Smith — balancing patience with the need for big plays are Seattle’s keys to pulling a big upset (the 49ers are favored to win by 10 1/2 points) and closing the three-game lead San Francisco has in the division with five games to play.
“It’s just having that aggressive mindset, but having the patience within the game to let the game come to you,” Seattle’s play caller said. “Not being overly aggressive in situations where it doesn’t call for it. If the look doesn’t play out the exact way to present the deep shot, taking the check-down, finding completions, staying patient on first and second down.
“(That’s) something we know coming out of the first game against those guys this year that we can improve upon and do a better job of.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
