PLANT CITY, Fla. — Before he was the Maxwell Award-winning quarterback leading the University of Washington to the College Football Playoff National Championship game, Michael Penix Jr. went by "Little Mike" in his hometown of Dade City.
No matter if it was basketball, baseball or football, "Little Mike" was always one of the best.
"What really wowed us was when he was about two...we were in New York, and we're sitting there just tossing a little wiffle ball that my mom had around the house. He hit that wiffle ball with that bat, and it actually went on my mom's garage," said his mother, Takisha Penix.
"Not no one time out of 10. I'm talking about everything you throw; he's knocking the fire out the ball. I mean, he was very athletic all his life," said his father, Michael Penix Sr.
After recognizing "Little Mike's" talents early, his parents made it a goal to put his athleticism on display. Sometimes, that required putting him on the bigger stages of youth leagues.
"He wasn't always just on his level, you know. If he was able to play at the next age group, he would play at the higher age group," Takisha Penix said.
That trend continued when he entered high school. Penix Jr. played varsity football as a freshman at Pasco. He was named the starting quarterback in his sophomore year. However, his father noticed that the Pirates' offensive system did not best utilize his son's athleticism. Looking for more attention for "Little Mike," the family relocated to Hillsborough County and enrolled him at Tampa Bay Tech before his junior season.
"As parents, it's our job to make sure everybody else sees that talent. So we made that move and that decision," Penix Sr. said.
Titans head coach Jason Roberts was immediately thankful for that move.
"It didn't take long—after maybe the first day or two— for us to realize that he was different," he said. "He really was the first quarterback that we got that that was that was tailor-made for the system."
"Little Mike" totaled over 75 touchdowns in two seasons as Titans' quarterback and was named Hillsborough County player of the year as a senior. Somehow, that still did not garner the attention many thought he deserved.
"We couldn't understand why he wasn't the top recruit in the state of Florida. You know, he played out his mind," Roberts said.
Takisha Penix added, "I always said he wasn't a household name...yeah, he was putting up the numbers, but I guess there wasn't enough people to take notice."
Indiana University took notice. Penix Jr. spent four successful, yet injury-riddled, seasons with the Hoosiers before transferring to Washington in 2022.
Since then, he's won 25 of 27 games, including a Pac-12 championship and the Sugar Bowl. Now everyone's taking notice. His family believes it's about time.
"We look at it as like, 'finally.' He can showcase his talent. And with the team, you know, everything was just meshing really well," Takisha Penix said.
Washington takes on the University of Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday in Houston. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.