IU football picked up its 23rd commitment of the 2018 recruiting class on Wednesday when quarterback Michael Penix chose the Hoosiers over Florida State and South Florida.
Penix, a three-star prospect from Tampa Bay Tech in Tampa, Florida, was originally committed to Tennessee. With the recent coaching change, however, the staff at Tennessee decided to rescind its scholarship offer to Penix, and he reopened his commitment last week.
IU Coach Tom Allen went down to Florida with several other Hoosier coaches for an in-home visit with Penix last week after Penix took an official visit to IU several days prior. He was also recruited heavily by the coaching staffs from Florida State and South Florida in recent days, but the left-handed quarterback ultimately chose the Hoosiers.
As the 20th-best pro style quarterback in the class according to 247Sports' composite rankings, Penix will provide instant depth and could contend for playing time among IU's quarterbacks. Redshirt freshman Peyton Ramsey and true freshman Nick Tronti, who redshirted this year, are the only returning scholarship quarterbacks for IU.
Reese Taylor, a fellow 2018 signee for IU, was Mr. Football in Indiana this season as he led Ben Davis High School to a state championship while playing quarterback. Taylor's size has caused some to speculate that he might play cornerback or another position at IU, but he might get a shot at playing quarterback, too.
According to 247Sports, Penix threw for 2,165 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior this year. He had just five interceptions and also ran for 449 yards and two touchdowns.
Penix will enroll in the spring 2018 semester at IU and take part in spring practices.
Jake Thomer
