JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. Facing for the first time since the national title game

They have so much in common, it’s only natural there would be a connection between Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr.

They are second-year quarterbacks, drafted two spots apart last year and getting their first taste of the September NFL spotlight. And that’s after having battled each other for a national championship and both pushing through injury to now meet again on the field Sunday in Minnesota.

“I love Michael,” McCarthy said Wednesday, fresh off being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his NFL debut performance. “Just being able to be with him during the pre-draft process, to really understand his process and who he is as a man, and his personality, it’s no surprise he’s in the position he’s in right now. I’m extremely excited to see him again and compete against him. He’s a great player, and it’s going to be a good test for our defense.”

Penix, who fell just short of victory against the Bucs on Sunday in his fourth NFL start, has the same respect for McCarthy.

“He’s a cool person — good guy off the field as well,” Penix said. “Obviously, on the field, you see what he can do. But I trained with him as well pre-draft, all that prep. I was with him every day. So, getting to know him a little bit, he’s a genuine guy and a guy that can make football plays.”

The last time the two squared off, there was even more on the line. In January 2024, Michigan and McCarthy beat Washington and Penix for the CFP National Championship. McCarthy didn’t have to do too much, mainly handing off to two 100-yard rushers, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, and throwing for 140 yards. Meanwhile, Penix, the 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up, threw 51 passes for 255 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“He had my Heisman vote, I’m not gonna lie,” McCarthy said days before that game. “Michael Penix, everything that he’s been through, all the adversities battled through, his injuries and just continuing to stick to the process and keep pressing on. 

“That’s something that Coach [Jim Harbaugh] He always talks about: The future prefers those who press. It is an ideal example of this. … I have a lot of respect for him. “

Penix, 25, did not play more than six games in any of its four seasons in Indiana due to knee and shoulder injuries, then rose in two years in Washington. McCarthy, 22, got three healthy years in Michigan, but he was forced to deal with a lost season due to a knee injury as an elevator in the American Football Association, which delayed his appearance for the first time for a year.

Both are known for their arms, but they made some of their biggest plays in the first week with their legs. Penix, who faces the fourth and second on the Bucs’ 3 yard in the fourth quarter, jumped on the margin for the first time, then did the same in the fourth place and the goal, and extends outward, barely enters the ball in the end area for landing. BUCS will collect for their own degree to win 23-20.

McCarthy was more fortunate, with his 14 yard scrambled for the landing that provides the winning margin of Vikings victory over the bears in Chicago, less than 20 miles from his hometown.

Read more: “We knew that he had this dog in it:” Within the return of JJ McCarthy for the first time

Last year, the two midfielders watched four QBS in the first round – Jayden Daniels from Washington, Williams Clay from Chicago, Denver Bo Nix, and New England Drake in – Wonderful effects as a young man. Penix took the eighth of the hawks and the tenth of the Vikings, so during the pre -progress process, the two teams spent a time to evaluate Qurtubbere who will face them now on Sunday.

“Michael Pence is a man we have studied a lot, his knowledge of well, and the extent of his talent as a football pus.” “He really was distinguished at the university level, pushing the ball down the field, finding its own receptions, throwing the players open and finding ways to obtain huge amounts of explosives from the pocket.

“I think people started to get to know him is his ability to influence the game with his athlete. On Sunday was a great example of it … He found a way to get the ball in the end area. I thought it was a driving force behind that game very competitive. It was impressive.”

Both Penix and McCarthy are full -time starters with NFC team with qualifying aspirations. Viking plays in one of the US Football Association sections, and the hawks tries to end a seven -year -old drought. The competition that started with a national title on the line continues on Sunday, and in schedule, their teams will meet again next season in Minnesota.

The amazing fourth quarter of McCarthy came against The Bears-Hree Housddowns, the first for any player in his first appearance in the American Football Association-after a approximate start that included six six for Chicago. The coach of Valonz coach, Rahim Morris, said he focused on the result and the Central role of McCarthy in Minnesota’s 27-24 victory.

“He is a proven winner,” Morris said. “He went out and won at the team level, his first match as a professional. I think he just went out and plays football and does what he is supposed to do. Everyone knows in this game that there is up and down. It doesn’t matter how it started, it’s really what he finished.”

Although they just started, this may already describe both McCarthy and Penix. After all, the future prefers those who press.

Greg Awnan He is the American Football Association correspondent for Fox Sports. He spent a previous contract to cover Pirate to Tampa Bay Mys and athletes. You can follow it on Twitter on Gregauman.

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