Indiana Football: Big Ten Position Rankings – Penix Jr a top five quarterback?
By Adam Childs
The Indiana football team will enter the 2020 season with Michael Penix Jr.as their starting quarterback. Where does he rank in the Big Ten?
When you talk about the success of a football team, it usually begins and ends with how good their quarterback is. A team can make up for their shortcomings in other areas if they have a great quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts did it with Peyton Manning and the New England Patriots did it with Tom Brady.
In college having a great quarterback can be an even bigger impact because the talent is more spread out between teams. Vince Young was great at Texas in the early 2000s and carried Texas to the national championship.
It has happened on many occasions and will continue to happen in the future. It is possible to win without a great quarterback, but you have to be great at so many other spots on the field to make up for it.
Rarely do you see a team win a championship with a mediocre quarterback. There is just too much they have to make up, to offset the poor play of the most important position on the field. Recently LSU won with great play from Joe Burrow and Clemson won because of Trevor Lawrence. You have to have great play from the quarterback.
The Big Ten has had some great quarterbacks but they have struggled to compete on the national level against some of the better teams. This year they still have some very good quarterbacks but they also have a lot that are just ok.
So where does each quarterback rank in the Big Ten and where is the Hoosiers own Michael Penix Jr. fall on the list. Take a look and let us know what you think.