'Awesome' Michael Penix Jr. Draws Rave Reviews at Atlanta Falcons Minicamp

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.-- Michael Penix Jr. sat in his room Thursday evening at the Atlanta Falcons' training facility, just hours before hitting the team's practice field for the first time.

Penix, the Falcons' first-round pick and perceived long-term starting quarterback, received the script for Friday's rookie minicamp practice earlier Thursday and was already confident with the plan and the playbook. But some of his teammates didn't get their playbook until Thursday morning and, in his words, had a lot of catching up to do.

The 24-year-old Penix knew he was going to work through the script later Thursday night, and he was about to leave for the field when he had a realization.

"I was like, 'How does that make me a leader if I'm not bringing other people along?'" Penix said. "So, I texted the group chat and had the whole crew come out. They came out here and felt comfortable."

Penix added Friday one of his teammates came up to him and said the walkthrough helped.

"Anything I can do to help," Penix responded.

Even before his first official action in the red and black, Penix's journey to establishing himself as a leader began. It also offered a glimpse of the selflessness his next few years may require, leading by example while relegated to a backup role behind Kirk Cousins.

Penix, who finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy race last season, is focused on grasping the playbook and acclimating to the next level - but he's also keen on building trust and relationships.

Rookie minicamp presents an opportunity for Penix to foster camaraderie with his fellow first-year players. The chance to do so with veterans formally starts Monday, when OTAs begin. He's already met several inside the facility, including Cousins, as the two shared a brief chat Friday.

For Penix, creating bonds with teammates is a job that started the second he arrived in Flowery Branch. He's already equipped with a script of his own for how to accomplish it.

"I heard a lot of guys like to golf," Penix said. "I like to fish - find the guys who like to fish. Just any way you can. We've got a little basketball hoop in our locker room, just doing stuff like that. Just time around each other - that's the biggest thing."

One of the rookies already fostering a relationship with Penix is sixth-round receiver Casey Washington, who was on the other end of several lefty passes during minicamp.

Washington entered camp familiar with the rookie signal caller, watching from afar as Penix led college football in passing yards for the second consecutive season.

But after the Penix-planned walkthrough Thursday night, Washington had a fresh - and even more positive - perspective.

"He's awesome," Washington said. "I think him early on, getting us out there as a group and showing himself as a leader is special. And obviously, who he is as a football player is also there, but just to get out here and compete with each other, it's pretty special."

While Penix is working on adjusting to a new playbook, all those around him are handling the changes that come with a left-handed passer. The blindside blocker flips. The spin on the ball is different. The visual aesthetic is unique.

Still, excitement amongst his teammates is palpable - even those on the opposite side of the ball, such as sixth-round defensive tackle Zion Logue.

"He goes about his business," Logue said. "He's a true pro. He knows what he wants to do, he knows how to lead this team. Just ready to actually see him in action because we were kind of standoffish working in individuals rather than just the whole team."

Neither Washington nor Logue played with or against Penix in college. The two defensive linemen with lockers right next to him - Brandon Dorlus and Bralen Trice - have.

Dorlus, who played at Oregon, spent the last two years chasing Penix inside PAC-12 pockets. When the two dapped up for the first time in Flowery Branch, the 6-3, 283-pound Dorlus was astonished by Penix's 10 1/2-inch hands, joking he suddenly felt small.

But perhaps most importantly, everything Dorlus had seen on film and with his own eyes in college have translated from Seattle to Atlanta thus far.

"Big hands, quick release, he can put the ball on a string," Dorlus said. "He's great to talk to off the field - very calm, cool, collected. So, I like him a lot. He's a good guy."

Trice, meanwhile, had a front row seat to Penix's collegiate brilliance. In the College Football Playoff semifinals, Penix won offensive player of the game while Trice took home the defensive honor.

The two formed a strong bond, and Trice feels the most important trait he pulled from Penix is the one the signal caller is hoping to prove most over the coming months: leadership.

"He's a great leader on and off the field," Trice said. "Just in the season, working with him, it's just keep your chin up regardless of how we finished it out. 14-1, we did great, and I'm proud of how far we got. Nobody sees the work behind the walls that goes into it, and that's the most important part. So I'm just proud of what we did to get there."

Penix is unconcerned about his current state as the Falcons' backup quarterback. He plans on using the opportunity to learn from Cousins with hopes of mirroring the 12-year veteran's career longevity.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native said his first practice as a Falcon was fun, headlined by the ability to compete at the highest level. It presented another opportunity to grow and get better, one of Penix's offseason pillars.

Friday was merely the start; his first of a number nobody knows the answer to. But it checked another box of Penix's personal bucket list, and as he moves through the summer, he plans on fulfilling many more.

"I just want to prove myself - as a little kid, the dream I had to be here, just prove I belong," Penix said. "It's something I've been dreaming of since I was a kid, and now that I'm here, I just want to continue to prove myself every day and show not just myself but the team that I'm here to work and help this team win football games any way I can."