Pasco County native Michael Penix Jr. hopes to take flight in second season with Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. hoping to take flight this year

FOX 13's Sean Barie spoke with the Atlanta Falcons quarterback about his hopes for the upcoming NFL season.

DADE CITY, Fla. - Michael Penix Jr. is happy to stay in the moment this summer.

"I'm just trying to clear my mind so I can be ready for the storm," Penix said. "I'm just calm before the storm right now and having fun."

While Penix returned to his hometown of Dade City to host his first ever youth football camp this summer, the second-year quarterback out of Washington knows the storm of a new NFL season is fast approaching.

And Penix intends to prove that he is ready to weather it.

What they're saying:

"I'm somebody that they can have confidence in each and every time that the offense is on the field, we're going to make something happen," Penix said. 

With just a few weeks left in the NFL offseason, Penix is preparing to enter training camp for the first time as the clear starting quarterback for the Falcons. 

"I'm not a big 'rah-rah' guy as far as leadership-wise," Penix said.

"I can show you better than I can tell you and I feel like I showed those guys that they have somebody to be confident in."

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The backstory:

Penix was selected by the Falcons with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and threw for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions while starting the final three games of the season. 

"Confidence not from the outside but from the team," Penix said.

"People believing in me, believing that I'm going to do whatever it takes to help us get to the Super Bowl."

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