DETROIT — Former Tennessee football commit Michael Penix Jr. was drafted eighth overall in the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.
Penix Jr. would eventually go on to play at Indiana and then transfer to Washington where he became a Heisman finalist leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff last season.
Coming out of high school in Florida, he committed to Tennessee when Butch Jones was head coach. Penix Jr. said during the lead-up to the national championship game that Tennessee pulled his offer after the coaching change according to Trey Wallace of Outkick.
The starting quarterbacks since then for Tennessee have been Jarrett Guarantano, Joe Milton and Hendon Hooker.
Hooker was taken in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2023. Milton hopes to hear his name called in this year's draft in the later rounds.
Peyton Manning remains the last Vols quarterback to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft back in 1998.
