Young Falcons remembered by teammates before they were Falcons

The Falcons, in the two years of coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot’s time working together, made a habit of drafting older players with leadership qualities. Several of their proteges, or past teammates, are now in position to join them in the NFL — in part from the wisdom, or encouragement, passed down along the way.

Michael Penix Jr. remembered as ‘super inspirational’

Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb developed a reputation in meeting rooms for digging into his players with hopes they would learn the playbook quicker. Josh Cuevas, freshly arrived in Seattle after transferring from Cal Poly, wore his share of criticism.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., now the Falcons’ starter rehabbing a torn ACL, served as an uplifting, confidence-boosting voice while Cuevas found his footing.

“I didn’t have very many conversations with Mike, but every time I did, it was super inspirational and more like, ‘You got this. You just got here,’” Cuevas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday at the combine. “It was like, ‘We need you.’ Everybody on this team has a role, and he made sure you knew yours.”

Cuevas transferred to Alabama after the season, following coach Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa while Penix ascended to the NFL. But Cuevas, who caught four passes for 164 yards and one touchdown in 15 games with the Huskies, still holds fond memories of his time with Penix.

Washington went 14-1 and lost in the College Football Playoff championship game. Cuevas remembers the wins, the journey and the spiral — Penix, as a lefty, threw a distinct ball that tails away from pass-catchers. It’s a drastic difference from right-handed quarterbacks, Cuevas said, but an easy adjustment.

Penix was the “head honcho” of the Huskies’ offense, one who had total control of the operation and was upfront about his intentions. But he didn’t yell at his teammates. He had a calm demeanor and opted instead to pull them aside and share one-on-one conversations.

Penix invested into relationships with teammates off the field, too.

Germie Bernard, who started seven games at receiver for the Huskies in 2023 after transferring from Michigan State, remembers going to a nearby lake and riding Jet Skis. Penix, Bernard said, cared about building a family, a brotherhood.

“He cares for his teammates,” Bernard told the AJC. “He wants to pour into you. He wants to hang out with you off the field and do different activities and whatnot.”

Penix finished second in the Heisman Trophy race in 2023, and Cuevas said Washington’s coaching staff fully believed in any decision he chose to make.

“Everything kind of ran through him and what he felt comfortable with,” Cuevas said. “And you can kind of see, me coming in as a new guy, how much control he really had in that offense and how much trust the coaching staff really had with him. That was just kind of the big difference maker with him.”

After transferring from Washington to Alabama, Bernard and Cuevas played with two other quarterbacks — Jalen Milroe, the Crimson Tide’s starter in 2024, was a third-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 draft, while Ty Simpson is projected to be the second quarterback drafted this spring.

Penix, with his lively arm and veteran presence, clears both in the eyes of Bernard, a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.

“Man, I ain’t going to lie, Mike Penix is probably the best QB I’ve played with,” Bernard said. “Nothing against Ty or Jalen Milroe. He just had a lot more experience than they did. And just the IQ that he has with the game, he’s really, really smart. He wants to get to know what we’re thinking and everything like that. He teaches you a lot.”

Ruke Orhorhoro has ‘infectious energy’

Over two years and 28 games later, Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz still remembers the moment he tried to emulate Ruke Orhorhoro.

After he sacked North Carolina State quarterback MJ Morris late in the first half a conference game in 2023, Woodaz rose to his feet, outstretched his arms, whipped them inside and threw his fists forward, almost as if he were punching air. He lifted his knees and kicked his legs.

There appeared no rhyme, no reason, to Woodaz’s movements — but he wanted to match the sack celebration of Orhorhoro, then the Tigers’ standout defensive tackle.

“Ruke has infectious energy,” Woodaz said. “That’s my guy. I’m grateful for him, too.”

So is Clemson defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart, who shared a position group with Orhorhoro from 2020-23.

Orhorhoro, the Falcons’ second-round draft pick in 2024, grew into a respected presence at Clemson after earning third-team All-ACC honors each of his final two years. Capehart, who arrived on campus one year after Orhorhoro, began emergence in Orhorhoro’s final college season.

“Ruke was the type of player to always brighten up a room when he comes in it,” Capehart told the AJC at the combine. “He’s a very high-energy guy. Loves football, loves the game.”

Capehart’s journey to Indianapolis stems, in part, from Orhorhoro’s confidence in him. Once, when they were watching film together, they reviewed a play where Capehart made an impact, and Orhorhoro manifested brighter days ahead for his younger teammate.

Capehart hasn’t looked back since.

“He was just commenting on, like, ‘Yo, you really got what it takes,’” Capehart said. “From that moment on, it was all she wrote.”

Billy Bowman Jr. ‘left a great legacy’

With the score tied at 17-17 midway through the third quarter in a late-season game at BYU, then-Oklahoma defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. aligned over the left slot, set his feet and drove on quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s pass.

Some 100 yards later, the Sooners had the lead — and Bowman had the play that defensive tackle Gracen Halton, one of the combine’s biggest winners from Thursday, said best defines his former three-time all-conference teammate.

Bowman, who the Falcons drafted in the fourth round in 2025, recorded 11 interceptions across 47 games and 41 starts at Oklahoma. He became one of the nation’s most productive ball-hawks through a formula that still lingers on teammates in Norman.

“He’s a hard worker,” Halton told the AJC. “When you have questions, you can always ask him, man. He was a good-hearted man. He came to work every day, man.”

Bowman won Oklahoma’s Don Key Award, the program’s highest annual honor awarded to a team leader, in 2024. Through his habits in the weight and locker room, he made his mark on the Sooners’ cultural fabric.

“He left a great legacy,” Halton said. “No playing around. A hard-working guy. Guys look up to him, trying to work the same as him. So, the way he came to work every day, the younger guys came to work every day.”

When the Falcons selected Bowman last April, it served as motivation for Halton to reach similar heights. Now, one year later, Halton is positioned to follow Bowman’s footsteps into the league.

“That’s the guy you look up to,” Halton said. “That’s the guy, you know, ‘I want to be where he’s at one day. I’ll see you at the top.’ So, trying to get where he’s at.”