Ty Pennington's 2025 surge sets up Northern Arizona breakthrough in 2026

Ty Pennington did not just improve in 2025, he turned Northern Arizona’s passing game into one of the Big Sky’s most dangerous weapons. The Lumberjacks’ senior quarterback started all 12 games and piled up 3,116 passing yards with 19 touchdowns, a follow-up surge to his 2024 breakout when he threw for 2,288 yards, 13 scores and only two interceptions.

That climb began a year earlier, when Pennington earned Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors after starting 12 games, completing 187 of 287 passes and adding another layer with his legs. He rushed for 437 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024, and Northern Arizona said his 65.1 percent completion rate ranked seventh-best in program history. More important to the program’s arc, Pennington helped push the Lumberjacks to their first playoff appearance since 2017.

By the time preseason camp arrived in 2025, Pennington had gone from emerging transfer to the face of the offense. Northern Arizona named him one of its five team captains, and he became the program’s first quarterback on the Big Sky preseason all-conference team since Case Cookus in 2016. He carried that status into a season that ended with All-Big Sky honorable mention and a place on the Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year Watch List.

The numbers backed it up. Northern Arizona listed Pennington at 251 of 382 passing for 3,116 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions; ESPN’s stat line was nearly identical at 250 of 381 for 3,071 yards, 19 touchdowns and four picks. Either way, he ranked among the FCS leaders in passing yards, passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, completion percentage and total offense. Northern Arizona said his 275.6 total offense yards per game ranked 10th in the FCS, a sign that the offense ran through his arm and, when needed, his mobility.

The signature games were the kind that change outside perception. Pennington set a career high with 366 passing yards and four total touchdowns at Southern Utah on Sept. 13, 2025. A week later, he threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 win over ranked Incarnate Word. He added a 356-yard, four-touchdown game against Cal Poly, another reminder that Northern Arizona’s aerial attack could beat quality opponents.

Now listed as a senior on the 2026 spring roster, Pennington enters the next phase with a clear mandate. If he sharpens red-zone efficiency, keeps the explosive plays coming and stays consistent against the Big Sky’s best defenses, Northern Arizona will have more than a productive quarterback. It will have a legitimate driver of a conference breakthrough.