Florida lineman embraces football, recruiting shutdown
Bishop Kenny (Fl.) center Michael Myslinski grew up surrounded by football. His father, Tom Myslinski, spent nine years in the NFL before being named the strength and conditioning coach at Robert Morris, Memphis and North Carolina with a three-year stint with the Browns. After accepting the job as head strength and conditioning for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Myslinski embraces the football culture he has always known.
“I grew up playing it, just in general, being around the sport—great players, great coaches. I don’t want to say I was born into it, just born into the culture,” Myslinski told AllTerrapins. “My dad never forced me to play football, if anything, he didn’t want me to play. It’s true everywhere, football is a dangerous sport and you have to put your mind to it. I grew up always liking contact, I did wrestling, I still do boxing and mixed martial arts. I always enjoy the contact, you have to embrace it; if you don’t embrace it, it’s not for you. You have to be a little crazy to play offensive line and I consider a little crazy to an extent,” Myslinski joked.
As most kids, Myslinski grew up playing multiple sports, giving up baseball going into high school while dabbling with basketball early in high school. After his freshman year, though, Myslinski admitted that’s when it clicked that football was his passion.
“I thought I was a better basketball player for a longer time than I was football,” Myslinski joked, “so I asked ‘should I do this?’ So one day, we had a game in ninth grade and I did really well and it all really clicked, clicked that this was the sport.” The ascension that Myslinski took to become the needed leader heading into his senior year stem from his refocused work ethic.
“I was pretty small my freshman year, but my work ethic from my freshman to junior year was astronomical. I realized after my sophomore year how much harder I needed to work and if I really wanted to play college football like I aspired to, I had to put in the work. I sacrificed social things so instead of going out on Friday nights, I was working out.”
“Then I got on the field junior year and I felt it. I was physically stronger; the mentality was totally different and I think that’s why it’s been pretty crazy this year. That’s what I need to do every year if I want to play college football.”
His junior year allowed him to build his offer sheet, growing to over 20 verbal offers with Iowa, Maryland, Florida State, Oregon and Texas just a handful of schools involved to-date. While Louisville hosted him for an unofficial just prior to the recruiting shutdown, Myslinski added that schools have turned to Zoom to keep Myslinski informed about the process.
“Right now, for our recruitment, it’s totally different than any other class. I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom classes with coaches, going over offensive scheme, their plays and how they coach. I think that’s very important because I have to know what their system is.”
The visits with each coach allow him to go in-depth more in his recruitment.
“I’d rank each coach after we talk, how much I like them, how I like how they coach. I can fit in any offense, but I know I can fit in a run-first program, that’s my game. I know I’m good at pass-pro, but I think learning how the coaches coach is important.”
While he added he will likely keep his top schools private, Myslinski shared what makes him feel at home with a school.
“What coaches talk to me daily, what coaches are the best personally; you get a feel for every coach. So I made a list, I like this coach, how they teach, the scheme, the school, offense, so maybe that stuff jumps around in my rankings. So that’s what I’m doing right now with visits. I want to be a coach when I grow up so I want to have the best relationships with these coaches so when I finish football, I want to be a GA somewhere.”
While he’s keeping an eye on just when in-person visits will resume, he’s at peace with his recruiting timeline.
“I’d love to go to Oregon, FSU, Iowa, Maryland. I want to make my decision easier and I want to feel satisfied when I make it.”
An added pressure for him is the run of commitments in the 2021 class. Since Monday, 29 prospects have committed to a power five program, so spots in classes across the country are drying up. The pressure of shifting up a commitment timeline weighs heavy.
“I definitely do, especially since there’s been a lot more commitments lately pretty much everywhere. I’ve also heard a lot of kids saying they’re committing and decommitting and I’m not about that. I’m talking about obvious decisions that would impact my decision, but at the same time, roster spots are filling up too so I’m being cautious.”
“I’m weighing the options; do I feel coming to this place? Because I don’t want to lose a roster spot because coaches are filling up, it kind of worries me. I don’t want to feel rushed, but at the same time, I’m feeling a little rushed. I really wanted to do it before my senior year because I wanted to focus on school and football, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I still do that. It will depend on a lot of things.”
