A Moment With the Indefatigable Mish Powell

When spring football practice began, Misheal Powell was one of the first University of Washington players requested for an interview.

He'd had a triumphant winter, becoming one of the first orders of business for new coach Kalen DeBoer, who quickly put the sophomore cornerback on scholarship. The Seattle native certainly had something to say.

Standing in Husky Stadium, the serious-minded Powell broke into a wide grin once he was asked about this deeply satisfying development, this new level of Husky acceptance.

He was allowed to gloat some after previously being deemed unworthy of a Power 5 school scholarship and then, after spending three seasons in the program, he had showed otherwise.

"Yes, I proved others wrong," Powell said, not mincing words. "But I wasn't worried about that. I trusted myself and I trusted I could play here and dominate."

Yet he's not merely one of the chosen 85 UW scholarship recipients now or even just one of the 22 starters. Much more will be asked of him this season and beyond

Departed Husky defensive backs such as Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon reminded him of what's possible by getting drafted 21st and 39th overall, respectively, in April.

"Seeing all the guys who play defensive back and seeing all of them come through here and now go to the NFL and things like that," Powell said. "That make me want to go."

Cornerback was the Huskies' most talented and dependable position area during last season's 4-8 downturn, a positive among a big mess. Now after a coaching change and a lot of player movement, corner is the least experienced role on this UW roster.

A lot of young guys such as Powell and a lone senior in Jordan Perryman from the Big Sky Conference have been entrusted with putting it all back together again and meeting certain standards.

A talented student as well, he had Ivy League scholarships to choose from, namely one from Columbia. He's a smart guy. The Huskies are counting on him to learn from his time with McDuffie and Gordon and share the knowledge.

"They're gone now and they text me that this is the room now and it's time to take over," Powell said. "It's time to dominate, and not only dominate, but help the younger guys. help everybody out and make sure you keep that standard."

That shouldn't be hard. Powell is known for setting personal standards that far exceed what others think.

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