Inside The Huskies

UW Roster Review, No. 0-99: Murao Still Remains Gift-Wrapped, Poised to Play

The highly regarded lineman from the Los Angeles area hasn't been unveiled yet by the Huskies.
Dan Raley|
UW Roster Review, No. 0-99: Murao Still Remains Gift-Wrapped, Poised to Play
UW Roster Review, No. 0-99: Murao Still Remains Gift-Wrapped, Poised to Play

Myles Murao drew so much attention as an incoming University of Washington football player, recruiting analysts boldly suggested the offensive lineman would become an immediate starter.

The pandemic wouldn't permit that. He drew no Husky game time in 2020. 

So all eyes turned to this past spring practice to see what Murao finally could do as a collegian, but he missed much of it with some sort of nagging injury. He wore sweats to the spring game.

A full year into his football career in Seattle, the highly regarded 6-foot-3, 335-pounder from Torrance, California, remains a well-preserved athlete, a holiday gift that hasn't come out of the box.

Husky offensive-line coach Scott Huff, waiting to really turn Murao loose, instead is left to carry the memory of his guy assuming a big role for Mater Dei against St. John Bosco in a huge Los Angeles-area high school game.

"I'll just say this about Myles, the moment was never too big for him," Huff said in the video below. "He just fit on the stage. He looked like a gladiator walking out there ready to go. That's what made me feel so good about it, was he was ready to compete."

Going down the roster in numerical order, this is another of our post-spring assessments of all of the Husky talent at hand, gleaned from a month of observations, as a way to keep everyone engaged during the offseason.

Murao wears No. 50, a number he shares with no one else. While waiting to really get started, and draw his first game snap, he has shown his potential in the Husky weight room, emerging as the team's fifth strongest player.

He bench-pressed 385 pounds, 30 pounds shy of fellow offensive-line classmate Gaard Memmelaar, the team leader.

While Murao has been used at offensive guard at the UW, and projected to be a future center, he spent his senior year at Mater Dei at left tackle and held his own against the best competition in high school football. His footwork, highlighted by a quick first two steps, enabled his success.

Murao was named California Lineman of the Year by CalHiSports.com, the nation's No. 2 guard prospect by ESPN and the No. 3 center recruit nationwide by 247Sports. A 4-star player, he chose the UW over Alabama, LSU, USC, Michigan and a host of others. 

Sports Illustrated recruiting analysts were duly impressed by Murao's power game mixed with his mobility at Mater Dei, and offered this lengthy and highly detailed assessment of the then-future Husky:

"He’s got very fast and choppy feet on the inside and outside on zone plays. I like his game a lot, and he's clearly a powerful blocker, but what sticks out to me is his use of his hands. Whenever he latches onto one of his victims, he's immediately twisting and jerking their pads, to get them off balance. This is a veteran trait. 

"This does a few things to the defender. The first is it gets in his head and causes him to lose focus in responsibility and focus on how to beat the block. This, in turn, slows down the defender, making him less effective overall than he would have been if he just trusting his technique.

"But even more annoying (coming from a D-Line’s perspective) is when the offensive tackle uses this same technique in pass protection, turning your bull rush into a face full of turf. The Myles Muraos of the world see a bull rush coming and counter it by grabbing pads and pulling them to the ground. Considering all your momentum is going forward when rushing the passer, a lot of times (when it’s not called holding) pass rushers end up to the ground with 300 pounds sweating and laughing on top of them.

"Murao is right up there with Luke Wypler (Ohio State) for the best center in the class of 2020. He moves like a pulling guard on Mater Dei’s stretch/toss plays, the majority of which were successful due to his assertive lead blocking. He’s just as good moving backward as he is moving forward, which is where the true beauty of the offensive-line position lies. You must be able to move 250 pounds backward on 1st and 10, and stop the 250 pounds from doing the same to you on 3rd and long.

"Above all else, it’s Murao’s nastiness and competitive edge that’s led him to so many open doors. He takes pride in doing the dirty work and in doing so, has given himself endless opportunities with a scholarship to the University of Washington."

Myles demonstrated his toughness after suffering ankle ligament damage as a Mater Dei junior and being told his 2019 season might be in jeopardy, too. He was back for his senior opener, continually exceeding his rehab schedule. 

The Huskies had to have this guy and proved very persuasive 

“There’s nothing better than at Washington for me, to be honest with you," Murao told the Los Angeles Times. "Like USC, UCLA, Stanford, whatever, that’s close to home, but I think Washington is the place for me. ... I want to play in the Rose Bowl. That’s a huge thing I always wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

Murao was sold on the Huskies after taking his official UW visit. He liked everything he saw. 

“Everything was so live [in Seattle],” Murao told the Times. “I liked it a lot more than L.A. honestly. Like it’s more mellowed out. I like the scenery and stuff like that. I think it’s a good place to live. Growing up in a fast place, downtown in a city like Los Angeles where I’m from, it’s a good scenery change.”

Murao has had plenty of opportunity to look over Seattle. The city and its college football fans are eager to see him.

Murao's 2021 Outlook: Projected reserve offensive guard

UW Service Time: None

Stats: None

Individual Honors: Not yet

Pro prospects: 2025 NFL second-day draftee

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Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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