Motivated Musgrave Was ‘Man Amongst Boys’ in 2022

Oregon State tight ends coach Brian Wozniak provides the insight on Green Bay Packers second-round pick Luke Musgrave.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
May 3, 2023 8:21 AM EDT
Original:
May 2, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At 6-foot-6 and 261 pounds of natural athleticism, Luke Musgrave was ready to take the tight end world by storm last year.

Then, while catching 11 passes during his first two games of the season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Had Musgrave stayed healthy and kept catching five or six passes every Saturday, he might have challenged Dalton Kincaid to be the first tight end off the board. Instead, he fell into the Green Bay Packers’ laps in the second round of last week’s NFL Draft.

After the pick, the Packers talked again and again about Musgrave’s upside.

Brian Wozniak, Oregon State’s tight ends coach, saw it first-hand during their four years together.

“Truthfully, you would’ve seen it last year. He was ready to take off,” Wozniak, who played his college ball at Wisconsin and had a shot in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, told Packer Central. “With the injury piece, it obviously put those question marks up. ‘OK, what really is he?’”

With just 47 catches in 34 career games, what exactly is he?

“I’m here to tell you, he’s one of the more talented guys I’ve ever been around,” Wozniak continued. “It was such a disappointment for us as a team offensively and for the kid. He always works his butt off. The work he put in on the little, little details of his game in the offseason and then to see the injury happen as he was getting ready to really take off, it was a bummer for all of us.

“Nonetheless, he found a way to keep getting better. He is an extraordinary athlete. That’s where you see the upside. The production isn’t quite there but he’s super-athletic, he’s big.”

The production might have been there in 2022 if not for an MCL injury that required surgery. He started the season with six receptions for 89 yards in the opener against Fresno State, then had five catches for 80 yards against Boise State. Both those teams went 10-4 last season, so it wasn’t like Musgrave was beating up on some FCS scrubs.

“The safety from Boise [JL Skinner, a sixth-round pick by Denver] was one of the best safeties we saw all year and he had his way a little bit with him,” Wozniak said. “It was good competition, and he was just different out there. He was a man amongst boys in those two games. It was disappointing that you didn’t get to see the rest of it because I think he would have dominated throughout the rest of the season.”

Musgrave vs. Skinner (USA Today Sports Images)

Wozniak saw Musgrave’s potential in 2021, as well. While he caught only 22 passes for 304 yards and one touchdown, the possibilities and missed opportunities were evident on the video.

“We talked about it all the time that there were so many times that things were called for him and he was screaming wide open and the ball was supposed to go to him but the protection was messed up, the QB read it wrong or didn’t see it,” Wozniak said.

“It happened so many times it was almost like, ‘What’s going on?’ It had nothing to do with him. He’s wide open, he read it perfectly and he ran a great route and we didn’t get it to him. We tried like hell. We knew who he was.”

As a blocker, Wozniak said Musgrave took a “huge step” between his junior year and injury-shorted final season.

“He can be really, really good, especially in Green Bay’s system, where they run enough of the wide zone, enough of the duo,” he said. “I think he’s going to be able to take advantage of that really well.”

Musgrave, Wozniak said, “wants to block.” A, it’s good for the team to be able to run the ball. B, it’s also good for Musgrave. A hallmark of any offense are running plays that look like passing plays. A successful block can set him up for a big play through the air.

“He wants to be a huge part of the run game,” Wozniak said. “He knows how important that it is to get him open in the pass game. So, he’s a well-rounded guy, he’s cerebral and he knows what’s going to help him. He knows, ‘If I show this block and then I sneak out for a route, I know how to bluff the defense because I just had that block a couple plays prior.’ He’s pretty cerebral that way.”

With mismatch traits as a receiver, a willingness to block and an excellent combination of size and speed, Musgrave checks all the boxes. Now, he just has to put it together. That the Packers’ bet.

Wozniak, who sent Teagan Quitoriano to the NFL last season as a fifth-round by the Texans, knows what professional football players look like. Why will Musgrave be a hit for the Packers?

“Because of his size, his athleticism and his determination,” he said. Beyond that, it’s Musgrave’s drive. In eight months, he went from novice golfer to a 6.9 handicap.

Musgrave wanted to be good at golf, and he is. Musgrave wants to be great at football.

“Most kids nowadays,” Wozniak said, “‘Hey, what do you want to do?’ They say, ‘I want to contribute. I want to do my job really well.’ With Luke, it’s, ‘I want to be the best tight end that the NFL’s seen.’ He’s determined that way. Nowadays, kids are going to shy away from that because they don’t want to build up the hype too much. For him, it’s a real goal.”