FOR GASKIN, BEING A UW STUDENT-ATHLETE 'HAS MEANT A LOT TO ME'

By Rich Myhre

By Washington Huskies

October 17^th, 2018

At the end of last season, University of Washington running back Myles Gaskin faced a decision about his football future. A third-year junior in 2017, Gaskin had the option of declaring for the National Football League draft, or returning to Washington for a final year.

Other UW players were in a similar position, including defensive linemen Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, quarterback Jake Browning, and offensive linemen Trey Adams and Kaleb McGary. In the end, Vea opted for the NFL – he became a first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – while the rest decided to remain for their senior seasons at Washington.

In Gaskin’s case, his decision to return followed a period of consultation and thought.

FOR GASKIN, BEING A UW STUDENT-ATHLETE 'HAS MEANT A LOT TO ME'

“Once the season was over,” he said, “I sat down and talked to the people close to me. I talked to my dad and my mom and my brother, and then some of my friends. And once I mapped it all out, I was able to sleep on it and pray about it.”

At that point, he said, the decision “really wasn’t that hard. I definitely wrestled with it, but not for long.”

Two things in particular persuaded Gaskin to stay at Washington. One, some draft analysts did not project him as a high pick, which would mean less money in his rookie contract. But he also wanted to enjoy a final season with close friends on the team, including Jordan Miller, Chico McClatcher and Adams, all of whom suffered season-ending injuries a year ago.

“I look at those dudes as my brothers,” Gaskin said. “It hurt, not being able to enjoy football and finish out with them (after their injuries). So I think that was kind of the No. 1 thing, having another run with those guys. We were all going to get to play together again.”

Ultimately, he added, “the UW has been really great to me, so it really wasn’t a hard decision. Once I thought about everything, it was kind of an easy decision in that sense. It was our senior year and (so far) it’s been really special for me.”

Had Gaskin been projected as a first- or second-round pick, he probably would’ve gone to the NFL “and I don’t think we would’ve been able to persuade him otherwise,” said Robbie Gaskin, his mother. “But he took a lot of things into consideration and decided to come back. And I think that was a really good move, because it takes him closer to a degree. … One of the most valuable things the University of Washington can offer is an education, and we kind of knew that if Myles got too far away from that, then it becomes really difficult to go back.”

The decision to return has also given Gaskin an opportunity to etch his name further in the UW record book. He began the season with career records for career touchdowns and rushing touchdowns, and he is continuing to pad those totals – 54 total TDs and 50 rushing TDs.

Also, and significantly, he became the career rushing leader in the season opener against Auburn, moving past Napoleon Kaufman (4,106 yards, 1991-94). Gaskin enters the Colorado game with 4,678 rushing yards and needs 133 more to pass Marcus Allen for fifth most in Pac-12 history.

By the end of the season, Gaskin might also add the career all-purpose yards record, currently held by Kaufman (5,832). Gaskin enters this week with 5,204 yards through rushes, receptions and returns.

Lastly, he has a chance at various UW single-records, while also climbing the ladder of other school and Pacific-12 Conference records. He is also bidding to become the first player in Pac-12 history – the 10thever nationally – to have four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Becoming the UW career rushing leader is something “I’m very grateful that I was able to achieve,” Gaskin said. “But, like always, I don’t think anything would be possible without God, my family, these coaches, and the (offensive) lines that have blocked for me. It’s an individual record, but a lot of people have (contributed) for me to make it this far, and I’m just really thankful that those people are in my life.”

But mostly, he said, “I’m focused right now on winning more games. (Records are) something that’ll be cool to (talk about) a couple of years down the road.”

As you might expect, Gaskin has plenty of supporters among his teammates and coaching staff. UW offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan calls Gaskin “as good a football player as we’ve had.”

“It’s not just game day,” Hamdan went on. “It’s how he practices day in and day out. … There’s just not a lot of better football players in the country than him. He was born to play this sport. And every single game, in play after play, doing it over and over again for four years, he’s been special.”

Gaskin, who will leave Washington with an undergraduate degree in American Ethnic Studies, wants to be a firefighter someday. But his immediate goal is to finish his UW career on a high note, both individually and as a team, before heading to the NFL. He is confident he can play professionally, and indeed believes he is “better than some of the guys that were ranked higher than me” by the scouts last spring.

But regardless of how the coming years unfold, Gaskin will depart with gratitude for the entirety of his Washington experience.

Being a Husky student-athlete “has meant a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of great people and I’ve learned a lot of new things in the sense of becoming a man and becoming a more active member of society.” Moreover, he added, “the school aspect has been great. (Academics) have never been my best thing, but I’ve had a lot of professors and academic advisors that I’ve got really close to.”

“The University of Washington and Coach Petersen’s ‘Built for Life’ program have only enhanced what we always wanted for our boys (including older brother Ivan Gaskin), and that’s higher education,” Robbie Gaskin said. “It’s a maturing that college offers that we wanted the boys to have, and the University of Washington has done that for Myles.

“We’ve seen him grow, we’ve seen him mature, and it’s helped him become a really well-rounded young man. And we’re just very proud of him for where he is right now.”