As Huff explained, “He made the tough decision to stay in college when I think you could’ve made the case – and a lot of people maybe would’ve made the case – that he should go out and make that money right now. But not only did he make the decision that he did, he’s also come back and been working really hard to better himself.”
It was, Huff added, “a really mature decision. And then how he’s gone about (working hard since the decision) has been really mature as well.”
During McGary’s deliberations, the family’s financial situation “did not come into the conversation,” his mother said. “Kaleb’s life and future is his life and future, and Dad and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Kaleb decided he wanted to go back to the UW and be part of winning the championship. And if that’s what’s important to him, then that’s what we wanted, too. Whatever is best for him is what we wanted to happen.
“Money does not make this family go round at all,” she said. Moreover, she added, “Justin and I feel like there’s nothing on the planet that we wouldn’t do for our kids and for each other.”
So McGary is back for his senior season at Washington. He returned to a veteran squad seeking a possible Pacific-12 Conference championship and perhaps even a place in the College Football Playoff. He also returned as one of the elder statesmen among the team’s offensive linemen, a unit he affectionately calls “the good ol’ boys club.”
In the coming months, McGary will leave Washington with an undergraduate communications degree. He has yet to settle on a specific career plan, though he has visions of owning a business someday. But that is for the future. A year from now, he hopes to follow up his college career by playing in the NFL.
Regardless of how the coming years unfold – and more than most people, McGary has learned never to take anything for granted – he believes his Washington experience is preparing him for whatever life has to offer.