Luke Musgrave is not the only player to be chosen on this week’s NFL Draft with a multi-sport background, but nobody apart from the Oregon State player has been a competitive skier, except for playing football.
“I have been skiing since I could walk,” Musgrave told the NFL team. “It’s my mother’s great sport. It definitely helped me quite a bit.”
And that is something Oregon State coach Brian Wozniak said about Musgrave being an exceptional recruiting talent beyond highschool.
“It was the first time I recruited a man who had such deep experience [skiing]Wozniak said.
Wozniak believes a few of Musgrave’s qualities that made him stand out on the slopes translate to football.
“I saw him skiing on Youtube and I said, ‘Luke’s hips move like this all the time,'” said Wozniak. “He’s so fluid and may step sideways 2 feet and vertically 2 feet.”
How does this translate into usefulness when playing tight ends?
“It’s harder to keep him at bay or block,” said Wozniak. “He’s so explosive and may get the upper hand really quickly.”
![Oregon State football player Luke Musgrave engages in positioning drills during the school's NFL Pro Day](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009762098.jpg?w=1024)
Musgrave’s mother, Amy, was on a developmental ski team in the US in the Nineteen Eighties, and Luke won several competitions in each the US and Europe as a youngster after starting skiing at the age of 4.
“I can attribute it to my big legs,” said Musgrave, who credited Amy with introducing him to the sport. “It really helped me.”
Musgrave focused on soccer in the summer and fall before moving to ski racing in the winter in Oregon.
![Oregon State Beavers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) runs with the ball](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1237323629.jpg?w=1024)
This skill set, coupled with Musgrave’s size of 6ft 6, 250lbs, makes him one among the most intriguing tight end contenders on this 12 months’s draft – though injuries have affected his profession.
Musgrave was limited to just two games before a knee injury ended last season.
He managed to rehabilitate himself in time to take part in the mix and is anticipated to be fully recovered after his performance in the Senior Bowl.
In his one full season at Oregon State, Musgrave finished with 22 catches for 304 yards.
Though Musgrave only appeared in those two games in 2022, Wozniak said, his presence was felt.
“He was our top receiver in those two games and he was an enormous mismatch,” said Wozniak. “Nobody could protect him, which made him a deadly threat. Game planning became quite a bit less fun after we lost it because perhaps we weren’t as creative as we might have been.”
On the other side of Musgrave’s family, his father, Doug, played quarterback in Oregon, and his uncle, Bill Musgrave, made greater than a dozen QB appearances during his five-year NFL profession and coached the league for many of the past twenty years.
He’s currently a senior offensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns.
Like his father and uncle, Musgrave spent most of his youth playing quarterback before moving to a strict finish in highschool.
And if he manages to stay healthy, Musgrave could make an impact at the next level, though he needs to improve his blocking.
He is anticipated to undergo in the second or third round.
“She has a natural athletic ability,” said Wozniak. “And along with his speed, he can stretch the field. He’s quick, he can get out of his stance, get out of the journalist, and he’s quick to attack defenders. He’s good at body control. He’s an enormous dude with slippery hips.”