Class of 2020 Preview: Memmelaar Learned Reward of Hard Work at Early Age
Guard Memmelaar, a University of Washington freshman offensive lineman, grew up on a family farm in Middleton, Idaho, where he learned a trait that continues to return dividends.
Hard work.
According to Trevor Mueller, Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated's recruiting analyst, Memmelaar represents "a perfect blend of a mauler and protector that Washington can develop into another NFL-ready lineman."
Idaho was the right place to learn a dedicated work ethic. He went at it from sun up to sundown on a cattle ranch.
He lists one football scholarship offer and that's all he ever wanted or needed. He was the first player to commit to the UW's 2020 class, which he did as a high school sophomore. Once he pledged his services to the Huskies, he shut down his recruiting. That didn't stop schools from reaching out to him but he turned them down. He'd made up his mind.
"If he lived somewhere outside of Idaho, like in Washington, Oregon, or California," Mueller said, "his star rating would be way higher."
But this Idaho lineman is most comfortable living in relative anonymity as a recruit, as a player and on social media. He didn't want to take any trips other than to Washington to check out his future home.
He'd rather build or mend fences to keep the family cattle from straying. That's in stark contrast to most offensive lineman who are used to punching holes in defenses.
"He has an explosive first step," Mueller said. "When he's in the open field. he doesn't run like a lineman; he looks like a linebacker."
Memmelaar, who projects as an offensive guard at UW, has no Twitter account and his Instagram has a total of 13 posts -- the most recent coming 25 weeks ago. His bio on Instagram is a simple Udub’24.
Not only was he the first to commit to UW for the 2020 class, but he also was the first to send in his official letter of intent on December 18 last year. He graduated from high school early and he was one of the first to enroll in his recruiting class.
He has a plan for attending college and he's knocked out anything that might get in his way.
Future defenders should take note.
"He's a powerful run-blocker and his quickness is obvious when he's a pulling guard," Mueller said.
He's used to hard work, make that ranch-tough, and ready for what comes next.
