Washington Huskies' commit Julian McMahan is big, fast and loyal

Monte Vista (Danville, Calif.) senior running back leads the North Coast Section in rushing

Washington commit and Monte Vista (Danvile, Calif.) senior RB Julian McMahan has rushed for a North Coast Section best 507 yards in three games. / Photo: Jason Weed

Beyond being a star football player, scholar and “just an incredible kid,” Monte Vista football coach Johnny Millard said, his 3-star running back Julian McMahan is also tremendously loyal. 

McMahan, a 6-foot-3, 227-pound senior who leads the North Coast Section in rushing yards, committed to the University of Washington on March 26. 

He did so because, yes of the great history of the program, the fact the Huskies were just in the National Championship game, and the cosmopolitan feel of Seattle. But it was the fact that Jedd Fisch and his staff gave McMahan his first offer while coaching at Arizona, that was the main reason he picked the Huskies over 12 other suitors.  

“We’ve built a relationship for a year-and-a-half,” McMahan said. “There’s a great trust. They gave me a good vibe that they believe in me.” 

Monte Vista senior running back Julian McMahan has 13 college offers, but picked the University of Washington in March. / Photo: Jason Weed

There’s no reason they shouldn’t, Millard said. 

The son of 1989 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Keth Millard said McMahan’s talents range far between the tackles. 

“He’s a very, very smart young man and a talented writer,” Millard said. “ “He’s a top-notch leader too and loves the game.” 

That love goes way back. 

He wears No. 29 in honor of his adopted childhood idol, Eric Dickerson. 

He just happened to wear 29 as a youth but someone noted that young McMahan ran upright and physical like the NFL Hall of Famer, who rushed for more than 13,000 yards in his career, including a league single-record of 2,105 in 1984. 

McMahan wasn’t stuck on the number until he watched a documentary on Dickerson.

“I thought his goggles were kind of cool and he ran so effortless,” McMahan said. “I like how he attacked the field and the holes.” 

After putting on another 10-15 pounds of muscle in the offseason, McMahan is now about the same size as Dickerson in his playing days. 

But clearly, McMahan isn’t trying to be anyone else. 

CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY, NAJEE HARRIS

Although he tries to just be “Julian,” he admits he roots for and tries to mimic other famous running backs with local ties, the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey and former Antioch High standout and Steelers’ starter Najee Harris. 

McMahan said he loves the running back position because of all the ways he can contribute. 

“You can control the tempo of the game if you run well,” he said. “You can also pass block and run good routes and catch the ball. When you’re in the backfield you’re also like the quarterback’s second brain. I love all the little things about the position.” 

Since the turn of the century under former coach Craig Bergman, Monte Vista has boasted a long line of Division I quarterbacks, starting with Kyle Wright, the 2002-03 Gatorade National Player of the Year who later played at the University of Miami. 

Monte Vista senior quarterback Brayden Turner will follow in the footsteps of former Mustang QB Jake Haener to Fresno State / Photo: Jason Weed

Among others following Wright were Brett Nottingham (Columbia), Jeff Lockie (Oregon) and Jake Haener (Fresno State, now with New Orleans Saints). The current Mustangs’ quarterback, 6-4, 210-pound senior Brayden Turner has committed to Fresno State. 

Another future Monte Vista college player is 6-6, 230-pound tight end Kellan Ford (11 catches, 158 yards, 3 TDs).

NO FEAR

Asked for descriptions of his talented teammates, McMahan said: "Brayden has a fire and grit you don't always see in quarterbacks. He's not afraid to hit other people or get hit. Kellan is both super calm and intense when he needs to be. His catching radius is crazy — the contortions he can do with his 6-6, plus run fluid routes, just insane. He's also the best blocker I've ever seen."

Arizona-bound tight end Kellan Ford is not only an athletic receiver, but according to Julian McMahan is the 'best blocker I've ever seen." / Photo: Jason Weed

McMahan may be the first Mustang scholarship running back since George Schramm (Colorado State) and Steve Abrams (Utah) in more than 30 years. 

Since then few backs carried the ball as often as McMahan, who says he enjoys the workload, but doesn’t require it to be fulfilled. He carried it 24 times for 174 yards in a 41-14 win over Granada-Livermore, 22 times (209 yards) in a 24-20 loss to Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland and 26 times (124 yards) in a 24-13 win at Bellarmine last week. He rushed for two touchdowns in each of the three games. 

“I’m never focused on how often I get the ball, but I’m just thinking about how I can help us win,” he said. 

That’s music to the ears of his coaches and teammates, which is a perfect pitch to McMahan

Besides his father playing football in high school, his mother was a ballerina, which may explain his graceful moves through narrow openings. At nearly 230 points, no one is calling him Baryshnikov.    

Instead he has countless other nicknames that he tolerates humbly. There’s “J-Mack,” “JJ” (his middle name is Jay), “Jewels” and the cringiest by far, “King Julian” from Madagascar. 

“Honestly, I just like Julian,” McMahan says with a big smile.  

Ditto for his coaches and teammates.