Ivan’s Little Brother, Myles, Proving To Be A Superstar At UW
October 03, 2017 | Football
By Scott Johnson
Playing in the same backfield as Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Browning has given University of Washington running back Myles Gaskin a pretty good feel for what it's like to stand in the shadow of another.
That's nothing new to Gaskin.
While growing up in Lynnwood, Wash., Gaskin got used to playing second fiddle. His older brother cast such a long shadow that not even becoming one of the most recognizable running backs in college football has put Myles Gaskin in the spotlight back home.
"I'm still Ivan's little brother to a lot of people," he said with a shrug before the start of the 2017 season.
Ivan Gaskin played a huge role in little brother Myles's growth as a football player and a man, not because of what older brother did on the gridiron but because of the large shadow he cast off of it. Ivan Gaskin Jr. was a success at just about everything he did, from sports to music to a career in technology, so Myles Gaskin has spent most of his life doing whatever he can to follow suit.
Myles acknowledges that he'll probably never quite measure up.
"I've always been a little plus-one for Ivan," he said. "It's cool though. I like that title, absolutely. That's my dude."
There was a time when all Myles Gaskin wanted to do was to be just like his brother. Three years younger, Myles tagged along wherever Ivan went, even when the big kids were playing football.
Ivan encouraged his younger brother to buzz off, but Myles refused to give in. Sometimes it ended up in a fight. Other times, Ivan's friends would relent and let Myles join in.
Through it all, Myles Gaskin felt the need to prove that he belonged, which is a good way to explain how he's come so far as a football player.
"Ever since we were little we would always get after it," the younger Gaskin said. "I was always getting pushed around, being a little kid with all of his friends and everything, but I think that's turned me into what I am today. Being able to react and all types of things like that, things that were instilled in me when I was a little kid."
After a stellar career at O'Dea High School, just east of downtown Seattle, Gaskin didn't take long to prove himself as a college star. He rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns in his second game as a true freshman and went on to become the first true freshman in the history of UW football to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
It was an incredible debut season for the local product, who looks back on his freshman year as little more than a learning experience.
"The lessons I learned when I first came in have helped lead me to where I am now," he said in August.
Having followed that up by being named to the all-Pac-12 first team as a sophomore, Gaskin went into the 2017 season as one of the top runners in an incredibly deep group of tailbacks from coast to coast. Gaskin joins Penn State's Saquon Barkley, Georgia's Nick Chubb and Alabama's Bo Scarbrough among the most-talked-about runners in college football, and what makes him different is his ability to do multiple things.
Gaskin isn't considered to be the workhorse that bigger guys like Barkley and Scarbrough have become, but he offers a skill set that's pretty unique in college football.
The only question about Gaskin is what more he could possibly do.
"The way that he works himself, you always want to take the next step and achieve a role in the offense where you become more versatile," running backs coach Keith Bhonapha said. "The run game, the pass game, just whatever you can do to help the team be successful."
In some ways, Gaskin is overshadowed by the other star tailbacks because of his lack of size. He's listed at 5-foot-10 and 191 pounds and is considered the more electrifying part of a thunder-and-lightning UW backfield that also features banger Lavon Coleman. Gaskin doesn't mind sharing the load, even if it comes at the cost of some statistics.
"Whatever the team needs me to do," he said, "I'm willing to do."
That attitude is a big part of what the Huskies loved about Gaskin from the get-go. They didn't expect him to come in and be an immediate star, yet Gaskin made such a huge immediate impact that UW couldn't help but put to him on the field.
"The second or third week of fall camp, I thought he was pretty good," Bhonapha said of Gaskin's freshman year. "Then we played Sacramento State (in the second game), and I thought: This guy has a chance. But it's always a work in progress and under construction. I'm just glad to see how he's built on his talents these past two years going into three."
Bhonapha said that most of Gaskin's success comes from what the fans don't see.
"The one thing that a lot of people don't know are just the hours spent, away from the practice field, just watching tape," Bhonapha said. "He continues to watch tape of himself, watch tape of his opponents, just to continue to get better at his craft. It's one of the things that you don't realize. You see him in games and on the practice field and you see the natural talent, but you don't realize the work that it takes to be the player that he is."
Gaskin said that work ethic was a part of his DNA. His father, Scott Gaskin, and older brother Ivan helped instill that in him over the years.
"We always worked hard," Myles Gaskin said. "Whether it was cutting grass or whatever we did, that's just how we did it."
Part of Myles Gaskins' work ethic came from his desire to follow in the footsteps of his older brother. Being Ivan's "plus-one" wasn't easy, especially when considering all of Ivan Gaskin's accomplishments.
Ivan Gaskin played football at O'Dea but was more accomplished in activities like music and academics. He plays a mean saxophone and had so much success in the classroom that he earned a scholarship to the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, where the list of impressive alumni includes Rev. Martin Luther King, Edwin Moses, Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson. Ivan Gaskin graduated last year with a degree in computer science and has gone on to a career in the tech field.
Myles still hears from his big brother after every UW football game. No matter how well Myles Gaskin plays, his big brother always finds something to critique.
"It's never enough, and I like it like that," Myles Gaskin said. "He'll tell me 'Good game,' and stuff, but when other people are hyping me up, he's always the guy – along with my parents and my grandma – to keep me grounded. I think that's one of the most important things in life."
There are others who try to knock Gaskin's game as well. He's the Huskies' primary tailback but splits time with the 235-pound Coleman, which creates the perception that Gaskin is more of a finesse back than guys like Alabama's Scarbrough, Oregon's Royce Freeman and Arizona State's Kalen Ballage.
"It's all opinion," Gaskin said. "Whatever (the coaching staff) tells me to do, I'm willing to do."
Unlike many of the top backs in the country, what Gaskin is being asked to do is to continue sharing the load. He doesn't mind seeing Coleman get opportunities, even if they cut into Gaskin's statistics and chances at a Heisman run. In UW's season opener at Rutgers, Coleman got twice as many carries as Gaskin did.
"It's good," Gaskin said. "It's two different running styles. He's a bigger guy, and I'm a smaller guy. Whatever it calls for to get points on the board."
Bhonapha has been impressed by Gaskin's willingness to share the ball.
"It's always good, obviously, to take some hits off the guy who totes the rock for you a lot," the Huskies' running backs coach said. "For him to come in and continually be fresh whenever he steps on the field, that makes him more dynamic and helps the whole offense as a whole."
Early indications this season were that he was going to become an even bigger part of the Huskies' passing game this year. Having lost John Ross to the NFL, UW is looking for more playmakers in its aerial attack, and Gaskin answered the bell early on. He had a team-high five receptions in the season-opening win over Rutgers.
Scouts have taken notice, giving Gaskin an edge despite a frame that is considered petite by NFL standards. His versatility is what separates Gaskin from other prospects, but he is still considered a late-round pick when he comes out.
"He's most likely a third-down-role type of back," local draft analyst Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com said. "We've seen similar sized backs become more and more proficient at that part of the game.
"He's very elusive and can make people miss. But he's not very powerful. He's strong, but his size will affect where he's drafted."
Gaskin's role with the Huskies is less disputable. He's made the most out of his frame at the college level, and he's made his big brother proud.
No matter what he does for an encore, Myles Gaskin won't be able to shed the label of Ivan's little brother. And that' OK with him.
"I'm not worried about that," he said with a grin.
Playing in the same backfield as Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Browning has given University of Washington running back Myles Gaskin a pretty good feel for what it's like to stand in the shadow of another.
That's nothing new to Gaskin.
While growing up in Lynnwood, Wash., Gaskin got used to playing second fiddle. His older brother cast such a long shadow that not even becoming one of the most recognizable running backs in college football has put Myles Gaskin in the spotlight back home.
"I'm still Ivan's little brother to a lot of people," he said with a shrug before the start of the 2017 season.
Ivan Gaskin played a huge role in little brother Myles's growth as a football player and a man, not because of what older brother did on the gridiron but because of the large shadow he cast off of it. Ivan Gaskin Jr. was a success at just about everything he did, from sports to music to a career in technology, so Myles Gaskin has spent most of his life doing whatever he can to follow suit.
Myles acknowledges that he'll probably never quite measure up.
"I've always been a little plus-one for Ivan," he said. "It's cool though. I like that title, absolutely. That's my dude."
There was a time when all Myles Gaskin wanted to do was to be just like his brother. Three years younger, Myles tagged along wherever Ivan went, even when the big kids were playing football.
Ivan encouraged his younger brother to buzz off, but Myles refused to give in. Sometimes it ended up in a fight. Other times, Ivan's friends would relent and let Myles join in.
Through it all, Myles Gaskin felt the need to prove that he belonged, which is a good way to explain how he's come so far as a football player.
"Ever since we were little we would always get after it," the younger Gaskin said. "I was always getting pushed around, being a little kid with all of his friends and everything, but I think that's turned me into what I am today. Being able to react and all types of things like that, things that were instilled in me when I was a little kid."
After a stellar career at O'Dea High School, just east of downtown Seattle, Gaskin didn't take long to prove himself as a college star. He rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns in his second game as a true freshman and went on to become the first true freshman in the history of UW football to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
It was an incredible debut season for the local product, who looks back on his freshman year as little more than a learning experience.
"The lessons I learned when I first came in have helped lead me to where I am now," he said in August.
Having followed that up by being named to the all-Pac-12 first team as a sophomore, Gaskin went into the 2017 season as one of the top runners in an incredibly deep group of tailbacks from coast to coast. Gaskin joins Penn State's Saquon Barkley, Georgia's Nick Chubb and Alabama's Bo Scarbrough among the most-talked-about runners in college football, and what makes him different is his ability to do multiple things.
Gaskin isn't considered to be the workhorse that bigger guys like Barkley and Scarbrough have become, but he offers a skill set that's pretty unique in college football.
The only question about Gaskin is what more he could possibly do.
"The way that he works himself, you always want to take the next step and achieve a role in the offense where you become more versatile," running backs coach Keith Bhonapha said. "The run game, the pass game, just whatever you can do to help the team be successful."
In some ways, Gaskin is overshadowed by the other star tailbacks because of his lack of size. He's listed at 5-foot-10 and 191 pounds and is considered the more electrifying part of a thunder-and-lightning UW backfield that also features banger Lavon Coleman. Gaskin doesn't mind sharing the load, even if it comes at the cost of some statistics.
"Whatever the team needs me to do," he said, "I'm willing to do."
That attitude is a big part of what the Huskies loved about Gaskin from the get-go. They didn't expect him to come in and be an immediate star, yet Gaskin made such a huge immediate impact that UW couldn't help but put to him on the field.
"The second or third week of fall camp, I thought he was pretty good," Bhonapha said of Gaskin's freshman year. "Then we played Sacramento State (in the second game), and I thought: This guy has a chance. But it's always a work in progress and under construction. I'm just glad to see how he's built on his talents these past two years going into three."
Bhonapha said that most of Gaskin's success comes from what the fans don't see.
"The one thing that a lot of people don't know are just the hours spent, away from the practice field, just watching tape," Bhonapha said. "He continues to watch tape of himself, watch tape of his opponents, just to continue to get better at his craft. It's one of the things that you don't realize. You see him in games and on the practice field and you see the natural talent, but you don't realize the work that it takes to be the player that he is."
Gaskin said that work ethic was a part of his DNA. His father, Scott Gaskin, and older brother Ivan helped instill that in him over the years.
"We always worked hard," Myles Gaskin said. "Whether it was cutting grass or whatever we did, that's just how we did it."
Part of Myles Gaskins' work ethic came from his desire to follow in the footsteps of his older brother. Being Ivan's "plus-one" wasn't easy, especially when considering all of Ivan Gaskin's accomplishments.
Ivan Gaskin played football at O'Dea but was more accomplished in activities like music and academics. He plays a mean saxophone and had so much success in the classroom that he earned a scholarship to the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, where the list of impressive alumni includes Rev. Martin Luther King, Edwin Moses, Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson. Ivan Gaskin graduated last year with a degree in computer science and has gone on to a career in the tech field.
Myles still hears from his big brother after every UW football game. No matter how well Myles Gaskin plays, his big brother always finds something to critique.
"It's never enough, and I like it like that," Myles Gaskin said. "He'll tell me 'Good game,' and stuff, but when other people are hyping me up, he's always the guy – along with my parents and my grandma – to keep me grounded. I think that's one of the most important things in life."
There are others who try to knock Gaskin's game as well. He's the Huskies' primary tailback but splits time with the 235-pound Coleman, which creates the perception that Gaskin is more of a finesse back than guys like Alabama's Scarbrough, Oregon's Royce Freeman and Arizona State's Kalen Ballage.
"It's all opinion," Gaskin said. "Whatever (the coaching staff) tells me to do, I'm willing to do."
Unlike many of the top backs in the country, what Gaskin is being asked to do is to continue sharing the load. He doesn't mind seeing Coleman get opportunities, even if they cut into Gaskin's statistics and chances at a Heisman run. In UW's season opener at Rutgers, Coleman got twice as many carries as Gaskin did.
"It's good," Gaskin said. "It's two different running styles. He's a bigger guy, and I'm a smaller guy. Whatever it calls for to get points on the board."
Bhonapha has been impressed by Gaskin's willingness to share the ball.
"It's always good, obviously, to take some hits off the guy who totes the rock for you a lot," the Huskies' running backs coach said. "For him to come in and continually be fresh whenever he steps on the field, that makes him more dynamic and helps the whole offense as a whole."
Early indications this season were that he was going to become an even bigger part of the Huskies' passing game this year. Having lost John Ross to the NFL, UW is looking for more playmakers in its aerial attack, and Gaskin answered the bell early on. He had a team-high five receptions in the season-opening win over Rutgers.
Scouts have taken notice, giving Gaskin an edge despite a frame that is considered petite by NFL standards. His versatility is what separates Gaskin from other prospects, but he is still considered a late-round pick when he comes out.
"He's most likely a third-down-role type of back," local draft analyst Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com said. "We've seen similar sized backs become more and more proficient at that part of the game.
"He's very elusive and can make people miss. But he's not very powerful. He's strong, but his size will affect where he's drafted."
Gaskin's role with the Huskies is less disputable. He's made the most out of his frame at the college level, and he's made his big brother proud.
No matter what he does for an encore, Myles Gaskin won't be able to shed the label of Ivan's little brother. And that' OK with him.
"I'm not worried about that," he said with a grin.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
TB
/ Football
TB
/ Football
UW Football Press Conference: March 30, 2026
Monday, March 30
UW Football Press Conference: February 4, 2026
Wednesday, February 04
Olin Kreutz | College Football Hall of Hame Class of 2026
Wednesday, January 14
Chris Petersen | College Football Hall of Hame Class of 2026
Wednesday, January 14
