DB Mishael Powell took long road from walkon to Miami Hurricane: Newest transfer addition breaks down his decison, sees playoffs ahead

Newly committed Miami Hurricanes transfer portal DB Mishael Powell was never averse to taking risks. It’s why he chose to walk on at the University of Washington as a no-star prospect out of Seattle (Wash.) O’Dea High School in the Class of 2019, forgoing several FCS offers.

“I had offers at other schools that were FCS, but I wanted to play at the highest level, knew I had the ability to,” Powell said.

Powell stayed the course at Washington despite not playing a single defensive rep in 2019 or 2020. After playing as a backup in 2021 he started nine games in 2022, then was an every-game starter this past season for a team that reached the national title game.

“I took my game to another level when it came to workouts, technique, making sure my body was in the correct shape,” the 6-1, 205-pounder said.

Now?

Another risk for Powell.

With the coaching change at Washington, he entered the transfer portal and quickly narrowed it down to Florida and Miami, with other heavy interest from Texas, Tennessee and UCLA.

He chose the Canes over the Gators after visiting both in a whirlwind four-day span, and says he is set to enroll at Miami this week.

Portal Alert: Miami Hurricanes land versatile Washington DB transfer Mishael Powell, helping shore up team’s secondary issues

He plans to make sure Miami fans know his name this season. Oh, and it’s not exactly an easy first name – it’s pronounced “Meesh-A-elle”. If you see him out clothes shopping for shorts and T-shirts today – yes, getting clothes is on his Thursday itinerary – he simply goes by “Meesh.”

Powell says Miami was “one of the first schools to call” after he entered the portal.

“It was a pretty tough decision (between the Canes and Gators), but I put myself in this spot for a reason,” Powell said. “Once I got down here and seeing not only the campus, it’s paradise down here, but also the care the coaches have for me and the plan they have for me to not only achieve the team’s goals but they have goals that I want to achieve and they want to see me reach those goals. It’s a clear plan set out meeting with coach (Lance) Guidry and (Jahmile) Addae, those were two factors. Those are guys I’ll be with a lot.

“And knowing their mindset to take themselves to the national championship, me just being there (in the title game this year), I wanted a squad with those same goals.”

Yes, Powell knows what a championship team looks like. And he thinks Miami can get there.

“For sure,” he said. “Coming back the defense they had last year, the D line is a lot better. It definitely helps getting one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Cam Ward. I know the offensive side is going to be firing on all cylinders, and the scheme on defense, seeing how they were last year, there were a lot of games they were in they didn’t close out. It’s understanding the little things, they were still in that rebuilding process. Last year they found their identity, really understood how good they can be. And now they can take that to a different level this year to win the whole thing.”

Powell is a versatile addition for the Canes, and he began last year at nickel before moving to safety due to injury. Last season he ended with 38 tackles, 2.5 for losses, and three interceptions – one of those was an 89-yard return for a TD with 8:11 remaining and the Huskies trailing by one point to Arizona State (see that clip below). Washington won that game, 15-7. He added nine pass breakups.

In 2022 he started nine games and had 29 tackles, 1.5 for losses, and off the bench in 2021 he had 11 tackles and three pass breakups.

“They moved me to safety (this past season) because of injuries and they realized how good I can play back there,” Powell says.

At Miami? Powell says the coaches’ plan for him is to play “safety primarily” but also the nickel/star position.

“I’ll be  playing both on a consistent basis,” he says.

Powell has one year of eligibility remaining.

He’s certainly come a long way since walking on at Washington.

“One of the biggest reasons I transferred was I want to take my game to another level when it comes to my technique and development,” Powell said. “Also, last year was my first year at nickel and I want to see what other coaches have to offer besides Washington that can take my game to that (next) level.”