With offers from Illinois and Notre Dame, Waubonsie Valley’s 6-foot-7 Kajus Muralis is rising fast

Waubonsie Valley junior Kajus Muralis says his family has no history of elite athletes.

That may be difficult to believe given the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Muralis’ trajectory in football.

“My parents came from Lithuania,” he said. “They didn’t play sports. I think they had the athletic genes all the time and just never really used them.”

Muralis first tried a sport when he started playing pickup basketball in sixth grade, mainly as a way to lose weight.

“I actually didn’t make the basketball team in seventh grade,” he said. “I was chubby.”

So Muralis joined the wrestling team in eighth grade.

“My wrestling coaches wanted me to play football,” he said. “So freshman year I started.”

Muralis took to football so quickly that Waubonsie Valley coach Adam Pucylowski promoted him to the varsity team last season and started him at offensive tackle. As Muralis prepares for his third season in football, he has received nine Division I offers, including from Illinois, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Wisconsin.

The Warriors, who will play Hinsdale Central on the road in the season opener on Aug. 21 and begin the DuPage Valley Conference schedule on Sept. 11, are not surprised by Muralis’ stunning rise.

“He’s a very good football player,” junior defensive end/tight end Kyler Payne said. “He’s very long, very strong, very smart. He’s fast for his size. He runs like a tight end. It’s crazy.”

Pucylowski is pleased to see how much Muralis, who competes in track during the spring, has improved since last season.

“Our question coming into this year is, ‘Will he bring the physicality that is needed to excel at this level?’” Pucylowski said. “We’ve been so happy with how he has changed.

“He won the offensive lineman award at the Wisconsin camp. He’s been working with OL Mafia. It’s starting to happen.”

Every lineman needs to have what coaches call “a little nasty” in them. Muralis isn’t that way off the field, but he can show that on it.

“He is the nicest young man,” Pucylowski said. “I love spending time with him talking through his recruiting process.

“When he comes across those lines, he can flip the switch. That’s what we need, and that’s what we saw this summer.”

But Muralis isn’t resting on his laurels.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said. “I still have to improve a lot. But I’ve been working with my trainers and coaches and just watching film and getting better in the weight room.”

Muralis’ improvement isn’t limited to increased physical strength.

“Pass blocking is definitely one of my bigger strengths,” he said. “I’m really athletic and fast off the ball. I’m also really good at the run game too.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a jack of all trades. I’m on the lighter side a bit compared to other offensive tackles, but I can produce the same amount of force as a 300-pound tackle.”

Just how much bigger can Muralis get?

“All of the colleges are thinking about maybe in the 310-315 range,” he said. “I mean, I’m 6-foot-7, so I can put on quite a bit of weight.”

Pucylowski gives a lot of weight to the importance of offensive linemen in general and Muralis in particular.

“I joke about how they’re almost like golden retrievers,” Pucylowksi said. “They’re pleasers, and they need people that are going to love them and have got their back because they don’t get any recognition. If our quarterback has a good game, he better be talking about how great the offensive line is. Our running back does well, he better be talking about how great our offensive line is.

“They don’t need anybody else to be good on the field, but everybody needs them to be good. They don’t need a quarterback, a running back or a receiver, but every one of those positions relies on them. That’s what it comes down to.”

For Muralis, his desire to play offensive line comes down to what he calls “the protector mentality.”

“I love protecting,” he said. “It’s like a reward, you know, not letting up any sacks in a game or doing a good job. That always gives me the motivation to play better.”

Pucylowski is confident Muralis will do just that.

“We’re looking for him to have a great year,” Pucylowski said. “He’s been a leader for us. He makes everybody better.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.