What I'm Hearing: Washington Cornerback Jabbar Muhammad Closing in on Decision
Oregon landed a commitment from Duke nickel Brandon Johnson on Wednesday as Dan Lanning and the Ducks continue to add key pieces to their roster for next season.
The next player that immediately came to mind for Duck fans was Washington cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. He's working from a top three of Texas, Oregon and Alabama, with a commitment coming in the near future.
Here's what I'm hearing as of Thursday morning.
Muhammad arrived in Austin on Wednesday for his visit and is still on campus with the Longhorns. I was told that head coach Steve Sarkisian personally took the lead on the visit.
While that isn't rare by any means, it points to how big of a priority he is for the Texas staff. It seems like the staff was rolling out the red carpet for him on his trip, which one would expect given how much the Longhorns secondary struggled against the pass last year.
Furthermore, it feels like Alabama has had more traction for a visit this week than Oregon has. Maybe that's because of the obvious coaching connection with Kalen DeBoer, or maybe because Tuscaloosa is closer. Either way, the feel I've gotten is the Tide seem to have the better shot at getting him on campus this week compared to Oregon.
The impression I got after my latest conversations on Thursday was that Texas was trying to lock down Muhammad's commitment and would prefer that he not visit Alabama. Again, it's not uncommon for coaching staffs to try and prevent top players from visiting other schools. Think of it like this: you have such a strong visit that you don't need to take more trips, or you recruit a guy so well that he's seen all he needs to see at that school.
I have a hard time seeing Muhammad commit to Oregon without taking a trip to Eugene, but you can't rule anything out in today's age of college football. I would think it's a very tight window to get him on campus given his timeline of trying to commit this week.
Lastly, the opportunity to play back in his home state has to carry obvious weight here.
I'm told this is a very very tight-knit family and with a cousin already on the team (Malik Muhammad), it would probably be tough for any school outside of the state to overcome all that the Longhorns have going for them in this recruitment. I'm not making an outright prediction, and it's not over until it's over.
Right now it feels like Texas has a great shot, but you can't count out Dan Lanning and the Ducks.
We'll see if Muhammad takes any other visits, specifically to Oregon.
