WATCH: Texas Longhorns' Malik Muhammad Recovers Blocked Punt for TD vs. Oklahoma

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The special teams and defense are taking command for both sides early in Saturday's meeting between the No. 3 Texas Longhorns and No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl.
After faking a punt on their second drive of the game, the Longhorns were stopped at the goal line after a deflected pass from Quinn Ewers was intercepted in the red zone. Still down 7-0, the Texas defense then forced a three-and-out to quickly set up an Oklahoma punt, but Sooners punter Josh Plaster was going to have to boot it out of his own end zone.
As a result, Longhorns defensive back Kitan Crawford got through the line and blocked the punt in the end zone. True freshman cornerback Malik Muhammad made the easy recovery to help Texas tie the game at 7-7.
Take a look:
BLOCKED PUNT TOUCHDOWN 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/zqt9AuJvDu
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) October 7, 2023
Muhammad, who entered this season as one of the most exciting incoming freshman in the 2023 class, played at IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) his sophomore year but came back to Texas to play for South Oak Cliff where he won back-to-back state championships in his final two seasons.
In his junior season, Muhammad fished with 68 tackles, three interceptions and six passes defended.
During his last state title run, Muhammad finished with 58 tackles, 12 passes defended and an interception, which was returned for the game-sealing touchdown in the 6A state championship game.
Now, he's making huge plays in the biggest game of his young college career. The Longhorns will look to ride the momentum of the touchdown throughout the rest of the first half.
Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7
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