UW Was Surprised to Hear Back from Jabbar Muhammad Before Signing Him
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The transfer portal consists of a lot of wasted motion. Often times, a school has to know somebody who knows somebody to make any kind of player connection.
Too often college football suitors are lucky to get a response when a veteran quarterback or, in this case, a well-tested defensive back, enters the talent pool free-for-all.
Such was the case when Oklahoma State's Jabbar Muhammad, a full-time starting cornerback with 10 pass break-ups and an interception for the Cowboys this season, put his name out there.
The University of Washington recruiting staff sent out a general feeler, not really expecting anything in return, and all of a sudden a response showed up — and not exactly coming through official channels.
"Honestly, it was kind of a surprise," Husky co-defensive coordinator William Inge said. "Initially we weren't anticipating anything. All of a sudden, a guy gets a message on Twitter, and that's how it all started."
Seeing it had a chance, the UW football coaching staff quickly shifted into overdrive in going about selling the 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior from DeSoto, Texas, on continuing his career in Montlake.
"When he responded back and said the doors were open, the sharks came into bite at that point in time," Inge said in his usual colorful manner.
The guys with the fins protruding out of Lake Washington were the UW's Chuck Morrell, the other defensive coordinator, and Juice Brown, the cornerbacks coach.
Before anyone knew it, they had Muhammad lined up for a visit. It was full-court press time. He got the full tour in Seattle. For sure, no dating site connection has ever gone this smoothly.
"When he and his family had a chance to come and visit campus, they interacted with all of us and got to see how we were as people," Inge said. "He got to spend some time around a couple of the players and really see what we were all about.
"And all the stars aligned with his future goals and what we wanted as a performer."
Muhammad is a Cowboy now turned Husky, an Internet match that nobody fully expected at first.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12
Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3
Have a question, direct message me on Facebook or Twitter.
