20 NC WR MSU Legacy Muhsin Muhammad III Talks Spartans
While just about everyone in East Lansing knows the name Muhsin Muhammad, his son, Muhsin Muhammad III is making a name for himself nationally as he’s emerged as one of the top 2020 wide receivers in the country and the Charlotte (NC) Myers Park standout has an offer from his father’s alma mater, Michigan State.
Spartan Nation caught up with Muhammad to talk about his offer and the 6-foot, 180-pound 4-star recruit said he was excited to receive an offer from the school that his father attended and added that he considers #5 Michigan State as one of the early favorites.
“It meant a lot, considering that my dad didn’t have very much growing up and he started his legacy there and it carried over to 14 years in the NFL,” he said. “It meant a lot and it gave me a little reminder that this is only the start. I honestly have many options, but that’s high on the list for sure.”
So far in the recruiting process, Muhammad holds offers from Wake Forest, Central Florida, Temple, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Michigan State.
When it comes to his interactions with the Michigan State coaching staff, Muhammad said that he thinks the coaches like him as a recruit, but more importantly as a person and added that the coaches made a point to tell him that his offer from the Spartans was based on his on-field accomplishments and not because of his name.
“I think they really enjoy who I am as a person, seeing how similar I am to my dad with my work ethic,” he said. “Coach Bollman and a lot of the other coaches were just telling me before they offered me that they wanted to make sure that the offer was full and true. They didn’t want people around Michigan State to be like, ‘He only got the offer because of his dad’. They wanted to make sure that they built a relationship with me. I really like the coaching staff as well, because they make me feel like I’m at home because I was born and raised in North Carolina, but they make me feel like I was raised just like my dad was up in Michigan.”
Muhammad said that while nothing is official, he expects to make a return visit to East Lansing later this year.
Although he is obviously proud of his father’s accomplishments, Muhammad wants to make a name for himself and said that even though he gets his strong work ethic from his father, he has always been self-driven.
“My dad never really had to push me, I always had that drive to wake up early and go get a workout in,” he said. “I always feel better getting a workout in and then going to hang out with friends, I feel better getting a workout in and then going and doing what I need to do. That dedication piece always came first for me. I always get the ‘You got your offers because of your dad, blah, blah, blah’, but my dad’s not the one waking up early in the morning anymore. My dad is waking up to go to the office to pay the bills, I’m doing the working out. I’ve got shoes to fill, but I’m doing this on my own.”
Muhammad’s work ethic is something that has translated onto the football field, where he’s known as an every down player and has a reputation as a top blocker from the receiver position and said that it’s important to him to show potential colleges that he’s not the type to take plays off.
“That’s one thing that a lot of college coaches pay attention to is what’s your effort when you’re not getting the ball,” he said. “Really, it’s more important because a lot of colleges like to run the ball a lot and they want to see your effort on the backside, anything can happen on a run play. Backside, if you’re showing lackadaisical effort, college coaches don’t like to see that.”
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