After Two Years Of Waiting, Jabbar Muhammad's Time Has Arrived
Jabbar Muhammad is only two days away from the moment he’s been waiting two years for.
On Wednesday, February 5th, Muhammad will officially become an Oklahoma State Cowboy when he signs his National Letter of Intent for the class of 2020. Muhammad is the second longest pledge Oklahoma State has had in this class with Muhammad committing on April 30th, 2018.
Contrary to some beliefs, Muhammad has never once wavered in his commitment to the Pokes. Some fans were worried about Muhammad choosing to not sign publicly during the December early signing period, instead electing to wait until February. There were some on the outside wondering if he was still looking around elsewhere in his recruitment, but this has never been the case.
Muhammad told both myself and the Oklahoma State coaching staff in December that he wanted to go through signing day ceremonies with his close friends and teammates at DeSoto High School, which would be happening on the traditional signing day in February.
I spoke with Jabbar again today about his dreams finally coming to fruition.
“Watching all my future teammates sign a few weeks ago, it's been fun to see them go through that, but I’m excited for Wednesday because I finally get to do it myself and sign with all my teammates here at DeSoto,” Muhammad said. “I’m just ready to get to Stillwater to work, I'm excited the time has come."
Muhammad will be among 4 others who are officially joining this class on Wednesday, the other three coming from already in the college ranks. Defensive line-man Collin Clay and offensive line-man Josh Sills are transferring from Arkansas and West Virginia, respectively. Linebacker Lamont Bishop will be moving from Iowa Central Community College with three years left to play two seasons. It is also expected that City College of San Francisco QB signs with the Cowboys on Wednesday to provide depth in the QB room.
It has also recently come to my attention that LSU transfer wide receiver Dee Anderson was on campus recently. I would not be surprised to see Anderson come into the fold on Wednesday.
The current Oklahoma State defense returns 10 starters, the only vacant spot being at cornerback, held by fellow former DeSoto Eagle star AJ Green. Muhammad said he is ready to work for playing time upon arriving to Stillwater.
“I’m just ready to get to campus and compete, man. They have a spot open out there and there's some guys that they have that are going to try and fill that but I want to come in and work to show I can play early,” Muhmmad said. “I feel like I can come in and show what I can do.”
I asked Muhammad what specific attributes of his game he felt he was best at and it was exactly what I saw on film. “Anticipation and reaction skills”, said Muhammad.
On tape, play after play, he will break on the receiver well before the ball gets there by reading the QB’s eyes and movements. While he only collected one interception during his senior season, he did have 12 pass deflections, many of which came on plays like this. His downfield coverage skills are also fantastic, as he rarely becomes detached from the receivers hip.
I am a big fan of Muhammad and what he brings to a defense. Just like AJ Green, Muhammad is able to be left on an island with a teams best wideout and is able to hold his own. When that happens, you open up a safety to help elsewhere and are effectively able to open your defense as a whole.
With AJ Green, Kemah Siverand, and Bryce Balous all graduating, there is only four scholarship cornerbacks on the roster, Rodarius Williams, Thomas Harper, Demarco Jones, and Gabe Lemons. However, there is reason to believe Missouri transfer CB Christian Holmes will be a member of the team next year, after Chuba Hubbard and Devin Harper both alluded to him committing on their Instagrams.
Even if Holmes is on the team, the depth is still fairly low, giving Muhammad and the other signees a chance to crack the rotation very soon.
I am very excited to see what Jabbar is able to do once he arrives in the summer. One thing is for sure though, this Oklahoma State defense is already stacked with it’s returners and it could be even better than we expect with Muhammad’s addition.
