Loud, Rowdy UW Football Environment Caught Muhammad by Surprise

The former Oklahoma State cornerback was no stranger to huge crowds before arriving in Montlake.

Before joining the University of Washington football team, cornerback Jabbar Muhammad played in front of plenty of Big 12 craziness, against a steady backdrop of high decibels, with a lot of fans crammed in the seats.

In 2022, a crowd of 84,132 showed up at Oklahoma to watch him and his Oklahoma State teammates lose to their cross-state rivals 28-13, this after they beat the Texas Longhorns 32-24 the year before with 99,916 people tightly squeezed into Darrell Royal Texas Memorial Stadium — a place so named for a former Huskies and Longhorns coach.

While Muhammad knew he would be joining a veteran UW roster, he admittedly was unprepared for the thunderous game-day experience that awaited him at a sold-out or nearly full Husky Stadium.

He discovered all of the high-voltage stuff after playing in front of 71,321 fans who showed up for the Oregon game and then 68,379 who watched the most recent Arizona State outing.

"I always thought that football in the South was better," Muhammad said. "I thought, you know, we live, breathe, eat and drink football down there. When I came up here, to a different part of the country, and I see the same if not a better atmosphere, I was kind of surprised every single time."

Naturally, the facing upper decks effectively serve as large amplifiers in bouncing the Husky Stadium din back and forth, in making one's skin crawl, in making your heart beat fast.

Jabbar Muhammad provided tight coverage against Boise State in his Husky debut :: Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports

The 5-foot-10, 183-pound senior from DeSoto, Texas, even with his extensive Oklahoma State big-game background, had to make a few adjustments.

"It gets you hyped," Muhammad said of his new college football setting in Montlake. "It makes you want to make a play. You've got to calm yourself down, for sure."

Over seven games, he's done all of that in becoming the leader of the secondary for a fifth-ranked, 7-0 Husky football team.

He left Oklahoma State last December with the idea he would join a program known for sending defensive backs to the NFL and one capable of winning big.

"I always knew they had a lot of pieces in the bag, that it was going to be an older team with a lot of fifth- and sixth-year guys, " Muhammad said. "My role was to come in here and take the room kind of under my wing and try to give them the knowledge that I have."

Muhammad has done that. he currently ranks sixth on this Husky team in tackles with 21, including 4 tackles for loss, and he's provided 3 pass break-ups, a sack and an interception that he returned 42 yards.

"My knowledge was it was an older team and I could be part of something special here," he said. "I feel we're getting better each and every game.

Muhammad no longer finds himself caught off guard by that roaring sound that cascades through Husky Stadium on game day, one that seems commonplace now.

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