Washington transfer CB Jabbar Muhammad commits to Oregon over Alabama and Texas.
The great defensive back will not join his cousins for the 2024 season.
The Texas Longhorns’ hot streak in the transfer portal suffered a huge setback on Saturday when former Washington Huskies cornerback Jabbar Muhammad chose the Oregon Ducks over the Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide after visiting Eugene.
Last week, Texas appeared to be on the edge of signing Muhammad when head coach Steve Sarkisian reportedly assumed the lead in Muhammad’s recruiting, making him a top priority for the program and attempting to secure his commitment to avoid the lockdown corner taking other visits.
Instead, Muhammad followed through with his plans to see his former head coach Kalen DeBoer at Alabama before traveling to Oregon, where he was able to secure his commitment.
Honestly, who will be able to compete? As a competitor, you always want to be among the last ones standing. I want to make it to the final twelve, the playoffs. “I want to be in a system where I can be used in a variety of different ways to demonstrate my abilities,” Muhammad told Ducks Digest about what factors influenced his decision.
“And I want to play for a really fantastic football team. As I mentioned last year, truly good teams are critical for progressing to the next level. That’s also what I want to do. I also want to be in a position where I’m propelled and ready to go to the NFL.
Muhammad, a consensus three-star talent in the 2020 class, was ranked outside the top 1,000 players nationally when he chose Oklahoma State over five other offers, including from Colorado and Texas Tech. Muhammad appeared in 31 games for the Cowboys, starting 13 of them, and recorded 71 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble, all of which came in 2022, when he was promoted to full time starter.
After transferring to Washington, the 5’10, 183-pounder established himself as one of the nation’s greatest cornerbacks, recording 46 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, and one fumble recovery.
With Muhammad’s missed opportunity, Texas will have to address a residual need at boundary cornerback via the transfer portal during the spring window. Despite securing a number of high-profile recruits through the portal, Oregon got the best of Sarkisian and his staff in Muhammad and Houston defensive lineman transfer Ja’Marree Caldwell, preventing the Longhorns from collecting their dream bunch of transfers.
