Photo Credit: 247Sports.com

New Michigan Man: TE Mustapha Muhammad Commits to Michigan

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

When the Michigan coaching staff first started focusing on the 2018 class, there were a couple players that were immediate priority recruits. After landing the likes of Rashan Gary, Devin Bush Jr. and Donovan Peoples-Jones, it was likely the staff would be able to land another top target in the upcoming class. And they did just that as the staff’s top tight end target, Ridge Point (TX) TE Mustapha Muhammad, has committed to Michigan.

Commitment

Scouting Report

It makes sense why Muhammad was a top target for the coaching staff, he’s, arguably, the most complete tight end in this class. His mix of size, athleticism and catching ability makes him a match up nightmare at the high school level. Though he’s not a “burner”, he uses his route running ability and catch radius to dominate safeties and linebackers. With a talented depth chart in front of him, he’ll get time to grow and learn. However, he has the skill set and willingness to block to fight for reps as soon as he steps foot on campus.

Muhammad is what you are looking for in a tight end prospect and will be coming out of high school in more of the Jermaine Gresham mold. He is a top-level pass catcher at the position. He is long and lean. He has long arms and big hands to help him make the tough catches. He also has soft hands. He runs good routes and is able to get open. He will create a lot of mismatches when the team is looking to pick up a key third down or needs to find someone to finish off drives in the red-zone. While he may be a bit more receiver at this point in his physical development he is a good blocker and gets the job done when tasked with putting his hand on the ground at the line of scrimmage. He still will need to add some size and mass on his frame as he transitions to college, but there will be plenty of time for that and it may not even be a question at all by the time his signing date rolls around as he contiues to be a bit bigger each time we see him. – Scout.com’s Greg Powers

Recruitment

Even though Muhammad was a priority recruit throughout the 2018 cycle, he also was one of the most sure-fire gets for a large part of the cycle. Coming out of Texas, most thought the top ranked tight end would stay in the Longhorn State. Texas A&M was a longtime favorite while Texas got its 15 minutes of fame. But the longtime recruitment from Michigan kept the Wolverines in it throughout. But everything changed after Muhammad’s trip to Ann Arbor for the 2017 Spring Game.

Things went so well during the visit that TMI’s Sam Webb tweeted out his patented “gut feeling” about Muhammad ending up committing to Michigan. And that’s when the Crystal Ball avalanche began as just about every recruiting analyst and their mother put in predictions for the Texan to Michigan.

After months of speculation and visits, Muhammad decided to wrap things up a couple months before National Signing Day by publicly committing to Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines during his Under Armour All-American game jersey presentation.

  • Height: 6’4”
  • Weight: 235lbs.
  • Hometown (School): Missouri City, TX (Ridge Point)
  • Notable Offers: Texas, Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Ohio State
  • Rankings: Scout (4*, #66 overall) – Rivals (4*, #19 TE) – 247 (4*, #145 overall) – ESPN (4*, #47 overall)
  • Composite Ranking: Four star, #110 overall, #5 TE, #14 in Texas

Highlights/Interviews

As for the Rest of the Class

Muhammad is the 15th overall commitment in this class, the 2nd tight end commitment, and the 3rd commitment out of Texas. Now that he’s finally officially a member of the class, all eyes turn to several top defensive targets. That includes the likes of ATH Bryan Addison, DB Josh Jobe, DT Michael Thompson, DT Rick Sandidge, and DE Eyabi Anoma. As for offensive weapons, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and OT Nicholas Petit-Frere look to be the elite targets on the wish list while TE Luke Ford, TE Tommy Tremble and TE Michael Ezeike are the other tight ends left on the board. RB Hassan Haskins is by far the most likely player to be the next commitment.

Photo Credit: 247Sports

Garrett Fishaw
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