Why Jamil Muhammad might be one of USC footballs most critical defensive additions

May 24, 2024

LOS ANGELES — About midway through 2020, Jamil Muhammad had grown exhausted with the whole conversation.

Muhammad played quarterback in high school and not a single snap of defense. He signed with Vanderbilt with the intention of playing quarterback in the SEC. He transferred to Georgia State after a semester in Nashville with designs of playing quarterback there too.

“From his sophomore year on, there were people obviously in his ear saying, ‘Look, if you (play) defense, your ceiling is a lot higher,’” said Wade Waldrop, Muhammad’s high school coach at James Clemens (Madison, Ala.) who remembers former Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt’s stopping by the school to wrap up the recruitment of some upperclassmen and watching Muhammad, a then-sophomore, playing basketball in the gym.

“He looked there and saw Jamil and he said, ‘If that kid will tell me he’s going to play linebacker, I’ll offer him,’” Waldrop said. “There were those types of conversations all along the way.”

Muhammad had been resistant to switching to the defense, but after Georgia State told him he could play quarterback, then later asked him to play receiver, he finally gave in.

“It was just one of those days where he called me, and he was just tired of it,” Muhammad’s father, Shaft, said this week. “Tired of coaches not wanting to let him do it. … ‘If quarterback is not a position you’re going to let me play, put me on the defensive side of the ball wherever you want to put me.’ And the journey began at that moment.’”

So, Muhammad’s path to USC has been far from normal. It’s a partnership born out of need. The Trojans’ much-maligned defense desperately craves players who can rush the passer and disrupt from the edge, and Muhammad, who had 7.5 sacks during the past two seasons at Georgia State, is looking for a fresh start at a program where he can achieve team success at the highest level.

“Destiny, I guess,” Muhammad said Thursday. “All of us standing here right now, we all have this picture-perfect idea of what we want our lives to be, but God has a funny way of slapping our hands and letting us know what his say on things are. I’ve just grown and learned to sit back and let him work. When you do that, everything just flows the way it’s supposed to be.”

Jamil Muhammad (9) had 7.5 sacks during his two seasons as a linebacker at Georgia State. (Reinhold Matay / USA Today)

Playing quarterback was always Muhammad’s dream, but it was also something Shaft wanted for his son as well. Shaft still believes Muhammad could play quarterback at the college level, but at this point, he has accepted the cards his son has been dealt.

“Him not being a quarterback in college football right now is still beyond us in terms of why,” Shaft said. “We don’t ask why. We’re just obedient.”

Playing defense certainly wasn’t Muhammad’s first choice, but, after all, there was a reason so many coaches wanted him to play that side of the ball.

“If you just looked at his profile, his height and build, it fit more of the profile you see of guys playing big-time ball on Sundays,” Waldrop said. “So just looked (at) the way he could bend, the way he could move, explode, his ability to be tough, you thought if he just ever sold out to the other side then all that God-given ability would really be on display every play rather than if you just ran the ball from an offensive standpoint.”

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When the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Muhammad entered the transfer portal after Georgia State concluded the regular season, he had no shortage of suitors. Muhammad reported offers from Texas A&M, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Minnesota, among others.

His physical traits were enticing, and as Shaft put it, “the resume was deeper” than it had been during his first two recruiting/transfer processes. One day on his way to class, Muhammad received a message on Twitter from USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

“I couldn’t focus on class for the rest of the day,” Muhammad said.

Lincoln Riley said his staff knew some coaches who coached against Georgia State in 2022 and passed along Muhammad’s name. From there, USC’s staff turned on the film.

“You saw a playmaking ability and an explosion that jumped off the tape,” Riley said. “When we found out more about him and the fact it’s not like he played that position all of his life. It’s pretty new to him. The fact he was doing that with the background he had is even more impressive.”

Grinch and outside linebackers coach Roy Manning met Muhammad in person about a week later. Muhammad has a no-nonsense sort of personality. So does his father. That was evident to the USC staff early on.

“Just instantly talking to him, you knew this kid is all business,” Manning said. “He doesn’t mess around. He’s very serious. Had his academics squared away, the whole nine. Now that he’s here, he’s exactly what he was when we first met him and doing a great job.”

On Thursday, Manning said a significant emphasis for USC’s coaching staff this offseason was to find players who can get to the quarterback. Last year, the Trojans had Tuli Tuipulotu, who led the nation with 13.5 sacks, but they didn’t have consistent pass rushers outside of him.

If USC is going to get over the hump this fall and win the Pac-12 and potentially reach the College Football Playoff, it will need more production and disruption from its defensive front, particularly on the edge. That’s where Muhammad comes in, and those aspirations or expectations are ultimately what helped USC land him.

“It wasn’t one of those deals where (Riley) promised Jamil anything,” Shaft said. “He straight up told us, ‘If you are the guy we think you are, you’re going to have a successful career here. However short it may be.’ The focus on winning a championship. Not playing around with (those) words. … That man is serious about bringing a championship to that university. And I believe with everything in me, that it’s going to happen, and we wanted to be a part of that.”

USC has been thin on rush ends this spring so Muhammad has been receiving reps with the first-team defense. He said playing quarterback in the past has helped him with snap count and formation recognition when he has faced the Trojans’ offense. That experience allows him to play faster, and frankly, USC needs more of that on defense.

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This isn’t a coaching staff that gives out praise for the sake of it, but through the first two full weeks of spring ball, it’s clear Muhammad is leaving a strong first impression.

“Easily on film, you can see him bend and turn tight quarters,” Manning said. “He’s got a good lower body so that tends to help guys turn that hoop, and it’s been spot on through five practices. You want to talk about a fast learner; it’s like one time, and he’s got it. Again, great, great, great, get in the portal for us.”

Muhammad, who spent all of his life in the Deep South before moving to Los Angeles, said the transition has been strenuous, but he has been up to the challenge. Within a week, Shaft said, his son felt at home — at USC and now firmly on defense.

“We said it’s a business trip for us,” Shaft said. “We’re not out there to see the palm trees and all that type of stuff. It is a business trip by every stretch of the imagination.”

(Top photo: Antonio Morales / The Athletic)

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