RTI recruiting contributor Landon Steffy contributed to this article
Recruiting season is in full swing for the Vols. Tennessee is hosting a number of recruits between now and the Orange & White Game, and several prospects will either attend spring practices, Saturday’s scrimmage, or the annual spring game next weekend.
One of the prospects visiting Tennessee is composite four-star wide receiver Muhsin “Moose” Muhammad III. According to his Twitter account, he came to Knoxville during the week to take in spring practices on UT’s campus.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ?! ! #GBO April 3rd-4th
— Muhsin “Moose” Muhammad III (@MooseMuhammad) March 28, 2019
The 6-foot, 180-pound receiver plays for Myers Park High School and is from Charlotte, North Carolina. He’s also the son of the former second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 1996 NFL Draft, Muhsin Muhammad II. His father was a First-Team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler with the Panthers who finished his 14-year NFL career with 860 catches, 11,438 yards, and 62 touchdowns.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Muhammad is the No. 146 overall prospect and No. 28 receiver in the 2020 class. He holds offers from Oregon, Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M, Michigan State, North Carolina, and many other schools.
Muhammad was a standout player at the Adidas 7-on-7 National Championships this past month in Tampa, Florida. His team, Hustle Inc., was quarterbacked by current Tennessee commit Harrison Bailey and had high priority Vol target five-star tight end Arik Gilbert as well. Gilbert won the Myrtle Beach Regional NFA7v7 earlier this year.
At the event, Muhammad spoke with 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong about his recruitment. When asked about Tennessee, he mentioned his affinity for the Vols’ new offense under offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and how much he likes the Vols’ 2020 quarterback commit.
“I really like their offense,” Muhammad told Wiltfong. “Obviously it’s an SEC school so they’re not going to throw it as much, but I like the balance and I like the quarterback (commit) Harrison Bailey.”
Much like his father, the younger Muhammad has a lot of natural football ability.
He’s very quick and has ample speed that he uses to easily separate from defenders. He stretches the field for deep balls and is a great downfield threat. He is very hard to bring down and has to be brought down by several defenders. He shows his agility and is able to use his footwork ability to juke out defenders regularly. In one highlight, he takes a screen pass 50 yards for a touchdown untouched, easily using his speed to separate. For being just 6-feet tall, he goes up and high points the football and makes contested catches very effectively.
As a junior for the Mustangs this past season, he had 58 receptions for 1,003 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games played. He scored two rushing touchdowns and added two special teams scores as well.
The Vols have several more receivers expected to visit in the coming days. Four-star Alabama receiver E.J. Williams is taking an official visit to the Orange & White Game, and fellow four-star Alabama receiver Kris Abrams-Draine is unofficially visiting that same day. Wide receiver is a big area of need for the Vols in the 2020 cycle, and Muhammad and both the other receivers mentioned above are three of UT’s top targets at the position.
