Latest news with #MalikMuhammad
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texas Longhorns' dynamic duo rightfully honored in special way ahead of college football season as key leaders of defense in 2025
Texas Longhorns' dynamic duo rightfully honored in special way ahead of college football season as key leaders of defense in 2025 originally appeared on A to Z Sports. The Texas Longhorns may have just sent two defensive backs off to the NFL Draft this spring, but their secondary still looks stacked heading into the 2025 college football season. Veteran safety Michael Taaffe and Malik Muhammad make for quite a dynamic duo that should keep the Longhorns' secondary exactly where it needs to be and apparently the experts agree with that too based on the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List that just released this week. Texas defensive back duo Malik Muhammad and Michael Taaffe make the Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List For those unfamiliar with the Jim Thorpe Award, it's awarded to the "nation's best defensive back". Longhorns fans should be quite familiar with the award considering three former stars for Texas have won the award over the years–Jahdae Barron doing so just last season following his phenomenal Malik Muhammad and Michael Taaffe made the Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List thanks to their incredible 2024 seasons and likely continued ascension to greatness in 2025. Can either of them actually win it? View the to see embedded media. Looking back at Jahdae Barron's award-winning 2024 campaign, if Malik Muhammad or Michael Taaffe want to actually win the Jim Thorpe Award they're likely going to have to stack the stats sheet. Barron snagged five interceptions, defended double-digit passes, racked up nearly 70 tackles, and won All-American honors. That's going to be a tough feat for any Texas player to edge between the two Longhorns stars likely lies with Michael Taaffe if any Texas player is going to win the award. He plays a much more diverse, tackle-heavy role than Muhammad and could see a much higher available rate of passes to defend. Why? Muhammad plays almost exclusively outside corner, so he doesn't cross many other passing lanes naturally in coverage. He also doesn't always play in tight to the formation to rack up tackles against the of whether any Texas player actually wins the award, it's great to see the dynamic duo of Muhammad and Taaffe both make the list, tying a few other elite programs for the most players represented this year (with two). We'll be back with more Texas Longhorns coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news! This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
03-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Malik Muhammad is ready to build on his career year
Malik Muhammad has high expectation for his junior season During the 2024 campaign, the Texas Longhorns got contributions from everyone on the roster. As they fell two wins short of a national title, their defense was a strength. One player who exceeded expectations was Malik Muhammad. The talented defensive back is now a key veteran who is motivated to prove that last year was no fluke. In his second season in the Forty Acres, Muhammad was a human highlight reel. He set career highs in total tackles with 36 and pass deflections with eight. Regardless of the matchup, the Texas native made life difficult for quarterbacks. Due to his play, the Longhorns' star has earned national recognition. Last week, Muhammad, along with Michael Taaffe, landed on the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list. Each year, the award is given to the best defensive back in the nation. It showed just how far the South Oak Cliff High School product has come. That was the first time he landed on the watch list. While Muhammad faces plenty of competition, he showed just how good he can be during his sophomore campaign. For the first time in his career, he started all 16 games in one of the most competitive conferences in the country. For the Longhorns to reach their ultimate goal, they will need Muhammad to build on his performance from last year. Now that Muhammad has solidified his spot on the roster, he will be one of Sarkisian's primary weapons on defense. Even though he only has one career interception, he has shown a knack for being in the right place at the right time. With a stacked pass rush in front of him, Texas is not a team many people want to face. In just a few weeks, the wait for the Longhorns' return will end. They open their season against the defending champs, Ohio State, on August 30th. That represents a perfect opportunity for Muhammad to get off to a hot start against elite competition.
