The former top-50 prospect lived up to his billing with the Longhorns.
Texas Longhorns junior cornerback Manny Muhammad declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Monday, ending a stellar career on the Forty Acres.
When the 6’0, 188-pounder committed to Texas in July 2022 after taking official visits to Austin and College Station, the head-to-head win over Texas A&M was a significant recruiting coup for Jeff Banks and Terry Joseph — the South Oak Cliff product possessed a winning pedigree and prototypical measurables to grow into a lockdown cornerback. The expectations conveyed by Muhammad’s recruiting rankings told a similar story, as he finished the cycle as a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 43 player nationally and the No. 4 cornerback, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Muhammad quickly made an impact for the Longhorns, earning the backup role to senior Ryan Watts and playing 479 snaps over 14 games with two starts, totaling 31 tackles (21 solo), one interception, four pass breakups and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. In coverage, Muhammad graded out at a high level as a true freshman, according to Pro Football Focus, only 10.3 yards per reception on 24 receptions.
As a full-time starter in 2024, Muhammad continued to show flashes of his immense upside with 36 tackles (32 solo), one tackle for loss, and eight passes broken up while limiting opponents to a 50-percent reception rate when he was targeted, but he also struggled late in the season. At the end of the season, Muhammad gave up 263 receiving yards, almost 64 percent of his season total, including 92 yards on five receptions against Clemson in the College Football Playoff. Muhammad also committed three of his four penalties in the playoff.
Intent to be more reliable, Muhammad promised improvement to head coach Steve Sarkisian and lived up to that promise as a junior, notching 30 tackles (23 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions while allowing just eight yards per reception as opposing quarterbacks opted to target other Texas defensive backs, throwing only 34 times at Muhammad. For the season, Muhammad only gave up two receptions of more than 11 yards.
Now the expectation is that Muhammad will become an early-round draft pick.
Category: General Sports
