“Overtime Spotlight”: Harlem’s Jahmani Muhammad, one of the most electric players in NIC-10 history

MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — Harlem senior running back Jahmani Muhammad will go down as one of the most dynamic playmakers in NIC-10 history. He made a big splash two years ago as a sophomore, and he’s kept opposing defenses and special teams units on alert ever since. Tonight, we focus on Muhammad in our Spotlight segment brought to you by Benchmark Exteriors.

Catch him if you can. Jahmani Muhammad isn’t one of the biggest guys you’ll ever see on a football field, but he’s certainly one of the most elusive and one of the most dazzling offensive weapons the NIC-10 has ever seen.

So, what makes you a great running back?

“My speed, my vision, and my explosiveness,” rattled off Muhammad.

Let’s also add in his work ethic. Muhammad spends a lot of time on his own conditioning, working on his footwork, his quickness, his cutting ability. He spent several sessions over the summer working with Tim Bailey at MercyHealth’s Top Performers pushing himself.

“I gained speed. I gained strength. I gained more confidence in my game,” said Muhammad.

The last few summers, Muhammad has traveled around the Midwest attending camps at college campuses including Ohio State and Notre Dame. Muhammad was inspired by those.

“It just makes you want to play up to that high level being around all of those good coaches, players and then even being around other kids around the area from out of state. That makes you want to compete when you’re at those camps.”

Muhammad also spends a lot of time watching video.

“I spend a lot of time studying film, studying my opponent and even studying my game and what I can do better.”

With all the work Muhammad puts in, it’s no surprise what he has achieved at Harlem.
His sophomore year he rushed for almost 1600 yards. He became the first sophomore to lead the NIC-10 in rushing.

Last year he rushed for almost 1300 yards. Now, he has a shot to become the first player in NIC-10 history to have three 1,000-yard seasons. Coming into this weekend, he was only 248 yards away from surpassing Javius Catlin as the conference’s all-time rushing leader.

Looking back, did he imagine he could accomplish so much?

“I didn’t really thing about it too much, but I knew I had the confidence in myself to come out here and be successful.”

This year, Muhammad has packed 15 more pounds of muscle on his 5’7 frame. That’s enabled him to be effective running between the tackles as well as attacking the edges.

“I think if there’s one place of growth, it’s his ability to run into the middle,” said Harlem head coach Jim Morrow. “He’s become a really physical kid despite his small stature. He really brings it. He’s probably one of our heaviest hitters.”

Opposing coaches know what a headache Muhammad can be for their teams. “Muhammad is the number one guy that we have to be aware of, where he’s at on the field at all times,” said Hononegah’s Brian Zimmerman. “Anytime you have an athlete like that it’s pretty special.”

This season in week two against Auburn, Muhammad rushed for 190 yards and five touchdowns. In week four against Jefferson, he rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns including the game-winner with 35 seconds to play. Muhammad’s achievements have come despite defenses always keying on stopping him.

“It’s not really frustrating,” said Muhammad of all the attention. It’s really respectful of them. They respect my game, and so it means a lot to me that they respect me as a player.”

For Muhammad, the only thing that tops that feeling of conference-wide respect is the feeling he gets when he sees his father Stephen and his mother Sonja get excited whenever he makes a big play. They’re always somewhere down by the field.

“They’ve been so great to me, taking me places, practices, camps. It’s just been crazy. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me so far.”

Muhammad is hoping to play football in college. He has several D-2 schools up in Minnesota that are very interested, Winona State, Minnesota State, and the University of Minnesota Duluth are some of them.

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