The Moose Is Loose

After a tentative start to his NFL career, Muhsin Muhammad is rumbling through opposing secondaries with abandon

HIS NAME IS A BIT DIFFICULT to pronounce, but his Carolina Panthers teammates solved that problem long ago. They simply call Muhsin Muhammad "Moose."

The nickname choice is appropriate. Not only does it hint at how to correctly say Muhammad's first name--MOOsin--but it also indicates the sort of wide receiver he has become. Muhammad is as strong as a moose, especially when matched up against a smallish defensive back who can't handle his 6'2", 217-pound build.

His signature play for Carolina comes on the quick slant, which he usually catches with a cornerback draped across his back. Then Muhammad gives the corner a free ride for a few more yards before getting dragged down with the help of a linebacker. Muhammad quickly pops up, shoves his arm toward the goal line, and pantomimes a universal NFL signal: First down!

On the day the Panthers selected Muhammad in the second round of the 1996 draft, then-general manager Bill Polian described him as a younger version of Michael Irvin. Irvin did not have great speed, but he made a fine living on the Dallas Cowboys by fighting off defensive backs to gain separation and then stiff-arming them again once he had cradled the pass. Muhammad doesn't possess Irvin's bravado or off-field problems, nor does he boast Irvin's Super Bowl rings. Otherwise, it's a fine comparison.

Muhammad hasn't gained as much publicity as some of the other players from the vaunted Wide Receiver Class of '96, primarily because the Panthers have had only one winning season since he's been with them, in his rookie year. He is stuck at the moment with another label: the best player on a bad team. [For more on the Wide Receiver Class of '96, see our feature starting on page 34.]

The Panthers have an inexperienced quarterback, rookie Chris Weinke. (They were the only team in modern NFL history to start a season without a quarterback on the roster who had started an NFL game.) It stands to reason, then, that Muhammad will have difficulty reaching the heights he achieved when wily veteran Steve Beuerlein, who signed this offseason with the Denver Broncos, was throwing him the ball.

Still, if you want to stop the Panthers, you have to stop Muhammad. Almost all of Carolina's West Coast offense runs through Muhammad, mostly because coach George Seifert has so much confidence in him. And the neophyte Weinke has confidence in him, too. Weinke is simply happy to have someone out on the field who can ease his growing pains. Says the QB of Muhammad: "He's so good, so professional."

Seifert has said a number of times that Muhammad could be as good as anyone he has ever coached at the position, which is a staggering comment considering that group includes Jerry Rice, John Taylor, and Terrell Owens. But that statement may not be as outlandish as it seems. Despite being only 28, Muhammad has led the NFC in receptions each of the past two seasons (96 in 1999 and 102 in 2000).

"I guess certainly you'd say these would be his prime years, with the experience he's had and the knowledge," Seifert says.

The sixth-year veteran already has surpassed the goals he set for himself when he entered the league. Now he's in uncharted territory. "After you run all of the goals out of your goal chart, then you have to start making up new ones," Muhammad says, smiling.

Muhammad didn't expect to automatically become one of the NFL's top wide receivers coming out of college. How could he have? His career at Michigan State was mediocre. He didn't even start until his senior year, partially because his coaches in college were unsure of how to utilize him. He was very physical--Muhammad was a linebacker and running back in high school at Lansing, Mich.--but the Michigan State coaches couldn't see his receiving potential. There was even some thought of turning him into a strong safety.

Although Muhammad stayed on offense, he was used mainly as an extra blocker for much of his career. Blocking is something he still excels at, which is another reason why smaller cornerbacks don't fancy guarding him. (Muhammad also likes to taunt NFL cornerbacks a little, sometimes talking with them just before a play or sticking out his tongue at them.)

After gaining a starting spot his senior year, he gained 696 receiving yards in the regular season and 178 more in the Independence Bowl against LSU. That last number turned some heads, as did Muhammad's size and speed.

Muhammad's college quarterback was Tony Banks, and the two have remained close friends. On draft day, they made a dinner bet as to who would get picked first Banks went 42nd overall to the St. Louis Rams, while Muhammad went 43rd. Eight receivers were drafted in front of him.

For the first two years of Muhammad's career, it looked as if the Panthers had made a mistake by using a second-round pick on him. He was plagued by hamstring pulls--even now, he must fight at least one or two off every year--and barely made a dent in the Panthers offense, scoring only one touchdown.

"You can only do so much when your leg is hurting and you're rolling on a flat tire," Muhammad has said of his recurring hamstring problems. "Sometimes you've got to stop on the side of the freeway and fix the flat."

In 1998, Muhammad earned a starting role and gained 941 receiving yards. He probably would have broken the 1,000-yard mark, but another hamstring pull pushed him into spot duty in the season's final two games.

Prior to the 1999 season, Seifert took over for the fired Dom Capers. Muhammad, ready for a change, said publicly that he wanted to be. a superstar for the new coach and also planned to break every one of the team's receiving records.

In no time, Muhammad became Beuerlein's favorite target. It was a breakout season for Muhammad, coming as the Panthers flirted with a playoff berth before dying at 8-8. Muhammad made the Pro Bowl, and the Panthers rewarded him in the offseason with a $22.5 million, five-year contract, keeping him off the free-agent market.

In 2000, Muhammad was one of the few Carolina offensive players whose season didn't slide from the year before. His career-high 102 catches tied him with the Indianapolis Colts' Marvin Harrison for the NFL lead. What's more, he became the first player to lead the NFC in receptions in back-to-back seasons since the Green Bay Packers' Sterling Sharpe did it in 1992 and '93.

So far in 2001, Muhammad already sports one major achievement: He and his wife Christa, already the parents of two young daughters, had their first son. And as you might expect, everyone calls him "Baby Moose."

"Baby Moose was born on my 28th birthday, May 5," Muhammad says. "He's really something special. I've been fortunate enough to be in the room for all three of my kids. Childbirth is a true miracle. You're seeing God's work in action."

In Arabic, Muhammad's first name is loosely translated as "charitable." And the name certainly fits. He long has been known in the Charlotte community for his annual football camp, a Christmas toy drive, and his work to support a local battered women's shelter.

Mostly, though, Muhammad hopes that he ultimately will be remembered for his consistency on the field. "I don't want to be a guy who had a great year and came back the next year to have people say, `Who is that guy? He doesn't even look like the same player,'" Muhammad says. "I think the biggest thing that makes you work harder is the fear of not being as good as you were the year before. I want to be great every year."

For most of the past three seasons, he has been just that. It's no surprise that the emergence of Muhammad coincided with the arrival of Seifert. In his first training camp in '99, Seifert had two wideouts penciled in as starters. One was Muhammad. The other was Rae Carruth.

Since then, the lives of those two men have gone in opposite directions. Carruth is now in jail for the next 18 years, convicted of conspiracy to commit murder after the woman carrying his unborn child was shot four times and eventually died in 1999. (Carruth does plan to appeal.)

Muhammad was not particularly close to Carruth--few on the team knew him that well--but he did testify for the defense during Carruth's trial. Muhammad had trouble believing the charges that Carruth was convicted of, but he nevertheless played very well under tough circumstances last season. Much of the Panthers' season was conducted during Carruth's high-profile, nationally televised murder trial.

This year, no such dark cloud hovers over the team. It's a new dawn in Carolina, although that could mean a period of adjustment. The Panthers have attempted to get younger very quickly, as evidenced by the fact that Beuerlein is no longer on the team. But the "Moose" is still out there, pulling cornerbacks along with him.

"I've been blessed with talent," Muhammad says. "Now I just want to be really consistent. I want to lead the NFC in receptions three years in a row, too. That's really something to shoot for."

Watch out--the "Moose" is loose again.

Entering the Elite

IN THE PAST TWO FULL SEASONS, ONLY MARVIN HARRISON
and Jimmy Smith had more receptions than Muhsin Muhammad.
Here's a look at the top 10 receiving totals from 1999 and
2000 combined:

Rank   Player, team                     Total

  1.   Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis      217
  2.   Jimmy Smith, Jacksonville          207
  3.   Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina          198
  4.   Cris Carter, Minnesota             186
  5.   Rod Smith, Denver                  179
  6.   Ed McCaffrey, Denver               172
       Keenan McCardell, Jacksonville     172
  8.   Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City         169
  9.   Tim Brown, Oakland                 166
       Marshall Faulk, St. Louis          166

COPYRIGHT 2001 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group