Muhammad Twins Sign Track Scholarships To Jackson State
MADISON- Although not identical twins, brothers Shafi and Hanif Muhammad signed identical athletic scholarships to run track at Jackson State at a recent ceremony at Bob Jones High.
The Bob Jones senior fraternal twins chose the Tigers’ program of Jackson, Miss. over other offers from both Samford and Southern Miss. Shafi has plans to study physics and engineering while Hanif wants to concentrate on studying cyber security.
“We chose Jackson State because the head coach made us feel like a family environment was part of the program,” said Shafi, who is 31 minutes younger than his brother who were born in May of 2001.
The Muhammad brothers are the first male twins to sign a scholarship to the same Div. I school in the history of Bob Jones.
“Signing to attend college and run track with my brother at the same school is a blessing from God,” added Hanif. “We’ve both worked hard at our sport with few days off. Our parents were extremely supportive and helped us get the edge we needed on the competition.”
Shafi is currently ranked No. 2 in Alabama among the indoor track spectrum in the 800-meter with a personal best time of 1-minute, 57.65-seconds. He’s also among the top eight in the 400-meter with a 50.56 best time.
Hanif is more of a sprinter participating in the 100, 200 and 400-meter events. His best time in the magical 100-meter is 10.99- in the 200-meter, 22.32- 400-meter, 51.50.
Both were once baseball players in the youth program at Monrovia before deciding to concentrate solely on track and field. For Shafi, not only did track became a later add-on to his athletic endeavors, but a scholarship in the sport was not part of his mental scope of the sport until just recently.
“I really didn’t think of a scholarship as I was younger and really didn’t hit me until just a few weeks ago,” added Shafi
Both Hanif and Shafi are Junior Olympians while Shafi is a two-time All-American and National Champion as the 2017 ESPN Wide World of Sports 800-meter event.
The only children to Phillip and Dedra Muhammad, the dynamic duo are excellent in the classroom to go along with their athletic prowess. Shafi is among the senior class’ top 20-perfect with a 4.2 grade point average, while Hanif carries a 3.8.
Each of the brothers help the other with schoolwork, social life and athletic talents on the track. They are expected to room with one another once on campus at Jackson State and continue the closeness that only twins can experience.
