CB ISRAEL MUKUAMU
Height: 6’4 “
Weight: 205 pounds
Class: Junior
School: South Carolina
A former three-star recruit from Bossier City, Louisiana, where he studied at Parkway High School. Mukuamu was Louisiana’s 27th recruit and 655th overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle. He had several appearances on the academic honor roll and was selected for the second 2019 All-ACC team.
Mukuamu ended his three seasons with Gamecocks registering 86 tackles, 4 for a defeat, seven interceptions, ten defending passes, a forced fumble and a touchdown.
It had a considerable impact and showed a lot of growth in 2019 (its second season); he recorded 59 tackles, 2 for a loss, four choices and nine passes saved that season. Three of the interceptions were against Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs. His other career interception was a one-handed diving choice against Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators.
Notable
He stretched his groin in 2020. He played only five games and then chose to stay out of the rest of the season to focus on Draft and NFL recovery. He suffered the injury in the first week of the season and tried to play against the injury.
Traces
Imposing size, long limbs, high cut at the hips and very lean back (can definitely add weight to your body) that have solid athletic characteristics. He is a great strider that covers a ton of terrain and helps his recovery speed.
He has solid explosive characteristics, speed and quickness for a curve of his size, but his acceleration at the stops and his footwork are not consistently good.
Going into the evaluation, I expected to see incredible stiffness in the hips – that was not exactly the case in all situations. Naturally, his transitions may be high due to his height, but his hips still fell better than I expected, and he changed direction quite well.
He does not move or moves laterally also when his hips are not pointed at the desired location – it may be somewhat limited by the scheme.
He shows solid patience on the scrimmage line most of the time and brings impressive physicality with his jam when he’s on target. It could be much more effective with your hands on the line of struggle; he doesn’t take advantage of his excellent playing strength and his aiming points are a little wrong in the press – he can be caught reaching and has to be a little more disciplined, trust his duration and time the jam better.
Unstable and faster receivers will cause problems for Mukuamu. In the off cover, receptors that can chew grass and enter Mukuamu’s feet will be more successful.
In college, Mukuamu was tasked with playing on top of the routes in a quarter-turn with his back to the sideline, essentially almost yielding counterattacks and back throws. He performed this coverage well and knew his speed in relation to his opponents.
It may not be a corner that will always succeed against ever faster receivers in MEG (Man Everywhere he Goes) situations. He didn’t suck at college on quick slopes at the scrimmage line or poles due to his solid floor plan and drivability.
There would be a good separation of receptors in deeper excavations, and Mukuamu had to make good angles, with quality time, to ensure that the dog did not result in a great game.
He saw the field well and passed the routes depending on the call for cover in the game’s defenses. He goes down hard when there are passes under and does a good job of using the radius of his tackle to wrap the receivers and knock them to the ground.
He does a solid job of defeating blocks and tackling the running rack – plays with very good physical and competitive endurance.
The ball skills were good and he made good use of the length. Solid lower body explosiveness to jump and reach out to close the pitch and knock windows. He plays at the meeting point; did a good job driving downhill for interceptions when out of cover – took one home against Georgia.
In general, Mukuamu is a tall, physical cornerback that may be somewhat limited to a type of coverage scheme. He needs to improve his technique in congestion situations, but he has the measurables and the behavior to accomplish this task.
Despite his height, he is not the most rigid cornerback you will see, and he can effectively man cover against larger receivers. Mukuamu could win a selection at the end of day two, and it’s easy to see why; in the right scheme, he could be an effective player at the next level.
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