Get to know 3-star safety Israel Mukuamu
December 19, 2017
Israel Mukuamu netted his first offer while camping at South Carolina during the summer before his junior season at Berkeley High School.
Mukuamu completed that fall semester at the school in Moncks Corner, S.C. before transferring to Parkway in Bossier City, La., to close out his high school career.
The 6-foot-4, 187-pound defensive back would go on to collect offers from Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Purdue and Oklahoma State, before committing to the Seminoles in July, during a ceremony at Berkeley.
About five months later, following the coaching change in Tallahassee, Mukuamu de-committed from Florida State and eventually hopped on board with South Carolina.
Coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson envision him as a cornerback in the Gamecocks defense. SC DB Group founder ChaChi Sullivan believes Mukuamu will be a “coverage guy like we’ve never seen.”
“Not that he’ll be a lockdown corner, but he’s going to be a guy they use in coverage differently than a true free safety or a true nickel. I think he’s going to be a guy who we see used very differently,” Sullivan said. “I see him projecting more as cover guy than a guy that you’ll put in the box.
“Typically, guys his size are in-the-box safeties or free safeties. I think he’s got much more versatility than those types of guys.”
According to 247Sports:
The Gamecocks landed Mukuamu as a cornerback and there will be plenty of opportunity for him to step in and earn some early playing time.
Senior JaMarcus King will be gone by the time Mukuamu shows up in January, so there’s one starting spot that’s up for grabs. Junior Rashad Fenton has yet to make a public decision about his future, whether that means a return in 2018 or departure for the NFL.
Junior Keisean Nixon is expected to be in the mix, along with redshirt sophomore Kaleb Chalmers. Sophomore Korey Banks and freshman Tavyn Jackson, both of whom redshirted this year, are also set to return.
South Carolina’s 2018 class includes several potential cornerbacks, including Marlon Character Jr. and Jaycee Horn.
SECCOUNTRY
December 19, 2017
Israel Mukuamu netted his first offer while camping at South Carolina during the summer before his junior season at Berkeley High School.
Mukuamu completed that fall semester at the school in Moncks Corner, S.C. before transferring to Parkway in Bossier City, La., to close out his high school career.
The 6-foot-4, 187-pound defensive back would go on to collect offers from Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Purdue and Oklahoma State, before committing to the Seminoles in July, during a ceremony at Berkeley.
About five months later, following the coaching change in Tallahassee, Mukuamu de-committed from Florida State and eventually hopped on board with South Carolina.
Coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson envision him as a cornerback in the Gamecocks defense. SC DB Group founder ChaChi Sullivan believes Mukuamu will be a “coverage guy like we’ve never seen.”
“Not that he’ll be a lockdown corner, but he’s going to be a guy they use in coverage differently than a true free safety or a true nickel. I think he’s going to be a guy who we see used very differently,” Sullivan said. “I see him projecting more as cover guy than a guy that you’ll put in the box.
“Typically, guys his size are in-the-box safeties or free safeties. I think he’s got much more versatility than those types of guys.”
According to 247Sports:
- Israel Mukuamu is a tall, long-armed safety prospect with additional experience playing cornerback. Mukuamu plays with good football intuition and locates the ball well. His size makes him tough to physically overwhelm and he possesses a ton of space on his frame for good bulk addition in college. He’s rangy and covers a lot of territory. Mukuamu can improve top-end speed and lateral suddenness, but those are expected areas of improvement for such a big-framed DB.
The Gamecocks landed Mukuamu as a cornerback and there will be plenty of opportunity for him to step in and earn some early playing time.
Senior JaMarcus King will be gone by the time Mukuamu shows up in January, so there’s one starting spot that’s up for grabs. Junior Rashad Fenton has yet to make a public decision about his future, whether that means a return in 2018 or departure for the NFL.
Junior Keisean Nixon is expected to be in the mix, along with redshirt sophomore Kaleb Chalmers. Sophomore Korey Banks and freshman Tavyn Jackson, both of whom redshirted this year, are also set to return.
South Carolina’s 2018 class includes several potential cornerbacks, including Marlon Character Jr. and Jaycee Horn.
SECCOUNTRY