Israel Mukuamu joins Jaycee Horn in leaving South Carolina to prep for NFL Draft
South Carolina’s defense likely wasn’t going to have defensive back Israel Mukuamu for the rest of the season anyway after a groin injury.
Now his career is over as he announced he’s stepping away from the team to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft.
Mukuamu, a junior, posted the news to social media Tuesday morning, less than two days after the Gamecocks fired coach Will Muschamp. He’s the second player to take this route after Jaycee Horn.
“With great humility, gratitude and excitement, I’m announcing that I will forget to the rest of the season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft,” Mukuamu wrote in the announcement. “As I go forward, I take the entire Gamecock family and community with me and will strive to make you proud.”
The 6-foot-4 corner/safety was projected as a first-rounder at points in the offseason, but struggled at times in games this season when he was healthy.
Mukuamu was a second-team All-SEC corner last season. He picked off four passes, three in a massive upset win of No. 3 Georgia. That game launched the national star of the former Berkeley High School star who played his senior season in Louisiana.
The former three-star recruit, who flipped from Florida State to USC, played in six of South Carolina’s seven games. He posted 10 tackles in his final season and picked off a pair of passes, one that he returned for 56 yards against Texas A&M.
The departure leaves South Carolina with 10 scholarship defensive backs, including a former walk-on and three freshmen who have hardly played. The Gamecocks have often been playing six defensive backs at a time to cover for a set of injuries at the linebacker position.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 12:14 PM.
