Who is Israel Mukuamu? What Cowboys fans needs to know about their NFL Draft pick
Former South Carolina defensive back Israel Mukuamu was selected No. 227 overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday.
Mukuamu will be the second former Gamecock on the Cowboys’ roster along with running back Rico Dowdle.
Here are five things to know about Mukuamu from his career in Columbia:
He was part of a dominant South Carolina secondary duo
Playing both safety and cornerback under Will Muschamp, Mukuamu made up the second part of a dynamic secondary tandem with first-round pick Jaycee Horn.
While Horn was the more touted professional prospect, Mukuamu’s size (6-foot-4) and length (80 3/4 inch wingspan) made him a projectable and monstrous matchup on the back end of the South Carolina defense.
Mukuamu finished his Gamecock career with 86 tackles and seven interceptions — including three in an 2019 upset over Georgia (more on that later). The North Carolina product played in 22 total games during his time in Columbia, including 19 starts.
During his sophomore season in 2019, Mukuamu finished tied-for-fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 13 passes defended and an average of 1.08 per game.
He helped South Carolina upset Georgia in 2019
One of the biggest bright spots of the Muschamp era came in South Carolina’s startling upset of then-No. 3 Georgia in Athens during the 2019 season.
Mukuamu rather loudly announced himself in the larger landscape of college football that afternoon, picking off three of Bulldog QB Jake Fromm’s passes and helping the Gamecocks to a double-overtime win.
He was later named the National Defensive Player of the Week and was one of just four players that season to record three interceptions in a game. Mukuamu also became the first South Carolina defender to record three interceptions in a game since 1988.
Mukuamu was hampered by injuries in 2020, opted out of the season
After starting all 12 games as a sophomore, injuries limited Mukuamu during the 2020 campaign. He played in just five games as a junior and recorded 10 tackles and two interceptions on the year.
Mukuamu was helped off the field at Ole Miss last November with what Muschamp said at the time was a flare up of a groin problem that hampered him earlier in the season. Mukuamu later opted out of the rest of the 2020 season in the wake of Muschamp’s firing to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Like Jaycee Horn, he was highly decorated during in college
Mukuamu leaves Columbia as one of the more decorated defensive backs in recent Gamecock memory. He was named a second team All-SEC performer by the Associated Press and third team All-SEC performer by Phil Steele during the 2019 season.
Mukuamu also earned a handful of National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Georgia in Athens in 2019, was named to the 2019 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and the 2018-19 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
Mukuamu was a mid-level recruit who developed into a star
Mukuamu arrived at South Carolina as a three-star prospect and the No. 655 player in the 2018 class.
Previously committed to Florida State, he chose the Gamecocks over Indiana, Purdue and Georgia. Mukuamu was also part of a Gamecock recruiting class that included eight four-star players — including Horn.
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 5:46 PM.
