Back home, Israel Mukuamu brings a whole lot of height to South Carolina’s cornerbacks

Less than two months ago, Israel Mukuamu’s history with the state of South Carolina seemed all but finished.

The three-star football prospect had spent his first three years of high school at Berkeley High in Moncks Corner and gotten his first scholarship offer from the Gamecocks and Will Muschamp as a junior. But then he and his family moved to Louisiana before his senior season and committed to Florida State in July.

But with the dramatic departure of Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher this past fall, Mukuamu’s path veered wildly off course — and brought him back to his home state.

After decommitting from FSU on Nov. 30, Mukuamu needed less than two weeks to take himself back off the market, announcing on Dec. 9 that he would come to Columbia and play for USC. Exactly a month later, he was enrolled in classes and already moved in to his new dorm, completing a whirlwind six weeks.

Yet none of it seems that fast for Mukuamu, who said in early January that he was simply eager to get on campus and get a start on college life, which he is confident will give him an edge in the long term.

“Coming early, it’s more a slowed-down version,” Mukuamu said. “You get to learn the defense better, the plays better, and get a better understanding of what they want you to do ... instead of waiting until the summer, and then you got to learn all these plays and everything’s being piled on you.

“That’s one of the biggest deals that made me want to graduate (high school) early, because you have to take classes in the summer too. So by the time of my first year on the field I’ll be a sophomore in the classroom, so that’s the exciting part of it.”

Listed as either 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5, Mukuamu was considered a safety prospect by most recruiting analysts, but he has been very vocal about the fact that he wants to play cornerback, well aware of the fact that most corners are several inches shorter and place an emphasis on speed and agility.

Look no further than the tweet pinned to the top of his Twitter page.

“6’4 playing corner??...Yeah I’m about to change the game,” it reads.

That confidence extends to other goals he has for himself — Mukuamu has his goals for college written down.

“I want to start as a true freshman,” reads off Mukuamu. “Try to be an all-conference DB, SEC team first-defense and an All-American DB.”

Just playing at all, to say nothing of starting as a true freshman, would make Mukuamu the tallest cornerback South Carolina has used this decade. But he thinks of his size as an advantage.

“The SEC, they like to play pound and then throw the ball deep to those big, physical receivers, so having a big corner like me can create matchups, great matchups,” Mukuamu said. “Having small corners out there, it’s just jump balls all day, but having me out there, being able to compete with those big receivers, it can create a problem, so I’m really excited to get this opportunity.”

Whether South Carolina will need Mukuamu at corner early on is unclear — the Gamecocks return a lot of defensive backs for 2018, including Rashad Fenton, Jamyest Williams, Keisean Nixon and Steven Montac, and also bring in several other highly rated cornerback recruits, including four-star Jaycee Horn and three-star Jonathan Gibson.

None of those player stand taller than 6-foot-1, but Will Muschamp has raved about Mukuamu’s speed and ability to be a ball hawk, and he and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson reportedly envision him as a versatile corner to use in different kinds of coverage packages.

“In terms of length, physicality and intelligence, this guy can really run on the top end, he can finish down the field, he’s got really great ball skills,” Muschamp said of Mukuamu on Signing Day. “Really tough, physical and extremely bright, intelligent. ... He’s going to be a lot of fun to coach.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Back home, Israel Mukuamu brings a whole lot of height to South Carolina’s cornerbacks."