Four-star safety Andrew Mukuba (5-11 181) of Austin, TX Thursday night announced a commitment to Clemson over hometown Texas and LSU. Mukuba emerged in the recruiting process as Clemson’s lone safety target, and that attention paid off for the Tigers as they landed the #12 ranked safety in the country according to the 247Sports Composite.
“I feel like it was the right decision for me. They have a lot of DBs on the field, so I can get a lot of burn as a true freshman and I feel like can come in and compete at a really high level,” Mukuba said in announcing his decision on Instagram with ESPN analyst Jordan Schultz. “I feel like I’m one of the more versatile players in the country. I don’t really have a true position. I feel like anywhere in the secondary I can ball out.”
Mukuba has never visited Clemson, so he made his decison in favor of the Tigers not based on facilities and a feeling for the campus, but rather on his realtionship developed over time with Dabo Swinney and defensive assistants Brent Venables ane Mickey Conn.
“Just the relationship I had with the coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball and the head coach,” Mukuba said. “That stood out to me the most. They just told me they really liked my versatility on the defensive side of the ball. They felt like I can play any position in the secondary and they felt like I’m their type of player. Coach Venables said he needs a safety that can cover and come down and make tackles and can do anything in the secondary, He just told me that he’s taking one person at my position in my class, and that really opened my eyes. When they reached out to me, it showed me that they don’t just want me but they need me. That was a big thing for me.”
Mukuba is the 2nd commitment of the week for Clemson and he gives the Tigers 17 pledges for the 2021 class which is expected to top off at 18. Last season Mukuba had 26 tackles with 2 interceptions. He also plays receiver and caught 33 passes for 641 yards and 10 touchdowns.
