Israel Mukuamu (; born November 28, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Cowboys in the sixth round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...

. He played college football at

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Early years

Mukuamu grew up in

Moncks Corner, South Carolina Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-S ...

and originally attended Berkeley Senior High School. As a junior, he helped turn the team into a winning program with a 9-3 record. His family moved to Bossier City, Louisiana before his senior year and transferred to Parkway High School. As a senior, he received All-Southwest Region honors. He originally committed to play college football at Florida State University, but de-committed after head coach Jimbo Fisher left for

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and opted to attend the University of South Carolina instead.

College career

As a true freshman in 2018, Mukuamu played in all 13 games with 2 starts, making 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, one pass broken up and a forced fumble. His first start came at safety in the twelfth game against the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

. As a sophomore in 2019, he was named the starter at safety for the season opener, before being moved to right cornerback opposite future NFL player Jaycee Horn. He received second-team All-SEC honors after finishing with 13 starts, 59 tackles (2 for loss), four interceptions (led the team) and 9 pass breakups. He had a standout game in the 20-17 upset win against the third ranked

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, collecting 11 tackles and 3 interceptions, including one returned for a 53-yard touchdown. He received National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his effort. As a junior in 2020, Mukuamu played in 6 games with 5 starts at both cornerback and

. He was limited with a recurring groin injury, recording 10 tackles and 2 interceptions (tied for the team lead). He had a highlight one-handed interception against the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. On November 17, 2020, following the dismissal of head coach

Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...

, Mukuamu opted out of the remainder 3 games of the season to focus on his preparation for the

. He finished his college career after appearing in 31 games with 19 starts, while making 86 tackles, 7 interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

Professional career

Mukuamu was selected by the

in the sixth round (227th overall) of the

, with the intention of playing him at

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021.

Personal life

His father Muana “Charles” Mukuamu was born in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and competed in

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bioMukuamu Brand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukuamu, Israel 1999 births Living people American football cornerbacks American people of Republic of the Congo descent Sportspeople of Republic of the Congo descent African-American players of American football Dallas Cowboys players People from Moncks Corner, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina South Carolina Gamecocks football players Sportspeople from Bossier City, Louisiana 21st-century African-American sportspeople