Texas defensive back Andrew Mukuba is making waves this offseason. According to ESPN college football staff, Mukuba is one of the 10 best defensive backs in the nation.
ESPN gave their Top 10 ranking of defensive backs on Friday. College football expert Bill Connelly gave his reasoning for ranking Mukuba among the nation’s elite secondary players.
“After years of relying on a dominant defensive front, Clemson’s defense took an odd turn in 2023. The Tigers’ run defense was merely good, not great, but the pass defense was almost unassailable. Mukuba was the No. 1 reason for that. He erased half the field on any given play: In 10 games, his man was targeted only 27 times and caught only eight balls for 85 yards. That’s a paltry 0.27 yards allowed per coverage snap. He gave up one 20-yard completion all year, and it was a mere 21-yarder.
Now he moves back to his hometown of Austin, where, along with Jahdae Barron and Terrance Brooks, he should form one of the most physical and oppressive cornerback tandems in the country. He can play out wide or in the slot, and he could be a massive difference-maker for the Texas defense.”
The Texas defensive backfield certainly trends positively despite struggles last season. Some of the poor play could have resulted from lack of experience at the position. Mukuba bridges the gap in experience with three years of starting experience at Clemson.
Texas is set to face ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 3 secondary players in Georgia’s Malaki Starks and Michigan’s Will Johnson. Starks had 3 interceptions, 7 pass breakups and 52 tackles a season ago. Johnson compiled 4 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and 27 tackles.
Mukuba will look to go from top college defensive back to a high NFL draft pick in 2025.