Mukuba working to bring Clemson defense to 'full potential' soon

Andrew Mukuba (1) zeroes in on a Syracuse ballcarrier.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Oct 27 16:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON - The Clemson defense has dealt with plenty of injuries this season. Sophomore safety Andrew Mukuba is one in that group, but he's worked hard for his return to the field from an elbow injury.

“Obviously, it was difficult, but I got through rehab and did everything I needed to do to get back in there and now I’m wearing a brace to help protect myself,” he said. Regarding using this bye week, he also said, “This definitely is big for me to recover and just regather and get back to work ahead.”

He said that the brace is “uncomfortable,” but it doesn’t limit his mobility or ability to make plays. Mukuba is confident in his abilities and feels confident that he could perform at a high level in the NFL as well.

“Looking at the next level, I’d probably be more of a nickel type of guy,” he said. “I feel like the way I play the game and what I bring to the table, you could put me anywhere. I’ve got the ability to make plays wherever I’m at.”

He certainly impressed in his rookie season, being the 2021 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. However, the sophomore safety has not played at the same caliber as his rookie year. So far, he has fewer tackles for loss and sacks. But, he did tally his first career interception in the season-opener against Georgia Tech. He also broke up his second pass of the season in the Tigers’ game against Syracuse. Overall, he thinks the defense did well, but the team was making a lot of mistakes against the Orange.

“I feel like we didn’t really give up big plays,” he said. “We were beating ourselves, and we were just giving it to them. We just had to come to the sidelines and calm down. Obviously, the game was going (on), emotions were high … We knew we were just shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Clemson defense has been doing well overall against the run, which defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin has said numerous times is the statistical marker of a physical defense. The Tigers are ranked No. 7 in rushing yards allowed per game (87.9), as well as only giving up five rushing touchdowns this season. Clemson has not had the same success in the passing game, ranking No. 91 overall, allowing an average of 244.6 passing yards per game.

“I feel like we still haven’t reached our full potential on the defensive side of the ball,” Mukuba said. “I feel like there is a lot of work to be done to reach our full potential.”

Clemson will have two weeks to do the work necessary, going against currently-unranked Notre Dame. However, that status could change by the time the two teams meet on November 5th (7:30 p.m./NBC), as the Fighting Irish head to No. 16 Syracuse this coming Saturday.

Luckily for the Tigers’ defense, Notre Dame has had an underwhelming passing attack so far this season as they are not even in the Top 100 teams in passing offense (207.9 YPG). Similar to Clemson, they are powered more by their rushing attack, as they rank No. 47 in rushing offense, with an average of 178.1 rushing yards per game.