Dabo Swinney recalls what drew him to Andrew Mukuba

When Dabo Swinney was recruiting Andrew Mukuba to come to Clemson, he never really got to meet him in person. Not by choice, but by virtue of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mukuba, a Class of 2021 signee with Clemson who is set to rematch with the Tigers in the College Football Playoff, now as a member of the Texas defense, was someone Swinney was instantly drawn to, he recalled. It really came down to the great vibes that Swinney picked up from the safety.

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“I never met Mukuba, ever, until the day he showed up on campus. That was all Covid and all that. Never was able to go see him. He was never able to visit campus. But he wanted to come to Clemson and I just loved his spirit and loved his heart and he was just a really neat kid that I mean, that whole time was one of the strangest times of my life,” Swinney said. “Because you know, recruiting is a very personal thing. People come to campus, you go there. Literally the first time I ever met him was when he got dropped off and everybody had to have the Covid protocols in place, because that’s when he came in.”

In three seasons at Clemson, Mukuba played in 35 games on the back end of the defense and recorded 143 tackles. He also tallied an interception and 16 passes defensed in his three seasons with the Tigers.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Mukuba transferred to his hometown Texas squad — he’s from the Austin area — and has thrived plugging in to the back end of the Longhorns’ defense. In 13 game in 2024, Mukuba has 52 tackles, including four for a loss and a career-high four interceptions.

“And man, Andrew was a great player for us,” Swinney said. “He did everything that was asked of him. He worked his butt off here and you know, certainly wish he had been able to finish here. But listen, these guys, he did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. And he gave a lot to this program and made a bunch of big plays. I’m happy for him. He had the opportunity, he wanted a change and it was an opportunity for him to go back home and he’s had a great year. He’s an outstanding football player and hopefully we were able to help him develop.

“But happy that he’s been able to have a great year. And just kind of ironic that we’re meeting in the playoff but that’s really, you’ll see more of that as the years go by with guys moving around from place to place. But I’ve got nothing great things to say about Kubs.”