The second South Carolina prospect is actually another cornerback, Israel Mukuamu. Mukuamu isn’t the same athlete that Horn is at the cornerback position, but he’s good in his own way. If you’re looking for an athletic freak, Horn is your guy, but if you’re looking for a big bodied corner Mukuamu would be preferred. it all depends on what kind of flavor is preferred at the position.
At 6’4″ and 205 pounds, Mukuamu is a big and extremely lengthy cornerback, but because of that size, he struggles a bit with athletic transitions in coverage. That fluidity in coverage and the inability to quickly break on routes makes it difficult for Mukuamu to succeed in off-coverage situations. However, Mukuamu is excellent in press-man coverage because of his length and how difficult he makes it for opposing receivers to get clean releases off the line of scrimmage.
Given the difficulties the Buffalo Bills had last year with covering opposing tight ends, Mukuamu could be an interesting addition as a matchup dependent coverage option. Mukuamu projects as a day three pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but there could be a team that really values his length and size to be a defensive chess piece instead of just a boundary cornerback. That team could end up being the Buffalo Bills, considering their need to combat the tight end additions by the New England Patriots.