Last spring, former Texas safeties coach Blake Gideon was concerned that one of his new players, Andrew Mukuba, did not understand the concepts he was teaching during their position meetings.
While Mukuba took a lot of notes in silence, the rest of his teammates provided Gideon with feedback.
Gideon’s patience wore thin when Mukuba’s silence carried on for weeks. Then, one night, he called out Mukuba during a meeting to test him.
“That point and time comes a few weeks later to where he rattles off something (during a meeting that) I said three weeks ago,” Gideon, who is now Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator, told NJ Advance Media last week. “You’re like, ‘Okay, he’s wired up. This guy is on a mission.’ He’s listening to every single word, and he’ll quote you on it, which I learned the hard way.”
After that moment, Gideon never worried about Mukuba because he knew the former Clemson star was serious about his craft and did not have talk to prove it.
For Mukuba, whom the Philadelphia Eagles drafted in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft, football is not just a game. As he’s discussed during his college career, it’s a way for him to give back to his parents, who moved from Zimbabwe to Austin, Texas, when he was 9 years old, and it’s an opportunity to create a good life for his son, Kyzir, who is almost 2.
According to people who know him best, Mukuba carries this mindset to every film session, practice, game and workout. Even though he’s never been the biggest, fastest or strongest player, his deeper purpose has made him mentally and physically tougher.
In a city that appreciates tough, competitive and resilient athletes, Mukuba could become a fan favorite as a rookie on an Eagles’ defense that embodies those characteristics.
‘This is the guy I thought we were getting’
For the last six years, Bernard Blake, a former NFL cornerback for the Green Bay Packers, has trained Mukuba during the offseason. They’ve worked on footwork, ball skills and football IQ.
Blake has also stood by Mukuba’s side during the difficult moments of his college career, with most of those times coming in his last two years at Clemson.
After becoming a freshman All-American, Mukuba didn’t experience the same level of success as a sophomore and junior, so he became an afterthought to some people.
“I think the world kind of didn’t respect him for a couple of years, but that didn’t change his game, and that didn’t change his motivation,” Blake told NJ Advance Media recently.
Mukuba transferred to Texas in 2024, returning home for his senior season. The 22-year-old said on a podcast that he left Clemson because he wasn’t getting better and needed a change of scenery.
Before the 2024 season, many draft pundits projected Mukuba as a Day 3 pick, citing his undersized build (5-11, 186 pounds) and regression over the previous two years as negatives.
To change the trajectory of his NFL career, Mukuba rewired his thought process and enhanced his diligence.
“There was a point late in spring ball to where he stopped thinking and stopped trying to be perfect,” Gideon said. “He was like, ‘All right, coach Gideon.’ If it’s going to be a mistake, he wants it to be a fast mistake. ‘So, I’m going to do something super fast, and I’m going to cut it loose.’ There was that point probably late in spring ball where I’m like, ‘Alright, this is the guy I thought we were getting.’”
By the end of the season, Mukuba was able to better recognize offensive formations and concepts, enabling him to make more plays and limit his mistakes.
In 15 appearances for the Longhorns, including three playoff games, he amassed 69 tackles, five interceptions and one forced fumble.
“It felt like he had been in this defense for three years,” Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski told NJ Advance Media.
During his time as a college and NFL player, Blake said he witnessed players “reach a peak” and get complacent, then fall apart. But, after a couple of down years at Clemson, he was never worried Mukuba would fall into that trap.
“He is one of those players that it seems like whenever you see him, whether it be in a training session, at practice or playing on TV, whatever the case may be, he is always just getting better,” Blake said. “Whether it’s playing fast or being a half a second late to this play last year to being a half a second early to that same type of play the following year and picking it off.”
Andrew Mukuba made big plays for Texas.AP
Blake‘s favorite moment from Mukuba’s senior season was him snagging a game-winning interception from Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. In that moment, Blake said, “Drew reminded everybody that he is still the same Andrew Mukuba that he was during his freshman year at Clemson.”
But Mukuba’s path to becoming one of college football’s best defensive backs came with another challenge.
During Texas’ fall camp, he often practiced with a few hours of sleep after staying up with his son throughout the night. He would arrive at the facility at 6 a.m. and not leave until 8 p.m.
Gideon remembers struggling to get through the day as a coach when he became a new parent. He was worried about Mukuba’s energy level.
“I kept thinking about when this is going to affect this guy,” Gideon said. “You wonder when it would catch up to him, either emotionally or physically. But he handled it. He handled it better than I have as a coach.”
But Mukuba didn’t complain about being tired or took shortcuts, Gideon said.
Instead, Mukuba did more. He set up walkthroughs with Texas’ graduate assistants to go over difficult concepts and visualize his in-game assignments. Afterward, he watched film on his own or organized group film sessions with teammates.
“I think he understands that having a mouth to provide for and to be able to say, ‘Hey, my son never had to work for anything. I was able to do whatever it was I needed to do and wanted to do for him from the moment he entered this earth,’” Blake said. “That’s enough fuel to kind of light anybody’s fire. He’s a kid with a real-life responsibility.”
Prior to his senior season (2020) at Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Mukuba proved to Blake that he could thrive under challenging circumstances, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mukuba spent the first part of his session with Blake working on a drill and then ran off to the side to log onto Zoom with his high school teammates for a virtual workout. Finally, he rejoined Blake for more drills.
“Even to this day, we just worked out a couple of hours ago after he just came back from Philly, and he’s still asking questions,” Blake said. “This is a guy who just got drafted in the second round. A lot of people (in his position) feel like they have made it. He is humble enough to still come, ask questions and really take heed of what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
In 2021, Mukuba’s efforts were when he became the first true freshman defensive back to start a season opener for Clemson since 1973. The Tigers’ coaching staff loved Mukuba’s mindset when he first joined the team as a mid-year, freshman enrollee.
“He was different. He was confident. He knew he had the ability to do it and was desperate to make it happen,” Clemson safeties coach Mickey Conn said. “That self-confidence has made him a great player.”
Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba (1) plays against Notre Dame during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)AP
Mukuba’s swagger carried over to the field in big games last season, including against Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoffs and versus Arizona State the next week. He helped Texas win both games, combining for 11 total tackles and one interception.
“I have this belief that great safeties calm down the rest of the secondary with how they play, with how they communicate, with how they deal with one another,” Gideon said. “When everything is going wrong, he’s the guy on the sidelines who is settling people down, ‘Hey, we’re good. They are just doing this. We need to make a couple of tackles. We’re in this game.’”
“He’s a steady sea. He’s going to be fired up on the field, but he’s just not this emotional rollercoaster. He’s super mature.”
‘He will knock your chin strap off’
Mukuba told Blake before the draft that he wanted to play for the Eagles because he fits in with their speed and physicality and has seen their smaller defensive backs prosper.
During training camp, Mukuba’s draft status and more extensive skill set will give him an edge in the battle with third-year Eagles safety Sydney Brown for a starting job.
“He comes down hill every snap. If an opportunity gets presented, he will knock your chin strap off,” Blake said. “A lot of people try to say he’s small, he’s thin, but you can’t turn on the film and show me a game where he was at a disadvantage.
“And if you just break down his season at Texas, most of his interceptions came against their biggest opponents in the biggest moments. He has that ‘it’ factor to change a game when the game needs to be changed. But he’s like a quiet assassin about it all.”
Pro Football Focus compared Mukuba to former Patriots All-Pro safety Devin McCourty in their scouting report, while other people see similarities between Mukuba and former Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Blake said Mukuba plays with former Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders’ old-school physicality but has the range of former Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and the instincts of former Detroit Lions and Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs.
Multiple NFL coaches told Gideon that Mukuba was the best safety in the draft, with one coach calling Mukuba his favorite safety in the last three drafts.
“I know a big thing for (Eagles defensive coordinator (Vic) Fangio’s defense is the pre-snap alerts and understanding what your responsibilities are,” Gideon said. “Andrew has a good understanding of different concepts. You can’t be a dummy and play in the secondary there.”
Three weeks ago, Mukuba shed tears after answering Eagles general manager Howie Roseman’s call. His family cried, too, and his trainer struggled to keep it together. Soon, he will be able to make his former coaches, friends and family proud when he makes his NFL debut.
“I almost got teary-eyed just seeing how genuine it was and seeing the weight lifted off his shoulders because this is a kid who busted his tail to get to where he is at,” said Blake, who was at Mukuba’s draft party.
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