Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba living the American dream
Rookie, who emigrated from Africa, shines against Browns in NFL debut
From The Reporter/MediaNews Group: https://tinyurl.com/5fbyvhvz
PHILADELPHIA — Andrew Mukuba was born in Zimbabwe’s capital of Harare, in Southeast Africa, to parents fleeing the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He and his seven siblings often slept on the floor of a refugee camp. Money was scarce. So was electricity. Basic necessities like water often required a walk of several miles. His parents split up, and his mother, Tshala Bilolo, worked as a housekeeper in a hotel to provide whatever she could for her kids.
Eventually, Mukuba and his family were granted asylum in the United States and moved to Austin, Texas, when he was 9 years old. He learned about American football in middle school, and later went on to play as a defensive back in college, first at Clemson for three years and then a season with the Texas Longhorns, before the Eagles made him their second-round pick in April’s draft.
“Just seeing a lot at a young age, I feel like that prepared me for what’s to come in life and what to expect,” he said. “Everything I went through, I feel like it’s the reason for who I am today. I’m just thankful for everything I went through. I’m a firm believer in ‘everything happens for a reason.’ … Now I’m here, and I’m just blessed to be here.”
In front of a scattered crowd of fans at Lincoln Financial Field and a limited TV audience, Mukuba burst onto the NFL landscape Saturday afternoon. The rookie safety, who had missed the early portion of training camp while recovering from a shoulder injury, made up for lost time with a 75-yard pick six, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection in his professional debut.
His first two electric plays came in a span of 8 minutes, 5 seconds during the Birds’ 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the second of three preseason games. Mukuba is competing with Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum for the starting free safety spot, opposite Reed Blankenship.
“Man, it felt amazing,” Mukuba said. “That was my first-ever pick six. I was just so glad it happened now (rather) than later, just to be able to get it out of the way. And now that I know what it felt like, man, that’s a feeling I want to have again. So, there’s gonna be a lot more.”
On the opening play of the second quarter, Mukuba diagnosed a rollout pass from lefty Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel. He muscled past wide receiver Diontae Johnson to get into better position, then split Johnson and tight end Blake Whiteheart to pick off Gabriel’s throw to the left side at the Eagles’ 25. Mukuba darted the other direction down the sideline and shifted toward the middle of the field, displaying his 4.45 speed all the way home as fans and teammates erupted in celebration.
“I’ve been in that situation so many times in practice, so it was just muscle memory for me, just being in the right place at the right time, just going off the quarterback,” Mukuba said. “He made a mistake and threw the ball where I was at, and I was able to step in front. And once I got the ball, I had in my mind that I had to get to the end zone.”
Two possessions later, Mukuba seized a Gabriel fumble on a flubbed handoff at the Cleveland 28.
“Just doing my assignment, and it was one of those things of being in the right place at the right time,” said Mukuba, who also broke up a pass in the second half. “It came down to the ball being on the ground. I tried to pick it up and run and tried to get back in the end zone, but I got tackled down. We preach (getting) the ball a lot here and that was the only thing on my mind, just go get the ball.”
Last year at the University of Texas, Mukuba had five interceptions, tied for the most in the SEC, seven pass breakups, four sacks and 69 tackles, including 41 solo. Throughout his college career, he gained a reputation for reading quarterbacks, closing fast to the ball and making big plays. Since hitting the field in training camp, he has been impressive, including nabbing a pick in the end zone during a joint practice with the Browns last week.
“I always thought that he has a knack for the football, how he practices, watching his tape, whether it was at Clemson or at Texas, and he has the ability to take the ball away as a playmaker,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Any time you go out there and make a play, that’s big. That was exciting, the interception, and even the one when he was there for the fumble recovery after they had a missed exchange.”
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman expressed similar praise the night he drafted Mukuba 64th overall, trying to contain a wide grin as he spoke with the media.
“He plays an Eagles brand of football,” Roseman said. “This guy just checked all the boxes. … We considered moving back, but we really liked Andrew and his play temperament and his play style. He’s got a nose for the ball, and he’s got a feel for making big-time plays in big-time moments, and that’s really the skill set we’re looking for from the safety position.”
Mukuba, whose unlikely journey began half a world away, was as advertised at the Linc on Saturday.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.