Syracuse Football: Get To Know Your Orange Man - #15 Shu Mungwa

I hope y'all like these profiles, because we're finishing before kickoff vs. Wake, by hook or by crook.  Catch up with all of the other Orangemen here.

First up this morning is the awesomely named Shu Mungwa.

Position:  Strong Safety

Year:  Freshman

Height:  6'1"

Weight:  207

Hometown:  Oradell, NJ

High School:  Bergen Catholic

2010 Stats:  During his senior year, Shu recorded 35 Tackles (16 Solo).

2011 Projections:  Shu has had a bit of a quiet start to camp due to a lingering injury, but should see more time come his way as we approach opening day.  I could see him contributing on special teams this year, but he may be a decent redshirt candidate if we can afford to sit him for the season.

How'd He Get Here?:  SU landed Shu through the fertile "really good student but can't quite qualify for Stanford" pipeline.  Like Jarrod West before him, Shu had to wait to see if his scores would make him eligible to play for Stanford, and Syracuse remained heavily involved just in case it didn't work out with the Cardinal.  In both cases, it's worked out for everyone.  Rob Moore and Scott Shafer handled most of Shu's recruitment.

Here's what Mungwa told Dave Rahme about his recruitment:

"I told the Syracuse coaches at the time that they were right there, and they didn’t back away from me like a lot of schools after I made the commitment," said Mungwa, who also had scholarship offers from Louisville, Indiana and Akron. "I told them if anything happened at Stanford I would still be very interested, and I’m really glad they stuck with me. They told me I was high on their (recruiting) board."

 

What'd Scout/Rivals Say?:  Scout gave Shu a 3-star rating, and ranked him as their #76 safety.  Rivals was slightly less impressed, and gave him 2-stars.

Money Quote:

"When I went on my visit there last month I got to talk some X’s and O’s with Coach Shafer," Mungwa said, "and his scheme is made for a safety like me, a very aggressive, run wild, blitzing kind of player."

 

Links of Wonder:  There are a ton of wonderful quotes from and about Mungwa in this Syracuse.com article about his (and Brandon Reddish's) commitments.  

Marrone Thinks:  Marrone on this group of freshman-

"But when you see those long bodies and kids who can run you’re like, ‘I bet that’s a freshman,’ because he’s running well. He might not be running in the right direction yet, but he can run," Marrone said. "I think that’s how I see them. I’m excited about them. I think we have some who may be able to help us in (special) teams, may be able to push for some playing times at positions. I have to see how the people who were projected to play those positions are playing first, but I do see them being very close."

 

Interesting Nugget O'Interest:  Shu Mungwa isn't one for wasting time on things.  After being denied admission to Stanford, it took him a whole 30 minutes to call up the coaches and commit to SU.

Let Us Get a Good Look Atchya:

Shutang Mungwa Senior highlight Tape (via supporteinteractive)

Shutang Mungwa #7 Junior Hi-lite (via supporteinteractive)