Nick Emmanwori: 'It's gonna be a crazy defense this year. I'll put my name on it'
While South Carolina’s defense finished last season strong, make no mistake they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder this year.
Before making the switch to using a 3-3-5 look at times, the Gamecocks defense struggled to find consistency throughout most of the 2023 season. A season that rising junior safety Nick Emmanwori shared has motivated this year’s team.
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“We’ve come in different this year, for sure. We have a different mindset and we’ve seen some things (from last season),” Emmanwori told GamecockCentral during an NIL event with Palmetto Autographs. “We don’t want to experience what we experienced last year so we’re trying to get the most out of what we can from this defense. It’s gonna be a crazy defense this year. I’ll put my name on it. I’ll stamp that, for sure. We’re gonna be ready this year.”
Allowing nearly 30 points per game through the first nine games of last season, South Carolina’s defense allowed a total of just 30 points through the final three games of the year. That doesn’t include the six points that came from Clemson’s pick-six in the final game of the season.
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Returning nearly their entire defense from a year ago, combined with the additions of several experienced players from the transfer portal and the high school ranks, Emmanwori didn’t shy away from his high level of expectations.
“I think we’ll get a lot of dudes drafted from this defense. We could probably see a historical defense from this team. We have a lot of dudes up front. TJ Sanders, ‘Boogie’ (Alex Huntley), Tonk(a Hemingway), Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott, me and DQ (Smith) in the back end, OD (Fortune), Jalon (Kilgore). This defense is gonna be crazy; something to see. (It’ll be) a fun defense this year.”
