South Carolina football's Nick Emmanwori is even better than you think
Back on July 1, 2021, an unheralded commitment joined Shane Beamer’s first full recruiting class with the South Carolina football program. That pledge was a 3-star safety from Irmo High School named Nick Emmanwori. The Columbia-area native actually told Beamer earlier in June, but he revealed the commitment a little over a week later.
By the time he graduated as part of the class of 2022, On3 had bumped the athletic defender up to 4-star status thanks to his special blend of size and athleticism.
As a summer enrollee, many thought Emmanwori would have to wait before making a major impact on his new team. As it turned out, those thoughts were extremely misguided.
Emmanwori had a strong first campaign in garnet and black and earned tons of Freshman All-American accolades. Then, he had another good year as a sophomore in 2023. Now, in 2024, he’s having an elite season and could be in line to be a 1st round pick in April’s NFL Draft.
Even with all of that being common knowledge, Nick Emmanwori is even better than you think he is.
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The Physical Gifts
Listed at 6’3″ and 227 pounds, Nick Emmanwori is a freak.
Not only is he taller and heavier than LSU’s two-time All-SEC linebacker Harold Perkins, he reportedly has posted a 42″ vertical and 11’4″ broad jump, and he has reached sprint speeds as fast as NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill, a player who possesses the nickname “Cheetah.” Hill’s top in-game speed last season was 22.07 miles per hour, and Emmanwori has matched that number. Last week against the Oklahoma Sooners, he ran over 22 miles per hour in pursuit of running back Jovantae Barnes.
The size-speed-explosion combination is nothing new for Emmanwori, however.
Coming out of high school (and again heading into the 2023 season), many questioned his best position. He’s clearly demonstrated that he is fast enough and has enough lateral quickness to play safety. With his size, though, many thought he should be a linebacker at the college level. Some even thought he could grow into a combo outside linebacker/EDGE player because of his frame and explosion.
Shane Beamer and his South Carolina football staff elected to keep Emmanwori in the defensive backfield, and the decision has paid off in a big way.
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The Improvements
When Emmanwori moved about ten miles southeast from Irmo High School to the University of South Carolina, he was already an elite tackler. His athleticism gave him a solid baseline as a coverage player, too. However, he wasn’t great yet on the back end.
That has changed.
Now, South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White trusts Emmanwori as the only deep man in certain man-free situations. He also deploys his junior safety in man coverage from time to time. This fall, outside of one play in which he caught a cramp, Emmanwori has been unbelievable in coverage. GamecockCentral analytics guru Will Helms offers up a statistical look at the Emmanwori no-fly zone.
Emmanwori’s improvements in the passing game have been complimented by an increase in big plays. Of his six career interceptions, four have come so far in 2024. Emmanwori is second nationally with four picks this season and is tied for 1st in the country with two defensive touchdowns. He’d own both top marks by himself if not for a questionable penalty that erased a 100-yard pick-six against LSU.
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The Gamecock junior was the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week last week. In South Carolina’s dominant victory over Oklahoma, No. 7 logged 11 tackles and picked off two passes, returning the second for a 65-yard touchdown. While that complete stat line is unique, the game was the fourth of his career in which Emmanwori has logged seven solo tackles and an interception.
It’s no wonder why NFL Draft analysts have graded Emmanwori as a future 1st rounder in recent weeks.
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The Still Untapped Pro Potential and Versatility
In a way that doesn’t feel possible, there is still room for improvement for Nick Emmanwori.
In the NFL (chances are, that’s where he will be next year), he could move around even more than he does for the Gamecocks. Pro Bowl safeties like Kyle Hamilton (Baltimore Ravens), Harrison Smith (Minnesota Vikings), Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers), and Brian Dawkins (Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos) utilized their versatility to become fearsome in-the-box players and dangerous ball hawks in coverage. Yet, Emmanwori is noticeably faster than Hamilton or Smith and much bigger than Polamalu or Dawkins. His ceiling as a player might not exist.
Similar to those great NFL defensive backs, Emmanwori plays all over the South Carolina defense. Per PFF, in 2024, he has played 221 snaps in the box, 100 in the slot, and 101 as a deep safety. He’s even gotten some snaps lined up as an EDGE player and as a wide corner. The varied usage isn’t new, either, as the 2022 and 2023 versions of Emmanwori also were deployed for at least 100 snaps per season in the box, in the slot, and as the deep man. He’s closing in on 100 career EDGE snaps, as well.
Emmanwori’s ability to make plays from any spot on the field is on full display in the video below.
Just from this video, it is clear that Emmanwori can do just about anything a safety might need to do. Tight man coverage? Check. Deep man coverage? Check. Underneath zone? Also check. Boundary zone? Check again. In-box blitz fake to then bait the QB into throwing right into an underneath zone? Check. Deep zone over the top? Check. In-box diagnosis and run stuff? Check. Coming down in run support from a deep safety spot? You guessed it: check. Open-field tackles in space? Check, check, check on the last three clips. And that’s just 11 plays.
With a little more development and experience, Emmanwori’s elite production at the college level could turn into elite production as a professional.
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For now, though, South Carolina football fans have five more regular season games to enjoy watching Emmanwori before he is off to the NFL.
