South Carolina Finds Unheralded Star In Nick Emmanwori
The Gamecocks have a storied tradition of developing defensive backs, and the NFL ranks reflect that. South Carolina may have found another in freshman safety Nick Emmanwori, who has become an impact player for this football team.
Emmanwori played in both games this year, starting against Arkansas. He has tallied fourteen tackles and a pass deflection. His early success indicates immense talent, but you wouldn't know by looking at his high school rankings.
His junior year at Irmo high school was the one full school year where everything had to be altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including significant college football recruiting.
Coaches weren't allowed to interact face-to-face with 2022 prospects until June of 2021, the summer before Emmanwori's final high school season. During that same period, programs weren't allowed to host camps for high school football prospects because a large group would be near one another for most of the day, which went against COVID-19 protocols.
Therefore, when Emmanwori went to a South Carolina camp in June of 2021, he knew that this would be his best and potentially only shot to earn an offer from the school that was eighteen minutes down the road from his high school stomping grounds. He would make the most of his opportunity, wowing coaches with his testing times and multiple highlight reel type plays in 7-on-7, earning an offer from South Carolina before returning home.
Emmanwori only earned three division one FBS offers during the recruiting process, with his lone Power 5 offer coming from South Carolina and the other two coming from Charlotte and Georgia Southern. While it's early in Nick's college career, it's more likely that he could be viewed as the biggest recruiting steal in the 2022 recruiting class.
Emmawori's Immediate Impact
He's drawn rave reviews from coaches and players since his arrival this summer, with everyone conveying that there's something different about Nick, that he's not your prototypical true freshman.
His impact in South Carolina's first two games of the 2022 season looks to be a manifestation of these sentiments, as Emmawori had to fill in for an injured RJ Roderick on the first defensive drive against Georgia State in week one. He would register three tackles and one pass deflection in that game, including one 4th down and one 3rd down stop.
In the Gamecocks' most recent contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks, starting in just his second college football game, Emmanwori would rack up 11 tackles, second most on the team, and once again got multiple defensive stops in some pivotal situations.
Again, Emmawori's college football career is in its beginning stages, so I can understand if you have reservations about making bold proclamations regarding how Nick Emmanwori's career will unfold. Sometimes in college football, however, you don't need two years of watching a particular player to know if there's something special about him, something that separates him from the rest of the pack.
In just two games, Emmanwori has already showcased those special traits. So Gamecock fans, buckle up and grab your popcorn because we need to appreciate what we'll be witnessing from No. 21 for the next couple of years while we've got him.
You Might Also Like:
- NFL Week One: Gamecocks In The League
- Gamecock Injury Report: Two Impact Defenders Out vs. UGA
- South Carolina vs. Georgia Betting Line, Odds
Join the community:
Follow Evan Crowell on Twitter: @EvanVCrowell
Follow Andrew Lyon on Twitter: @ALyon_SC
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @GamecocksDigest & follow us on Twitter at @GamecocksDigest.