The term "Super Athlete" can be hyperbolic but undoubtedly accurate in the case of South Carolina safety Nick Emmanawori. He lit up the NFL Combine in Indianapolis like few players ever have, and his performance was good enough to earn perfect RAS scores at four different positions (Strong and Free Safety, Cornerback, and Wide Receiver) despite not doing agility testing.
Recruited to the Gamecocks out of Irmo High School in South Carolina, Emmanawori had the athletic range to play both safety spots as well as some true linebacker reps en route to earning SEC All-Freshman honors in 2022, followed by First-Team All-SEC and First-Team All-American in 2024 with a 88 tackle, 4 INT, 2 PBU campaign.
When you think of some of the better big, hybrid safety/linebacker types in the NFL over the last 20 years, former Seahawk Great Kam Chancellor should be one of the first names you think of. As fate would have it, Emmanawori was coached at South Carolina by Chancellor's DBs coach from his time at Virginia Tech, Torrian Gray, who told Emmanawori that he reminds him of NFL great a couple of years ago. Obviously, that's a lofty comparison, but how does the South Carolina product stand out on his own?
Player Bio
Name: Nick Emmanwori
Jersey: No. 7 (No. 21 from 2022-23)
Position: Safety
School: South Carolina
Class: Junior
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Texas A&M, Alabama, and LSU (2024)
Major Injury History: N/A
RAS Score Comp: Jeremy Chinn (Graphics via @MathBomb on the Bird App)
Instincts (11/15)
Most of the things I said about Malaki Starks can also be applied to Emmanawori. There were plays against both the pass and the run where he simply didn't trust what he saw, and that led to some poor plays against the run more so than the pass. Just like with Starks, though, I think this isn't a long-term issue if you can get the right coaches around him to take him to the next level.
Range/Closing Speed (13/15)
While Emmanwori's sideline-to-sideline range leaves some to be desired since he plays a bit tight in the hips, he unquestionably has the athletic ability to cover a lot of ground and make up space on pass catchers and rushers. We'll get into his poor angles vs. the run in a few moments, but he had the speed to make things in those situations much closer than they had any business being, and against the pass, his straight-line speed makes him a defensive back you'd be hesitant to throw deep on.
Man Coverage (8/10)
Emmanawori has the size and speed to be a formidable man cover option against tight ends and less shifty/bigger slot options at the next level. Just one snap here, but I loved everything about this one rep vs. Texas A&M.
Nevermind the fact that he doesn't get himself tripped up by this tight end coming directly at him, Emmanawori gets himself in a perfect position to cover this zig route, and thanks to the fact he has a wingspan that scouts dream of, he can make plays in the short/intermediate pass game just like this. Really good rep here where you get to see a few really good things. I will also note that I can corroborate the concerns that Emmanawori can be a bit grabby in coverage. Not a man look here by the looks of, but this was a pretty bad penalty vs. LSU last year at the catch point.
Zone Coverage (8.75/10)
Emmanawori is ultimately a good zone defender, but I would've liked to have seen him freelance in some situations where there wasn't much going on with his assignment, and I saw a few plays where he was guilty of drifting too far toward the hashes, which opened up some big play opportunities for opposing offenses. Miraculously, two of those ended in a drop and sailed ball out of bounds, but I'd like to see that get tightened up just a tad going into this summer.
Ball Skills (9.25/10)
We didn't get to see a ton of Emmanawori make plays on the ball outside of a couple of good PBUs, and then a Pick-6 that was called back for a penalty (after the pick happened), but Emmanawori had 6 interceptions and 10 PBUs in just these last two seasons alone. I'd imagine that kind of production will likely transfer over to the league.
Change of Direction (6.75/10)
Emmanawori isn't the most fluid mover you've ever seen on tape, so I was surprised to see that he didn't do agility testing at the combine to help boost his stock here. He's tight in the lower half, limiting his effectiveness in transitioning quickly out of breaks.
Tackling/Run Support (7/10)
It's not that Emmanawori is shy about contact, but there were a few occasions where his wrap-up attempts could've been better (one notable one came vs. Alabama superstar Ryan Williams). More importantly, there were several occasions where Emmanawori took some pretty poor angles or hesitated at the second level as a run defender on the outside, and some bigger tight ends were able to outwork him at the point of attack in the blocking game. That last note isn't the end of the world, but he's got to be better at tackling angles. Also here is a lowlight where he stumbles out of a backpeddle on a play that LSU scores a long TD run on (no fumble in case you were wondering).
Versatility (9.25/10)
The majority of his snaps have come in the box after spending a slim majority of his freshman campaign playing deep. The box is likely where you can get the best out of him, especially in big nickel looks, but Emmanawori should be capable enough to play deep in two-high looks and move into the slot to face bigger slot receivers and tight ends if the matchup is right. Really, you could talk me into him doing just about anything outside of being a true single high guy in year one.
Athleticism (10/10)
Even with some fluidity/agility concerns, I don't think I need to explain this one much at all.
Player Summary
I was expecting a bit more out of Emmanawori, but there's a lot of like even still. He has an incredible build for a box defender and is still a freak athlete by every metric outside of agility, with the ability to make plays on the ball and lineup in a variety of spots. As always, this league loves themselves athletic guys with upside, so it wouldn't shock me if we see Emmanwori go in the first round despite the final grade here. As a matter of fact, there's a certain team that won some big game in New Orleans that needs a guy just like Emmanawori based on a recent trade they made.
Rookie Projections: Big Nickel Box Defender Option with Two-Shell Usage
Third-Year Projection: Starting Strong/Box Safety
Final Grade (83/100): Mid-Second Round Talent
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