Nick Emmanwori declares for NFL Draft, addresses sitting out at Citrus Bowl

Posted by Admin January 3, 2025 NFL

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On Thursday, South Carolina football All-American Nick Emmanwori declared for the NFL Draft. The move doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The Columbia-area native has earned projections as high as the 1st round and seems destined to be a top-100 pick in April’s NFL Draft. He also made headlines at the Citrus Bowl this week by sitting out the second half. GamecockCentral has been monitoring that situation since it happened, and you can read more about it here.

On social media on Thursday night, Emmanwori addressed his time as a Gamecock, his NFL future, and the bowl brouhaha. He also took extra time to speak glowingly about the Carolina fanbase.

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First, Emmanwori declared for the draft. In his message, he thanked God, his coaches, his family, his teammates, and USC fans. His draft declaration graphic is below.

Then, he addressed what happened at the Citrus Bowl. According to Emmanwori, it was a “miscommunication” between himself and the coaches. He said after the game that the coaches knew of his plan to play just one half of football. However, that didn’t appear to be the case. The All-American safety said in his note to Gamecock fans that he will “take some accountability for that.” He also added that he is proud of the team’s 2024 season.

You can see the posts below.

As for the bowl, it was just some miscommunication between me and some coaches. We weren’t on the same page I’ll take some accountability for that. never intended for it to end like that and I never quit on my teammates. Still one hell of a season to look back and celebrate glad…

— Nick Emmanwori (@Eman7Nick) January 2, 2025

In the end, South Carolina (as expected) loses one of the best defensive backs in program history. Following a season in which he led the SEC in defensive touchdowns and received countless accolades for his play on the field, he will be off to the NFL, forgoing his final year of eligibility with the Gamecocks.

During his South Carolina football career, Nick Emmanwori was a Freshman All-American and an All-American performer. He began his time in Columbia as one of the best tackling defensive backs to wear garnet and black. Then, he finished it as a big-time cover man on the back end of the defense. Emmanwori has a chance to be the next great South Carolina secondary man at the professional level.

Emmanwori joins Gamecock defensive tackle TJ Sanders as players forgoing additional eligibility to enter the draft.