South Carolina football has started the season 3-1, the program's best start since 2017. Among key players for the Gamecocks, junior defensive back Nick Emmanwori has been a standout player for the Gamecocks defense this season.
The Gamecocks' defense has played a major part in this strong start, ranking 20th amongst all NCAA Division I football teams in yards allowed per game through the first weeks of the season.
Nick Emmanwori has been a starter in the team's secondary all four games this year and is currently tied for fourth in the SEC in interceptions and solo tackles. He's having a strong start to the season after seeing a slight dip in his tackling production last year.
Emmanwori, an Irmo, South Carolina native, committed to USC on July 1, 2021, after being listed as a three-star prospect and the Palmetto State's sixth-highest-rated player in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports.
As a freshman, Emmanwori was almost immediately thrown into action after an injury from then-starting safety R.J. Roderick. Emmanwori then started the Gamecocks' next 12 games, ending the season with a team-high of 85 tackles. 62 of these tackles were solo tackles, which was the second-highest total in the SEC and the most amongst all freshmen at the Division I FBS level.
He was named a Freshman All-American by ESPN, PFF, On3 and The Athletic, making him the first South Carolina defensive player to receive the honor since Jadeveon Clowney in 2011.
In his sophomore campaign, Emmanwori started 11 games for South Carolina. He racked up 71 tackles, ranking him fourth on the team, and caught a pair of interceptions.
"I think we feel pretty good you know going back to last year we were kind of up and down and those last four games we finished out strong. We held a couple of teams to no touchdowns," Emmanwori said before the start of the season. "So this year we're trying to start with that same energy."
He said his approach to this football season helps him.
"My mindset has been, 'Don't take no days for granted, come in and work, do all the little things right,'" Emmanwori said. "This may be my last season — I'm not too sure, depending on how the season goes — but take every game one game at a time."
Emmanwori made five tackles and deflected one pass in the Gamecocks' first game of the 2024 season. He played a much bigger role in the team's upset win over Kentucky one week later. South Carolina's defense, as a whole, held the Wildcats to just six total points on the back of five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
One of the interceptions came from Emmanwori, who picked off Kentucky junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Much of the secondary's success stemmed from strong play from the team's edge rushers, Emmanwori said after the game.
"It makes it extremely easy with guys like T.J. (Sanders), Tonka (Hemingway), Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart up there rushing the passer," Emmanwori said. "You're back there chilling almost like they don't even need us to play back there. It makes it extremely to play DB."
He also credited defensive coordinator Clayton White for his play-calling against the Wildcats, most notably on his interception.
"Coach White was doing a good job calling his defense all game, and I just read the quarterback, turned my head, grabbed the interception and took it for six," Emmanwori said.
The Gamecocks took on the then No. 16 LSU Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium in their third game of the season but narrowly lost 36-33. Despite the loss, Emmanwori had another impressive performance. He recorded a season-high nine total tackles, one pass deflection and another interception.
But Emmanwori's most notable play of the day was one that ultimately didn't count. In the fourth quarter, Emmanwori caught another interception and returned it the length of the field for a touchdown, but the score was called back due to a penalty.
"I had turned around and kind of seen the whole defense was still down there. I seen those two flags, and that was just like a killer. That was a critical moment," Emmanwori said. "I'm not too sure what happened, but I was giving everything I had on that whole drive."
Senior linebacker Debo Williams, who made six tackles in the loss, said the team had one goal after the game.
"We appreciate the fans and we will be better," Williams said.
And that's what Emmanwori and South Carolina did in their next game. The Gamecocks bounced back last week in their game against the Akron Zips winning the contest 50-7. Emmanwori contributed to the victory with three tackles to a South Carolina defensive unit that only allowed one score on the night.
"There's always a standard, there is always expectations for those guys to go out there and steal the ball," sixth-year linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. said. "That's what we're going to continue to preach even as we go into the bye."
Nick Emmanwori and South Carolina will look to continue their positive start to the season throughout the rest of their campaign. The Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 SEC) are in the midst of its first bye week of the season but will return to action on Oct. 5 when it takes on No. 6 Ole Miss (4-0, 0-0 SEC) in Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff will be at 3:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.