Seattle Seahawks have big plans for South Carolina All-American Nick Emmanwori
South Carolina football All-American Nick Emmanwori followed up his Gamecock career by earning second-round selection in this April’s NFL Draft. The Seattle Seahawks traded up to land the Irmo native. Now, the organization has big plans for him.
According to Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald during a radio appearance on the Brock and Salk show in Seattle, Emmanwori “can do a lot of things” to help the team. With that, MacDonald and the Seahawks coaching staff are envisioning a multi-faceted role for their star rookie.
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Said MacDonald, “…with the safeties that we have and Nick’s natural ability, I think we’re starting with focusing at the second level at the nickel position. And we will see if that translates possibly to dime on third down…then, there will be some opportunities to play safety, too, in different packages.”
During his South Carolina football career, Emmanwori played all over the defense, with the majority of his snaps coming as a true safety or as a nickel. However, he played a fair amount of snaps in the box and would follow receivers out wide in some situations. Doing a lot of things for the Seahawks won’t be anything new for him. Playing some at nickel could mean Emmanwori sees playing time next to former Gamecock great linebacker Ernest Jones.
The Seattle headman, though, wants to make sure he doesn’t put too much on Emmanwori’s plate. “Okay, you can only get so many reps,” he said. Do you get really good at one thing and then expand?… It’s a balance there of like, ‘Okay, how do you get him to get really good at these things and then build the role as you go?'”
MacDonald remains optimistic about his first-year secondary weapon. “What I really appreciate about Nick, though, is that he loves the process of football.”
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Despite having just arrived in the Pacific Northwest and having to balance learning multiple positions, Emmanwori also has impressed MacDonald and his coaching staff enough to earn first-team opportunities.
“He’s working really hard to get caught up, you know? Because he’s getting a lot of reps with the ones out there, too,” explained MacDonald. “So, the expectations are high out there to be able to execute.”
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Emmanwori and his new Seattle Seahawks team will continue practicing through June and July before starting the preseason in August. Then, the 2025 regular season begins on September 7th. They will host the rival San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field in that first game.
Emmanwori has already endeared himself to the 12th Man in Seattle ahead of that season opener. When asked whether he prefers to go for a tough interception or lay a hard hit on a would-be receiver, Emmanwori gave an answer sure to fire up the Seahawks faithful. He said, “If we’re playing the ‘Niners, I’ll lay a dude out.”
