South Carolina star safety Nick Emmanwori is expected to declare for 2025 NFL Draft after sitting out the second half of the Gamecocks' 21-17 Citrus Bowl loss to Illinois. The junior registered five tackles in the game but was absent after halftime as the Illini put together a series of long drives to close out a hotly contested game.
Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer referred to Emmanwori's second-half absence as "an internal team matter" and said, "I'm not going to discuss it." Emmanwori confirmed to TheBigSpur that he is declaring for the draft.
Emmanwori's decision to participate in only a portion of the bowl game appeared to come as a surprise to some. Though Emmanwori told David Cloninger of the Charleston Post and Courier that his coach was aware of the plan, some teammates appeared to be caught off guard.
"This is kind of the first of me hearing about it," senior linebacker Demetrius Knight said, according to TheBigSpur.
Emmanwori is ranked the No. 50 player in the 2025 CBS Sports NFL Draft Prospect Rankings. He was named a first-team All-SEC performer after amassing 83 tackles and four interceptions in the regular season. He was a three-year starter who earned freshman All-American honors and was a stalwart on the back end of the program's defense for three seasons.
Nick Emmanwori confirmed with @DCPandC that he is off to the NFL and said he would only play one half.
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) January 1, 2025
Before that, Shane Beamer said "internal team matter. Not gonna discuss it" and Jalon Kilgore also said Emmanwori was leaving.@wachfox pic.twitter.com/WPqztIRUrb
His decision to sit the second half came amid a similar, controversial decision made by Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who sat out the second half of Miami's 42-41 loss to Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Illinois scored on touchdown drives of 63 and 75 yards in the second half before bleeding the final 3:08 off the clock during a 72-yard drive to close the game.
