Nick Emmanwori's high school recruitment, NFL draft stock both bolstered by staggering combine performances

Andrew Nemec | Feb 28, 2025

South Carolina defensive back Nick Emmanwori during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images / Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Nick Emmanwori appears to be an undervalued asset, but skyrockets after delivering eye-opening testing numbers.

That's been exactly the path for Emmanwori in both his college recruitment and in preparation for the NFL draft.

On Friday, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound South Carolina standout put up staggering numbers at the NFL combine, especially given his frame - a 43-inch vertical leap, an 11-6 broad jump and a 4.38 40-yard dash.

Those numbers are all 96th percentile or better, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Emmanwori's 43-inch leap was the best in combine history for a player weighing in at 220 pounds or more.

43” vertical at 6’3”, 220 lbs 😱

Nick Emmanwori

Best vertical by anyone weighing at least 200 lbs in Combine history per @NextGenStats

🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/dJk7gvDobX

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 28, 2025

Nick Emmanwori is a SS prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 10.00 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 1079 SS from 1987 to 2025.

Splits projected, times unofficial. Pending agis and bench, could be a new top guy!https://t.co/WDmbwaGk56 pic.twitter.com/53Vx9vR7dx

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) February 28, 2025

Already a possible first-round draft pick, Emmanwori's stunning performance may end up making him a lock for a top-32 selection.

Strangely, this is the second time in the South Carolina star's career that combine testing has dramatically altered his fate.

Coming out of Irmo High School (South Carolina) in the class of 2022, Emmanwori was rated the nation's No. 435 overall prospect and No. 39 safety, but didn't have many offers.

Despite a junior campaign in which he registered over 100 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, three sacks and two interceptions, his lone offers came from Charlotte, Georgia Southern and Richmond.

But that changed in the summer before his senior year when Emmanwori attended a camp at the University of South Carolina.

The under-recruited athlete stunned South Carolina coaches with his 40-yard dash, vertical leap and broad jump and immediately picked up an offer from the Gamecocks.

Not long after that Emmanwori committed to South Carolina, where he would go on to earn 1st-team all-American honors and the SEC Defensive Player of Year award as a junior before declaring for the draft.