COLUMBIA, S.C. — The confetti has barely settled in New Orleans, but the stories from the Seattle Seahawks’ stunning Super Bowl LX victory over the Patriots are just heating up. While rookie safety Nick Emmanwori celebrated his first ring Sunday night, his college mentor—South Carolina legend Dawn Staley—took to SEC Now on Monday to drop a bombshell about how the Seahawks star almost didn’t handle the draft slide that brought him to Seattle.
Emmanwori, the Seahawks’ second-round steal (No. 35 overall), was a force in Seattle’s “Legion of Boom 2.0” defense this season. But back in April 2025, the vibe was pure stress. Emmanwori sat through the entire first round without hearing his name, and his girlfriend—South Carolina point guard Raven Johnson—was spiraling.
Staley didn’t hold back on the details. “Raven was FaceTiming me all throughout Nick’s draft night,” Staley said. “You know Raven. She’s like ‘I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to do. He’s supposed to go earlier.’ She was very concerned. I just had to talk her off the ledge.”
Johnson eventually handed the phone to Emmanwori, and Staley delivered the message that now looks like a prophecy. “I just really told him, ‘Don’t sweat it. You’re going to go to the team that needs you the most and that you fit the best.’”
Staley’s crystal ball was dead on. Seattle snapped up the 6-foot-3 enforcer early Friday night, pairing him with a defense that terrorized the NFC West. Emmanwori didn’t just make the roster; he became a linchpin. He racked up 81 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his debut season, culminating in Sunday’s 38-37 thriller where the Seahawks’ defense made the critical stops against New England when it mattered most.
While Georgia’s Malaki Starks went No. 27 to Baltimore, Emmanwori got the last laugh—a Lombardi Trophy before his second season even begins.
“He got a Super Bowl championship his rookie year. If that wasn’t more true than how Nick’s career turned out… I just told him, don’t sweat it.” — Dawn Staley, South Carolina Head Coach
The synergy between the Seahawks safety and the Gamecocks point guard is undeniable. Johnson, fresh off her own championship run in 2024, has been Emmanwori’s loudest supporter. Now, the roles reverse. With the NFL season wrapped, expect Emmanwori courtside at Colonial Life Arena soon.
Staley is banking on that championship energy returning to Columbia. South Carolina hosts Ole Miss on Feb. 22, and with the SEC regular-season race tightening, the Gamecocks could use a boost from the newest Super Bowl champ in the family.
