Shane Beamer addresses Nick Emmanwori decision to opt out at halftime of bowl game
In the aftermath of the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl, South Carolina’s loss to Illinois was overshadowed by the absence of Nick Emmanowri.
The star South Carolina safety started the game but didn’t play the entire second half and was seen being escorted to the locker room — not by a trainer, but by the Gamecocks’ director of character.
After the game, Emmanwori said he chose to sit out the second half but noted that he told his “coach.”
What seemed clear was if he did tell a coach, that guy wasn’t South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer — who looked to be seething when asked after the game why Emmanwori didn’t play the second half.
“Internal team matter,” Beamer said. “Not gonna talk about it.”
Now a month removed from Emmanwori’s second-half opt-out, Beamer provided some additional context on what happened.
“Communication — and I thought we had done a good job of it leading up to the game — but clearly didn’t do a good enough job,” Beamer said, “from a communication standpoint because there was a breakdown in there somewhere.
“Appreciate all he did for our program and the plays he made for us this season,” Beamer continued. “And I think if everybody had to do it all over again, both sides probably would handle it a bit differently than what happened.”
Emmanwori has since declared for the NFL Draft. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. projects the USC defender as a first-round selection.
Emmanwori on Jan. 2 addressed the bowl opt-out in a social media post.
“As for the bowl, it was just some miscommunication between me and some coaches,” he posted. “We weren’t on the same page I’ll take some accountability for that ... never intended for it to end like that and I never quit on my teammates. Still one hell of a season to look back and celebrate glad I was apart of it.”
