Staying the Course, Emanuel Wilson Looks to Make Impact in Seahawks’ Retooled Backfield

For NFL hopefuls playing college ball below the Division I ranks, the pathway to the league features no shortage of obstacles, with the most obvious issue revolving around receiving enough exposure to jump onto the radar for scouts.

In the case of Seattle Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson, who joined the team as a free agent in March, the Roanoke, Virginia native spent time with not one, but two Division II programs at the college level, originally signing with Johnson C. Smith University before transferring to Fort Valley State in 2020. Neither institution would be mistaken as an NFL developmental mecca, though Fort Valley has had 14 players suit up for games in the league, including a former first round pick in cornerback Tyrone Poole, making it a challenge to get noticed away from the spotlight on Division I teams.

But throughout his college journey, Wilson’s coaches at both Johnson C. Smith and Fort Valley State regularly preached their belief that he had the skills to earn a shot in the NFL if he took advantage of his opportunity. By his senior season in 2022, scouts started to descend on Fort Valley to get a closer look at the battering 220-pound back, and what once looked like a pipe dream suddenly became a real possibility.

“Once I transferred, [Johnson C. Smith] coach Marquise Flowers, he always told me that I had the talent to go to the next level,” Wilson said. “And when he got the head coaching job, he wanted me to come back, but I stayed at Fort Valley. And Coach [Shawn] Gibbs, he always told me, ‘don't let somebody make you, you make your own self.’ So once the scouts started coming to the practice, I knew I had a chance.”