SAN FRANCISCO — To step onto the Super Bowl field as a starter requires talent, grit, dedication, a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of support.

From family, from friends, coaches starting in little league, and teammates who have helped develop you along the way.

When two Seattle Seahawks players—Ernest Jones IV and Nick Emmanwori—strap up for tonight's game, they'll think about all those who were there for the journey, like the parents and coaches. But they'll also think for a moment about Jaycee Horn.

"It's almost like a brother relationship," said Emmanwori this week of Horn, as the former prepared for the biggest game of his young career. "I'm always taking from his game even if he may not know it or not."

Horn played at South Carolina from 2018 to 2020, along with Ernest Jones IV. Those three years of Jones playing behind Horn gave the longtime safety a foundation for what corner play should be.

"Jaycee's s been the best corner in football, in my opinion, since he got there," Jones preached during Super Bowl's opening night. "Injuries have derailed him, but when Jaycee is healthy, he's a bad man.

"I've seen it in college. I've seen it, I've seen for months, people just don't catch the ball."

Horn played in his second Pro Bowl this past week, following two seasons in which he was on the field, injury-free (for the most part) for the majority of the season.

"So to see him having his success, man," continued Jones. "I mean, it means a lot for you to see those guys you went to war with, you got a good relationship with, to just be doing good."

That standard Horn set, beginning at South Carolina, played a huge role in Emmanwori becoming the star he did for the Gamecocks (All-Freshman team and a first-team All-American in 2024) before being drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft.

"I was kind of like half surprised, half fanned out in a way," laughed Emmanwori, recalling the first time he got a text and realized it was Jaycee Horn. "Because when I watched him go through his draft process, I was at home watching TV like 'Oh my God, like he went No. 8, Jaycee Horn, he went from South Carolina.'

"Jaycee kind of set that fire for the next generation of South Carolina athletes. I remember like a bunch of the other defensive back recruits were like, man, the reason why they came was because they've seen Jaycee do it."

When Emmanwori got to South Carolina, coaches oscillated between playing him at linebacker or safety. Once they decided on safety, even with it being a slightly different position, Emmanwori clamped onto Horn, training with him during each offseason, and absorbing every morsel of advice or tips he could from the first-round corner.

"He's doing corner work. I'm doing corner work, the same drills he's doing. He a hell of a corner, so I want to soak up as much as I can from his game, all his coverage skills. I can add that to my game.

"We have so many training sessions together. It's just me seeing how he works and the mindset that he gets. That's enough to just get me on the field and turn it into my own game."

Whatever the two have been working on has paid off for the rookie safety. He has started 13 games this season (including two playoff games) and has been a full-time starter for the Top 6 defense since Week 11. He's picked up 89 total tackles, including nine for loss (regular season and playoff), as well as four quarterback hits, an interception, and 15 passes defensed.

"Wherever (Jaycee's) at, I try to hit him up and get with him and pick his brain," admitted Emmanwori. And while so many have poured into both he and Ernest Jones over the years, as they prepare to play in tonight's Super Bowl (the second for Jones, who won with the Rams in 2021), they offer a tip of the hat to the corner who helped shape their game.

"He got that dog mentality," proclaimed Emmanwori. "When I finally met him in person, just as you see him on TV, it's just how he is in person. He's a dog competitor. He's a special player, one-on-one. So I'm glad I got that relationship with him."