We've got a couple Hellos to catch up on for the 2024 cycle in advance of signing day, notably the two corner commits in the class. Today we're looking at 4* Jo'Ziah Edmond, who joined the class in early August after flipping from Purdue and has since seen a meteoric rise in the recruiting rankings: 

 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'1/180	On3: 6'1/180	Rivals: 6'1/183	ESPN: 6'1/185
4*, 92, #152 Ovr #13 CB, #3 IN	4*, 90, #250 Ovr #27 CB, #5 IN	4*, 5.8, NR Ovr #49 CB, #7 IN	3*, 78, #79 MW #68 ATH, #6 IN
4.29	4.04	3.82	3.65
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.9018, #334 Ovr #23 CB, #6 IN	4*, 90.8, #241 Ovr #25 CB, #5 IN	4*, #391/798 Ovr #36/76 CBs since 1990
4.02	4.08	4.00

At the time that Edmond committed to Michigan he was a Who Dat conensus 3*. 247 had him as the 48th ranked corner at that time and an 88 grade, so from the above table you can tell just how much he's soared up the board. ESPN remains the lowest on Edmond and the only service not to upgrade him to 4* status, which could just be the case of ESPN not really caring or investing in recruiting anymore to notice things like Edmond's rise. The three sites who do at least make an effort have dramatically changed their opinion of Edmond, rising him way up the board. In the course of just a few months he went from one of Michigan's lowest rated prospects in this class to one of their better rated ones (especially if you're going off 247's ranking). 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Find out why]

 

SCOUTING 

When Edmond committed to Michigan, the recruiting beat writers covering the Maize & Blue were mostly in the dark on him, in line with his low recruiting rankings. There were debates about his positional fit and Edmond hadn't been on Michigan's radar for very long. In fact, they hadn't heard of Edmond until he showed up, uninvited, to a camp they were hosting in June on the advice of his 7v7 teammate and Michigan commit I'Marion Stewart ($): 

Edmond took matters into his own hands and signed up for U-M’s on-campus camp in June. It was there where Edmond caught the attention of defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and cornerbacks coach Steve Clinkscale. Edmond was the best of the group, and the two Michigan staffers told him they would keep in touch.

At the time, Michigan was laser focused on their blue chip corner targets Aaron Scott and Bryce West so they didn't make any moves on Edmond. In turn, Edmond decided to lock in a P5 slot by committing to Purdue and Ryan Walters (not a bad place to commit if you're a DB) but always had his heart set on the potential to receive Michigan's (then-unrequited) love. That came in early August, when both West and Scott chose Ohio State. Clinkscale got back in touch with Edmond, extended him an offer, and Edmond flipped from the Boilers at the drop of a hat. As his 7v7 coach explained: 

He had no previous contact with Michigan. He wasn’t even invited to that camp. He just showed up. Nobody knew who he was, and he put on a show. They really liked him. Once they offered him, it was a no brainer. That was always his No. 1 choice.

Since Edmond's commitment, we've got a steady flow of evaluations, from those scouts studying solely his game tape to those on the Michigan beat who traveled down to northern Indiana to see Edmond play in person. On3's Zach Libby is the recruiting reporter on the Michigan beat who has seen Edmond the most, taking two separate trips this fall during Edmond's senior season to watch him play and in both cases, Libby came away impressed. His first trip, in early September, focused on the versatile, work-horse element of Edmond's game ($): 

the 2024 pledge did everything possible to prevent the setback on both sides of the ball. He also returned kicks and was the team’s punter. Edmond only sat the first offensive and defensive series for NorthWood. Rarely did he leave the field for the remainder of the contest. Finishing with four total tackles, including one for a loss, one sack, four catches for 49 yards, six carries for 16 yards and a punt that went 37 yards, Edmond displayed a workhorse mentality and leadership when it was needed the most.

You read that right, Edmond is a running back, wide receiver, corner, safety, punter, and kick returner. In that game Edmond played mostly safety (both deep and box) and nickel when he was on defense, but when Libby went back for a second viewing in November, Edmond was primarily playing boundary corner ($): 

Edmond normally played on-man along the outside Friday and Northridge only threw his direction once ... As the outside corner, Edmond didn’t have as many opportunities to help out in the run game compared to the late summer game, but he’s already proven to be a bruising tackler. 

Libby's reports on Edmond are quite positive on the whole, praising Edmond's length and speed on the outside, but what I found most interesting was this line: 

Last week was the second time The Wolverine has evaluated Edmond live and both occasions left an impression that the senior shouldn’t be restricted to just defense at the next level.

Edmond's two-way game isn't merely restricted to his high school team, as he also has done so for his 7v7 team. The first article I quoted (via EJ Holland) noted that Edmond played wide receiver, linebacker, corner, and safety in 7v7. It is indeed a feature of his game. Unsurprisingly then, Purdue and Michigan named two separate sorts of players as his comparisons when they were recruiting him, as Edmond divulged to 247's Sam Webb in an interview in August: 

Sam Webb: “I watched your tape. You're an option quarterback. You're running, you're throwing, you can play receiver… obviously... and then (you're also a standout) at DB. As you talked to these coaches through the recruiting process was there a player that they compared you to?

Jo’Ziah Edmond: “ Oh, I have a couple of schools that have said something to me like that. Purdue compared me to David Bell. Michigan compared me to one of their top corners, as you know. He was an All-American freshman.

Sam Webb: “Will Johnson.”

For those who don't remember, David Bell was a WR at Purdue in the Jeff Brohm era who was All-B1G all three seasons he played for the Boilers (2x 1st team), won B1G Freshman of the Year in 2019, and then was drafted 99th overall in 2021 by Cleveland. I assume I don't have to refresh your memory on who Will Johnson is. 

So one school compared him to a great WR and another to a great CB, showing that these programs do indeed buy into his positional versatility, though Michigan makes it clear that they see Edmond on defense. All of the evaluations off the tape do grade him out as a defensive player, so that's what we're running with. However, it's worth noting that Edmond only started playing defense as a sophomore in HS, which is partially why he remains superb at wide receiver. 

Allen Trieu of 247 has seen some of Edmond at the camps and thought he has the tools to play corner, but safety is always an option: 

Has played man to man in camp settings and shown the physicality, ball skills and competitive nature for the position. Has adequate recovery speed. Will need to continue to work on his hips and change of direction at his size to stick there at a high Power Five level. If he outgrows it, he can easily transition to safety. He runs plays down and has explosive qualities

The line about working on change of direction is notable because it is the most common complaint that comes up in scouting reports of Edmond. His speed is seen as fine for the position (although not entirely elite) but his agility/COD is often flagged as an area that needs work. From Rivals' Lucas Reimink ($): 

His COD/Agility needs work, as he currently foot fires far too often and it slows down his transition time when the WR breaks his route off earlier than he’s expecting. It’s a combination of an athletic profile issue as well as a technical issue with his footwork at the top of routes.

However, the length and ball skills win big time praise: 

He has really good ball skills to make INT’s and PBU’s, as he keeps his eyes on his man throughout the route and has an uncanny ability to time when he flips his head around, locate the ball quickly, and knock it down or pick it off. He can also go up and get a jump ball in the rezone with his solid leaping ability and his ball skills show up there as well. 

Touch the Banner flagged one highlight in particular showing off Edmond's ball skills: 

His most impressive highlight is a one-handed interception, which is almost Jourdan Lewis-level. 

Maybe Edmond's best trait is neither his ball skills nor his ideal frame and solid athleticism, but the competitive fire that is essential to succeed as a cornerback. Libby: 

Edmond’s moxie on defense is highly noticeable. He’s compareable to Michigan freshman cornerback Cameron Calhoun because of their self-confidence and vocal leadership. Edmond will bark out to the front seven what the offense is running before the ball is snapped and displays a fiery composure all four quarters. 

Nearly every write-up of Edmond contains something about his leadership, moxie, drive, fire, etc. The intangibles are all there with the kid. Libby also wrote in his two scouting pieces that he thinks Edmond has room to add 10-15 pounds of muscle, which would get him up near 200 lbs. and an ideal playing weight. That could enhance his physicality and aggressiveness, which is already pretty good as a tackler and a run defender. Reimink again: 

Against the run, Edmond uses his good physical strength to fight through blockers and tackle most types of ball carriers. He also has a good nose for the football to read and react to run quickly. As a tackler, he’s aggressive and physical, and with his size/length, he doesn’t get run over easily

Trieu shouted out that physical tackling and aggression as reasons why Edmond could easily transition to safety if cornerback didn't turn out to be a fit for him. The other downside to Edmond's profile besides his agility questions is his newness to playing defense, which likely has a hand in his footwork being a bit choppier than desired. Reimink described him more as a high ceiling/lower floor sort of prospect and notes that he "likely won’t contribute until his second or third year in college due to his lack of experience and technical knowledge of the CB position". TTB saw the same: 

Edmond is a very raw defensive prospect. He started playing defensive back midway through his sophomore season, so he’s a little new to the position. ... Because of the rawness, he’s probably going to take a couple years to be ready at the college level, so Michigan fans shouldn’t be too eager for him to contribute early

Getting his PhD in defense, cleaning up the footwork, and bulking up his 6'1" frame (with a claimed 7' wingspan) will be the objectives for the Michigan staff once Edmond arrives. But if those objectives are met, there could be a massive payoff. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Edmond currently attends NorthWood HS in Nappanee, Indiana, located in the northeastern part of the state, some 30 miles from Notre Dame's campus and 25 miles from the Michigan border. Edmond is a newcomer to NorthWood, however, having transferred there over the summer to play his senior season in Nappanee. Previously he attended Warren Central HS in eastern Indianapolis, which is where a lot of the tape we have of him originates.  

NorthWood is a competitor in Class 4A Indiana HS football, a pretty good team at that level if this season is any indication. The Panthers finished the season 12-3, having made it all the way to the finals where they were defeated by East Central HS for the state championship. One of Edmond's teammates at NorthWood is WR NiTareon "Nitro" Tuggle, a top 100 prospect in the 2024 class currently committed to Georgia (Michigan has made some pursuit but didn't get much traction). Perhaps more interesting in the file of "Jo'Ziah Edmond HS exploits": when he played for Warren Central he got to face Dante Moore and intercepted him, as Warren Central faced Detroit King. You'll see clips of that momentarily.  

STATS

MaxPreps has Edmond down for 204 rushing yards on 26 carries with 4 TDs + 65 cacthes for 777 receiving yards and 7 TDs on offense this season. On defense he is credited with 59 total tackles and 5 INTs. Kid is a box score-stuffing machine. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Allen Trieu noted that Edmond's height, weight, and length are verified and that Edmond "has also timed well in the forty and shuttle", presumably at some of the camps he attended. However, I have been unable to find any 40 times from those camps, or any 40 times of Edmond at all. So I guess we have to take Trieu's word for it and 

VIDEO 

Junior year highlights from his Hudl (no senior year reel yet): 

Libby's two trips to see Edmond live returned some clips to share. Here is a clip of Edmond blitzing from the game where he was mostly a safety: 

Michigan CB commit Jo’Ziah Edmond (@joziahedmond4) flies into the backfield to record the sack. #GoBlue https://t.co/p0Efv8ji9c pic.twitter.com/MwfPKNTJW9

— Zach Libby (@LibbyOn3) September 9, 2023

This next one is Edmond playing receiver: 

Great athleticism from Michigan CB commit Jo’Ziah Edmond (@joziahedmond4) on the 29-yard reception. #GoBlue https://t.co/p0Efv8ji9c pic.twitter.com/HCrsyI5vXn

— Zach Libby (@LibbyOn3) September 8, 2023

He also made what Libby described as the best catch he'd ever seen live in the November game. No video, but you can see four still images of the catch frame-by-frame in this tweet. 

Here's the tape of Edmond's INT of Dante Moore that I promised you (go to the 0:10 mark): 

Two-way standout Jo’Ziah Edmond is one of the state’s top players in the 2024 class. #inpreps pic.twitter.com/n5OkZXir97

— Indiana Preps (@IndianaPreps) November 16, 2022

ETC

Plans to enroll early. Goes by the nickname "JoJo". His 7v7 coach is the same Chicago-based coach who once coached JJ McCarthy and Tyler Morris. Named to the 2023-24 All-American Bowl. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Jo'Ziah Edmond is a prospect that gives Michigan fans a lot of reason to be excited. He's a player with ideal size and length to play as a modern outside corner and appears to have the speed to do so too. The footwork and technique likely needs to be cleaned up and will probably need some degree of Herbertization to be ready to play at the level of football Michigan expects, but they are also not in a rush to get him on the field. If you can get his technique right and coach him up, there's a ton to like given the ball skills, frame, and competitiveness. At the time of his commitment scouts were saying things like "he has the tools to vastly outperform his ranking". Now that his ranking has soared, let's call it like it is: he's a good cornerback prospect, full stop. 

There are other reasons to like the profile too. As we always say at MGoBlog, the risers never rise far enough and the fallers never fall far enough. Edmond is the epitome of the late senior riser that often pays dividends and sometimes in massive fashion (see: Graham, Mason). Additionally, though Purdue was dabbling with the idea of using him on offense, any time you can claim to have a DB prospect who was offered/wanted by Ryan Walters, that's a good sign. 

If the scouts are to believed, we probably won't see Edmond too quickly after he arrives at Michigan. Of course, they could be wrong, because I wrote the same things about DJ Waller Jr. this time last year and instead Waller was the most-used of all the true freshman DBs. But let's assume they're right and it's going to take a year or two to get Edmond up to playability (there are certainly some Jyaire Hill comps here, though not necessarily in terms of exact athletic profile). 2024 he will not be needed, because Michigan has Will Johnson at one outside corner spot and then lots of options to fill nickel/CB2, be it McBurrows, Amorion Walker, and Hill, or the portal. Edmond will be down on the depth chart marinating. The path to playing time opens up in 2025 once Johnson leaves, but that may prove to be a year early for Edmond. Only time will tell, but it's worth the wait. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Edmond is one of two corners in the 2024 class, joining the very low-rated Jeremiah Lowe out of Kentucky, who will get his Hello next week. Michigan is likely done at this position, as there is no discussion of further defensive back targets in advance of signing day in a couple weeks. Michigan will take Edmond, Lowe, and S Jacob Oden with them and call it a cycle. They took their shot at two very difficult Ohioan prospects in Bryce West and Aaron Scott and it didn't work out, unable to procure either due to their entrenched Buckeye blood and roots.

Instead, Michigan snagged Edmond and Lowe and is headed off to 2025, where the cornerback/DB board is much wider and more fruitful. Michigan already has one 4* corner committed in 2025 (Chris Ewald) and is towards the top for such prospects as Alex Graham (4*), Dawayne Galloway (4*), Jahmari DeLoatch (4*), and Elijah Dotson (3.5*). Expect a big 2025 corner class after a smaller 2024 one, albeit one that Edmond highlights. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.4⬇⬇⬇	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.5	Accelerates South-North
RB	Micah Ka'apana	NV	3.9⬆⬆	Well-balanced accelerator
WR	I'Marion Stewart	IL	4.0⬆	Ronnie slick/quick, #1 WR to M
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.7⬇	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.3⬇⬇	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.0⬇⬇	Colston Loveland West
LT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.2	Athletic son of Steve
RT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.3⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	3.9⬇	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.9⬆	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.5⬆	Lengthy German via Choate
DT	Owen Wafle	NJ	4.0	Little nose with bite
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	3.9⬇	Cincy build-a-bear
SDE	Dominic Nichols	MD	3.8	Mike Morris-ish SDE
WDE	Devon Baxter	MD	3.9⬆⬆	Super long 4-3 grow-an-edge.
LB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.1⬇⬇	Long athlete moving up
LB	Jeremiah Beasley	MI	4.0	Explosive hitter from Belleville
LB	Jaden Smith	NC	4.0	Underscouted Uche/WLB
HSP	Cole Sullivan	PA	4.0⬆⬆	Hybrid LB with crazy athleticism
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.0⬇⬇	Tall son of coach
CB	Jo'Ziah Edmond	IN	4.0⬆⬆⬆	PU decommit, long CB/WR ATH
Nk	Jeremiah Lowe	KY	3.4	Sainristilian athlete

[Note: Arrows are based on average change across the four services since Seth's last August update]