Jo’Ziah Edmond, Wolverine

Nappanee (IN) Northwood cornerback Jo’Ziah Edmond committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He flipped from Purdue and also had offers from Baylor, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Wisconsin, among others.

Edmond is listed at 6’1″ and 180 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 76 grade, #112 ATH
On3: 3-star, 87 grade, #57 ATH
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #43 ATH
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #48 CB

Hit the jump for more.

Edmond transferred from Indianapolis (IN) Warren Central after his junior year, so this fall will be his first at Northwood. He took an official visit to Purdue and committed there in early June. At that point Michigan had not offered, but they had been in contact with the understanding that they were working on some higher priority prospects, particularly Aaron Scott, who recently committed to Ohio State. When that didn’t work out for the Wolverines, they sent him an offer on August 1, and he basically committed immediately.

The first thing that stands out about Edmond on his junior film is his toughness. He’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades type (quarterback, receiver, cornerback, punter, etc.), but the way he runs the ball – powering through tackles and bouncing off defenders – is impressive and makes me think he will transition well to being physical on defense. His most impressive highlight is a one-handed interception, which is almost Jourdan Lewis-level. I like the fact that his team uses him in a variety of ways, especially at quarterback, because it means he has the awareness to play multiple positions.

On the flip side, 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. His stance is a little stiff-legged and so are some of his movements, especially when it comes to his backpedal. He needs to sit down in his backpedal and reach farther back, so there might be some flexibility issues that can be worked out. He can also be a little slow to react to balls thrown underneath, and that probably comes with experience and route recognition. His speed is a little tough to gauge based on his film, because he never really gets out into the open field or into chase mode on his highlights.

Overall, Edmond is an interesting prospect with some good traits and then some question marks. 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.

Michigan now has 27 commitments in the 2024 class, but Edmond is the first cornerback. The Wolverines have never landed a player from Northwood, but linebacker Chris Graham, who played in the mid-2000s, was from Warren Central.

TTB Rating: 75

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