Advertisement
Published Apr 14, 2015
Stanford lands four-star Edmonds
Woody Wommack
Analyst
Advertisement
Stanford continued its April recruiting roll, adding a commitment from Rivals250 defensive back Nygel Edmonds on Tuesday night. The Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School prospect chose Stanford over Ohio State.
"I'm making the decision to commit to Stanford," The 5-foot-11, 183-pound prospect said. "The reason I chose Stanford is because of the chance to go to a great school academically and also go somewhere that is extremely competitive athletically. It's the best of both worlds for me and I can get something out it both as an athlete and as a student, and that's very important to me."
According to Edmonds the Cardinal made a great impression on him last year during an unofficial visit and it just felt the time was right to make the call on Tuesday.
"We went up there last summer and visited and I've always heard from my friends that they fall in love once they visit," he said. "Once I camped there with the coaches and I toured the campus I automatically fell in love. I kind of kept it quite but it was a school that was always on my mind and the timing just felt right."
Part of the reasoning for committing now is so he can focus on being accepted into school at Stanford, which is no easy task despite Edmonds' impressive academic record.
"We wanted to make sure I can focus on one school and making sure I'm prepared academically and athletically," he said. "I wasn't sure when, until I talked to my parents recently and we decided that now is the time for me to join the Cardinal family."
On the field Edmonds said he plans on playing cornerback, but is willing to go where he's needed once he arrives in Palo Alto.
"Right now I'm going in as an athlete," he said. "I want to play corner and they said they might use me as a safety or even on offense. They said they can see me doing a lot of different things."
Edmonds informed the Stanford staff of his choice Monday and said he got exactly the reaction he wanted.
"They were definitely excited," he said. "They want to make sure I'm ready for everything and I told them I'm 100-percent sure. They were very excited about that and just wanted to welcome me to the family. It felt great."
Over the past few months Edmonds said he has developed a strong bond with Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson and that made the decision even easier for him.
"I've talked to him the most out of any coach at any school," Edmonds said. "We have a great relationship. He's very cool and very straightforward, and just one of those coaches that tells it like it is. I like that honesty. I want a coach that is going to be real with me and that's exactly how he is."
Edmonds, who played his first two years of high school in the Atlanta area before moving to Tennessee to attend boarding school, said he's not concerned about the distance from his Atlanta area home to the Bay Area.
"Distance doesn't really matter to me and my parents don't care either," he said. "They know that wherever I can get the best education and the best athletic experience is where I should be, not matter where it is. Stanford is a unique opportunity for me and my family so we weren't going to let distance stand in the way."
Edmonds, the nation's No. 141 overall player, joins an impressive haul for the Cardinal in April that includes four-star athlete Curtis Robinson and four-star tight end Kaden Smith.
"We have been talking over the past couple of days and we all sort of wanted to do it around the same time," he said. "I've been seeing them move up in the rankings with the commitments and hopefully we can keep it going and keep adding more guys, and just build a great 2016 class."
Stanford fans: Test drive the home of Cardinal sports on the Rivals.com network, Cardinal Sports Report, with a special 30-day free trial offer. Access the most comprehensive Stanford recruiting coverage available by entering Promo Code: Stanford30 when prompted.
Click Here to view this Link.
recruiting
2025Team Rankings
recruiting Team Rankings