ASU Football: FCS All-American safety Chris Edmonds commits to Sun Devils

National Signing Day 2022 is off with a bang as Herm Edwards landed former Samford safety and FCS All-American Chris Edmonds, per his Twitter page.

Edmonds dominated in the secondary for the Bulldogs during their spring 2021 season, racking up multiple All-American nods at the FCS level. He was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award given to the top defensive player in the FCS. In just seven games, he recorded four interceptions, which was the best in the Southern Conference, and fourth-best in the country. He also forced two fumbles.

In the fall 2022 season, Edmonds lived up to the hype. He tallied three more picks, and 40 total tackles. Twenty-one of those were solo.

There will be complete turnover at the starting defensive back level, as the top five starters have moved on (Lucas, Jones, Pierce, Fields, Davis). The Markham brothers, Keon (corner) and Kejuan (Tillman-safety), have experience and are expected to compete for starting jobs. Edmonds will fight for the free safety position against Alijah Gammage and Willie Harts, both of whom saw reps last year.

Jordan Clark took his snaps from the nickelback position last fall. It’s likely he stays there as CB3 with his size and skillset. Expect the second corner spot opposite of Markham to be a battle, potentially involving four-star recruit Isaiah Johnson in his sophomore year. Johnson was rated the 11th best corner in his class by ESPN. Macen Williams should also get reps in his sophomore season.

Edmonds is the ninth player signed by the Sun Devils through the transfer portal, and he is the only defensive back on the list. Former Illinois safety Derrick Smith, who intended to come to Tempe, decomitted from ASU “due to some reasons.