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Cornerback Nygel Edmonds has a year to make up his mind regarding his college future, but already the McCallie junior has 22 scholarship offers.
And the list definitely is going to grow.
“He’s pretty much the prototype for what colleges are looking for in a corner prospect,” Blue Tornado coach Ralph Potter said. “He has all the physical tools. He’s tall — well, long — good speed; a good cover guy. He could also play safety, and he played some wide receiver for us last year and will play more there next season. But I think corner is where folks see him at the next level.”
Schools that already have offered Edmonds scholarships include big names from East coast to West: Boston College, Cal-Berkley, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Ole Miss, North Carolina, N.C. State, Penn State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Wisconsin and — oh, yes, from the extreme academic side — Harvard. Alabama hasn’t been in yet to see Edmonds, but Crimson Tide coaches have made inquiries of Potter.
Edmonds and his family already have looked at each of those who’ve made offers for both academics and athletics, and they spent much of last summer making unofficial visits to many of those schools plus potential suitors Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Southern Cal and UCLA.
“It’s education first, football second,” Edmonds said. “I’m looking at being in some aspect of the engineering field. I’ve been talking with my dad the last year and a half. First is always academics. Then I’ll look at the athletics. Once I visit I have to figure out if I’ll feel at home, whether I can achieve my goals and have a successful future after college.”
Edmonds transferred to McCallie last summer from Westminster in Atlanta after a phone call from one school to the other.
“Westminster’s director of admissions called Troy Kemp, our director of admissions,” Potter said. “Westminster has very high academic standards but very little (extra) help for the students. We have a learning center and tutoring, and Nygel has very high ambitions as far as the schools he wants to attend. He’s a good student and beyond that a good guy, and I think he’s still learning how to excel at everything he does.”
Edmonds has come to appreciate the McCallie faculty.
“At first it was weird being away from home, but now I’m just flowing with things,” he said. “Both are great schools but I like it here — the way the faculty supports students. They’re keeping me accountable, and I feel comfortable going to somebody for help or advice.”
It’s likely that recruiters will make a point of stopping at McCallie during Blue Tornado spring practice, but if they miss him in football they can at least see him run.
“We timed our guys in the 40 last summer before he got here,” Potter said, “but I would think he’s a 4.4 or 4.5 type guy. He’ll likely be running the sprints and some relays for us in track.”
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.