ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Despite there being some relatively significant turnover going from 2024 to 2025, there are few positions that have question marks entering 2025 for Michigan football.
While there isn’t a returning starter at quarterback, and there is a competition, it’s believed that Bryce Underwood will start there. There are questions along the offensive line, but we know who the contenders are at left tackle and right guard. The front seven is (kind of) set, with there being a lot of players expected to rotate, but they’re known commodities. Same can be said for the starting corners, but the question there is about depth.
Veteran Zeke Berry is expected to start on one side with junior Jyaire Hill on the other, but what if one has to come out of the game? Then things look a bit murky, at least from the outside looking in. There’s been a ton of hype for true freshman Shamari Earls, but as Berry notes, ‘Mentally, I wouldn’t say he’s there yet, but he’s a young guy — he just came in,’ which is understandable for a first-year player who has to learn a complicated defense.
But second-year corner Jo’Ziah Edmond appears to be seeing the light, and the wheels are now turning more than they were a year ago.
According to Arkansas transfer TJ Metcalf, Edmond has already had two pick-sixes in fall camp, noting, ‘He caught one today. He caught one, I think, last week.’ Berry echoed Metcalf’s estimation of Edmond’s fall camp surge, sharing that he’s seen a ton of forward progress in his game from the time the Indiana native arrived a year ago to now.
“He’s been stepping up, man. I mean, I’m proud of him,” Berry said. “To see where he came in and then see how he is now. He had wise words today, and I was proud of what he said. So I feel like he’s going to have a high ceiling. I can’t wait for him to get out there.”
Edmond did get playing time last season and did not redshirt, but he was seen relatively sparingly defensively, playing 37 snaps over a four-game period (he appeared in eight games total, but mostly was on special teams). Berry notes that he’s shown flashes, and even when the lights don’t seem to be fully on, they actually are — he’s just got to work through it.
“I’d say, it’s kind of difficult for Jo’Ziah,” Berry said. “He’s savvy sometimes, and sometimes people might think he’s goofy, but he’s still locked in.”
Fans will likely get to see Edmond in action in Week 1 when Michigan football hosts New Mexico for the 2025 season opener at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jo’Ziah Edmond steps up as Michigan’s promising CB depth in 2025 camp, say Berry, Metcalf
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
