Recruit Review: Kamarro Edmonds
The state of North Carolina has an incredible amount of talent in the 2021 class. Among the plethora of top athletes, the running backs might make up the most impressive position.
The three best in NC have all committed. Will Shipley has picked Clemson, Evan Pryor chose Ohio State, and Kamarro Edmonds has stayed in-state with UNC. Though Shipley and Pryor were getting a lot of attention early on, Edmonds has quickly risen up boards and made a name for himself.
The Havelock prospect is rated as a four-star athlete. He rushed for 1,402 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. His explosive junior year is a big reason he has jumped from three to four stars, and he still has plenty of time to raise his stock even higher.
Scouting Report
Starting off, Edmonds is the prototypical size for the running back position. He is a strong 5’11” and 200 pounds, and he knows how to carry himself on the field. That frame is ideal for his style of play, and it is a size that works from high school to the NFL.
He possesses good speed, though there is no official 40-time for him. Regardless, that speed translates to the field very well. The most important way this comes into play is his quickness at the handoff. Edmonds is a decisive runner, and when he makes his cut, he does it with explosion. Whereas many of the fastest backs need space and time to hit their top speed, he has tremendous acceleration through the hole.
Edmonds is a physical runner and isn’t afraid of a tackle. Due to his elusiveness, though, he avoids a lot of those big hits. Arm tackles simply don’t do much against him. Given that he gets up to speed so quickly, it means a big gain every time he gets his blocks.
His open-field running is also quite impressive. He has a good feel for defenders when he breaks off a run, which was often last season. Edmonds averaged 9.6 yards a carry as a junior. His favorite move is a jump cut. He loves to set up defenders, thinking they have a clean shot, only for Edmonds to stop on a dime or cut in the opposite direction. Least to say it usually takes multiple tacklers or the sideline to bring him down.
The Tar Heels usually rush from the shotgun, and that is something Edmonds is already comfortable with. Havelock runs a lot of shotgun and read options. This should make the transition of running style a little smoother when he gets to Chapel Hill.
Edmonds is also split out as a wide receiver on occasion in Havelock’s system. He has shown an ability to get open on deep routes, but they also move him around to make it difficult to gameplan for him. They bring him in motion, run him on jet sweeps, and throw screens while he is a wide out. This keeps him on the field and gets him to different areas of the defense.
If he can continue to work on his receiving, it will make him that much more valuable. It is difficult to say just how well he runs routes at this point. However, developing that part of his game will make it a lot easier for him to get early snaps at Carolina.
Another small critique is that Edmonds sometimes runs with his pads a bit high. He has a natural lean about him, which helps. But keeping yourself low protects yourself and the ball. This doesn’t come back to bite him much at the high school level, though the college game is a lot less forgiving.
These are small gripes. A big reason why they are not too concerning is that they can be coached. Coaching is something that Edmonds has proven to take well. His high school coach has provided glowing reviews of his work ethic. He says that Edmonds is always in the gym, and that he was power-cleaning 270 pounds as a sophomore.
If it hasn’t come across so far, Edmonds has all the capabilities of a three-down back. His versatility allows him to run the ball inside and outside the tackles, catch screens out of the backfield, and even split out to as a receiver. He even plays cornerback for the Rams.
Edmonds has shown considerable improvement, and people are taking notice. It will be exciting to see what aspects of his game grows in the next year and just how much he jumps up boards. He will be expecting a huge senior season, and few should be surprised when it happens.
