Texas A&M Five-Star Safety Target Announces Recruiting Decision

One of the Texas A&M Aggies' top prospects, Jireh Edwards has committed to Alabama after juggling options between Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, Auburn and Oregon, per On3's Hayes Fawcett.

Edwards is ranked No. 2 as a safety in the class of 2026, as well as ranking as the overall No. 33 player after receiving 37 offers from Division I programs. The Crimson Tide clearly had something that stuck out to Edwards after his visit in June before heading to Aggieland in the middle of June.

The 6-2, 210-pound safety from Upper Marlboro, MD. had 92 tackles for St. Frances Academy as a junior. Edwards was also invited to the Under Armour All-American game, in which he recorded three tackles.

Jireh Edwards' Recruiting Journey

Within his top six schools, Edwards has made his way across the country taking many official and unofficial visits, his most recent one being to Oregon on June 19.

With five Southeastern Conference schools in his top six, it makes for a tough decision for a young competitive player to reside in one of the most powerful college football conferences.

The Aggies offered Edwards back in Nov. 2022 by former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, but after proving an incredible amount of talent on the field, his offer stood as Elko took over the program.

While it is obvious that Texas A&M has been after Edwards since his freshman year of high school, Alabama swooped in nearly three years later in March 2025, and won him over to be a part of a nationally historic football program. 

A potential factor for Edwards decision to play for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide was the shortage of safeties on the team. The Tide has eight, yet only one five-star sophomore in Zavier Mincey who dealt with some unfortunate injuries during the 2025 season.

With the third-highest ranked safety heading to Tuscaloosa, the Aggies are not in bad shape though as they have several defensive players coming back for the 2025 season, including Bryce Anderson who will play his fourth year of college football. Once Anderson leaves, it will be interesting to see where Elko goes from there to fill the shoes.

Although Edwards is officially off the board for the Aggies as he heads to Alabama, Texas A&M's defense will be in good shape as the Aggies are set to kick off the 2025 football season on Aug. 30 against UTSA.