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Nation's Top Safety Reveals Final Three Schools as Commitment Date Approaches

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By J.C. Shelton | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 3:20 PM ET

The recruitment of five-star safety Jireh Edwards is heating up with his commitment just around the corner.

Edwards (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) earned MaxPreps Junior All-American honors last season for St. Frances Academy in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He totaled 92 tackles (17 for loss) with six pass breakups and three forced fumbles in 11 games.

One of the most highly coveted recruits in the country, Edwards ranks as the No. 1 safety, the No. 2 player in the state of Maryland and the No. 15 overall player in the class of 2026, per Rivals.

Edwards has made some significant updates to his recruitment over the last few months ahead of his July 5 commitment date.

The Tennessee Volunteers were previously in contention before dropping outside of his top six in May while programs like Alabama and Florida entered the picture alongside Georgia, Auburn, Oregon and Texas A&M.

Auburn, Georgia, Alabama and home-state Maryland recently received official visits from Edwards, who also planned to pay official visits to Oregon and Texas A&M over the next two weeks.

However, Edwards has canceled those upcoming trips, and his list is down to SEC powerhouses Alabama, Auburn and Georgia, he announced Thursday via On3's Chad Simmons.

There's no shortage of recruiting prowess among Edwards' top contenders, which each signed top-10 classes in the 2025 cycle. Georgia and Alabama finished second and third, respectively, with Auburn coming in at No. 8.

The most recent projections favor Alabama to ultimately land Edwards, according to On3's Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons.

However, the recruiting trail provides plenty of twists and turns, and anything can happen for Edwards makes his decision on July 5.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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