BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford Athletics is bringing back the Student-Athlete Spotlight series, presented by Coca-Cola, which, this week, will highlight Chris Edmonds, a sophomore free safety for the Bulldog football team.
 
Edmonds came to Samford from Columbus, Georgia. He talked a little about what brought him to Samford.
 
"The recruiting process for me was pretty slow," Edmonds said. "It kind of started off late for me. I was recruited by a few SoCon schools; Samford, Mercer, Wofford and Furman. All of them showed heavy interest, but never really offered, so I chose Samford because I felt like they gave me the best opportunity to come and play as a walk-on and, hopefully earn a scholarship. And, it was not too far from home."
 
Edmonds came to Samford as a walk-on. He said he felt like, as a walk-on, he has more to prove than some other players.
 
"I most definitely have a chip on my shoulder because I feel like I have something to prove," Edmonds said. "Being a walk-on is different, you have to prove more than some scholarship guys. You have to prove why you belong, you have to work a little harder."
 
Edmonds has gotten his sophomore season off to a hot start. He has been named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the last two weeks in a row. He currently leads the SoCon and is tied for the national lead in total interceptions (4), and he is tied for the SoCon lead and tied for third in the nation in interceptions per game (1.0).
 
"The key to my success has been following the defensive game plan," Edmonds said. "Just doing what my coaches have been telling me to do, just playing hard, playing through the scheme, not trying to make the hero play, just playing through the scheme and doing my assignment. I've just found out when I do my assignment, the plays will come to me."
 
Edmonds and the Bulldogs earned a big 37-31 SoCon win over 20^th-ranked Wofford last Saturday at Seibert Stadium. Edmonds talked about what it was like to be able to finish off that big win.
 
"It just feels great to get back into the winning column," Edmonds said. "Our coaches preach a lot about finishing because, two of our games this season we haven't finished when we were supposed to, so just to see our team be able to finish strong and get a W behind our home crowd is just great to see."
 
This week, Samford hosts 19^th-ranked VMI. The Keydets are off to a 3-0 start. Edmonds talked about what he has seen from VMI so far.
 
"Other than our quarterbacks, they probably have the best quarterback we'll see all season," Edmonds said. "They have a pretty good receiving corps, they're all pretty tall and pretty big. I know number 14 is about 6-5, he's a pretty big target, he has great hands, he's very athletic. So, we really have to lock in this week on being able to stop the pass. I think their offense is a lot like our offense with the spread and the tempo."
 
Samford and VMI are scheduled to play Saturday at 12 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
 
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