Bart Edmiston Jr. ‘forging his own path’ at Southern Miss. Why he said no to LSU, Ole Miss
Southern Miss recruited Bart Edmiston Jr. out of high school but ultimately passed on the Ocean Springs product at the time.
Then Edmiston became a junior college All-American and the Golden Eagles were able to secure his signature in December despite the SEC knocking on his door.
Edmiston has always had the family leg — his father was an All-Conference kicker for Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators in the 1990s — he just needed the opportunity to show it off.
The Greyhounds were too good for his services. Coach Blake Pennock and quarterback Bray Hubbard led offenses that scored over 500 points in back-to-back seasons. Edmiston punted just 17 times as a senior and often without a full field to work with.
The place kicking opportunities were thin, too. Edmiston had to take the junior college route once USM passed on him, and did so with the goal of sticking around for just one semester.
“I went to (Jones College) wanting to try and become the best at what I did there and in the country,” Edmiston told the Sun Herald.
Just halfway into his ‘23 season at Jones College, the Golden Eagles were back in his phone. And for good reason. Edmiston launched 51 punts for an average of 44.6 yards per boot. He sent 16 punts more than 50 yards and buried 22 inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
The breakout campaign came as no surprise to those who have seen his talents up close.
“He is a big time, big time talent,” Pennock said. “He has a lot of ability in his leg. He is one of those rare ones where he can do all of it. He can kick off, he can kick extra points and field goals and he is an amazing punter. All three of those aspects are tremendous weapons. When he had the year he had it didn’t surprise me at all.”
The honors rolled in. Edmiston was named an NJCAA Second Team All-American, MACCC South Special Teams Player of the Year and First Team All-MACCC punter.
But this time USM special teams coordinator Greg Meyer had a battle on his hands. Several Power Five programs were interested and LSU came through with an offer in December following a visit in Baton Rouge.
“Highly recruited kid, man,” Hall said about Edmiston. “Greg Meyer battled to get Bart here. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player as a punter, as well as a kicker.”
Edmiston says USM offering him a scholarship first, the constant communication from the coaches and a more direct path to playing time led him to choosing the Eagles as his next home.
He also points to a bit of history and a personal goal attached to it as another reason for suiting up in black and gold.
“I know that the best punter in college football, Ray Guy, he went to Southern Miss,” Edmiston said. “That’s my main goal, to win the Ray Guy (Award). If I can win that at Southern Miss, where he played, I think it would be a huge deal.”
Edmiston’s punting potential
Edmiston is open to trying both punting and place kicking, though the plan once spring practice gets underway is to focus on punting.
He admits the load of doing both at Jones College took its toll toward the end of the year. Edmiston began the season with seven straight made field goals, before finishing just 2-for-6, and watched his punting average dip about three yards over the final few contests.
But the production at his peak was enough to turn a few heads. His father, who connected on 22 field goals at Florida and nine during the 1996 championship season, expects his junior to be even better than he was.
“I think he’s got the biggest part of the family leg,” Dr. Bart Edmiston Sr. said. “I think he’s stronger than I was. ... I think Bart has the potential to be a top-three punter in America in all of college football Division I next year. Without question.”
There’s credence to the claim. Among the schools interested in Edmiston were Ole Miss and Missouri. He booted three punts more than 60 yards this past season, including a long of 65.
Much of his recent development came from simply having the opportunity to take the field on punt team at the JUCO level. He also points to his father for instilling the work ethic.
“What I’ve learned from (Edmiston Sr.) and his trials and errors of doing it, is that the main thing is to just keep working and keep your head down,” Edmiston said. “If you work hard and keep practicing enough, then it’s going to come eventually if you have the talent.”
Edmiston Sr. says he tried to avoid swaying his son one way or the other during the recruiting process — even when Billy Napier’s staff at UF reached out — but did help lay out the pros and cons of Edmiston’s options and advised on the importance of loyalty.
The elder kicker just wants Edmiston to carve his own legacy in today’s game.
“I think that was the biggest fear for me, I wanted him to make his own path and become his own person,” Edmiston Sr. said. “To see him do what he’s done and go where he’s going. ... He’s grown up and matured and become his own man where he’s not living in the past or in the shadow of what I did. He’s forged his own path and that’s a really neat thing to watch.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
