LarryD, FSU gets top NC running back

And a good one at that, Jamaal Edwards!

Dudley's Edwards picks FSU
By Jeff Carlton, Staff Writer, Greensboro News & Record

GREENSBORO -- Jamaal Edwards wasn't in Miami when Scott Bentley's 22-yard field goal beat Nebraska in the waning seconds of the 1994 Orange Bowl. But his heart was with Florida State, as the Seminoles won college football's national championship.

The Dudley High School student's heart has remained with Florida State over the years -- and it will stay there. Edwards, a rising senior who is one of the nation's most highly sought running backs, has given an oral commitment to play football for the Seminoles.

"Florida State has always been my dream school," said Edwards, who took the Seminoles' scholarship offer ahead of those from Miami, North Carolina and Virginia.

"That was a match made in heaven," Dudley coach Victor Floyd said.

Edwards is rated the No. 2 senior prospect in North Carolina -- behind teammate Demario Pressley, a defensive tackle -- by Rivals.com and the third-best running back in the nation by TheInsiders.com.

The commitment sends a Greensboro player to one of the nation's most dominant programs. Florida State, which won national championships after the 1993 and '99 seasons, has dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference in its 11 seasons, winning 10 league titles and losing only five conference games. From 1987 through 2000, Florida State won at least 10 games in every season.

Seminoles coaches identified the 6-foot, 200-pound Edwards as one of their primary recruiting targets last summer and told him this spring he was the No. 1 running back on their board.

"There's no more that you can ask for," Edwards said. "A school that likes you and you like them."

Edwards returned from an unofficial visit to Florida State on Saturday. By Monday, he was sure of his choice, never mind defensive back Martel Thatch's efforts to sway him to North Carolina. Thatch committed to the Tar Heels during the weekend.

So Edwards called Seminoles tight ends coach John Lilly, a graduate of Northwest Guilford and Guilford College who recruits the state, to tell him he would be Tallahassee-bound.

Edwards "is a combination slasher with good power," recruiting analyst Tom Lemming wrote for ESPN.com.

Last year, after transferring from Page, Edwards rushed for 2,376 yards and 31 touchdowns, becoming the ninth Guilford County player to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season. He ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the Class 3-AA state championship game.

Edwards has been a Florida State fan as long as he can remember. He's been going to the Seminoles' summer camps since the eighth grade. And he's felt his dream school might become reality since last summer, when he was one of about 10 camp attendees -- out of 500 -- to be offered the full campus tour.

North Carolina has not exactly been a recruiting hotbed for the Seminoles, who have only had four players from the state on their roster since joining the ACC in 1992. That includes linebacker A.J. Nicholson, a sophomore from Winston-Salem Mount Tabor.

The Seminoles wouldn't mind adding Pressley to that list. Floyd doesn't expect him to decide until after taking his five official visits.

"Florida State has offered him," Edwards said. "But he's got to go where it's best for him."

 

no surprise. Everyone robs the talent from this state .

 

is this kid as good as Nick Maddox was?

 

They say he's the top back in NC, 2nd best player in the state overall. That title goes to a d-lineman on Dudley's team as well.

Rivals: The 6-0, 196-pound Edwards made his athletic reputation first on the track where he was a national junior champion in the 100-meter dash at age 13. He has 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and has been timed at 10.7 in the 100. Edwards used that speed to gain 2,387 yards on 346 carries and scored 31 touchdowns as the Panthers advanced to the state 3-A championship game last season.

 

i wonder if he wouldn't mind switching to receiver?

 

Might be a little short, but if he gets in the open field with 4.4 speed, you won't catch him. What's the veteran RB situation in front of him Larry?

 

Dunn wasn't huge. Matter of fact, none of the younger FSU backs are big.
Depends mostly on Lorenzo Booker, though.

Can Kendyll Pope add weight?

 

the backfield is loaded right now: greg jones, leon washington and lorenzo booker. there may have even been someone in this last recruiting class.

i'd imagine greensboro kid will redshirt and jones will go pro (with a good season, showing his knee is OK).

lorenzo booker is supposed to be the real deal.

dunno about pope. i haven't seen him in street clothes.

 

Just trying to find a position for him. At 210, he's certainly not quite big enough for LB, and that S projection's always risky. But he's a playmaker and rangy like Brooks was.