Chelsea football player Berkley Edwards commits to Minnesota
Chelsea running back Berkley Edwards, far right, has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
Edwards, a senior, can sign his national letter of intent on signing day, Feb. 6.
The commitment is the end of a recruiting process for Edwards that accelerated last week after Iowa rescinded its scholarship offer. Aside from Minnesota, his only other offer from a BCS conference program was from California, which recently fired coach Jeff Tedford.
All of Edwards' other offers were from Mid-American Conference schools.
Edwards is the younger brother of former Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards. The elder Edwards was critical of the Michigan coaching staff and its decision not to recruit Berkley Edwards, and echoed that last night on his Twitter page.
As a senior, Edwards rushed for 1,329 yards and 21 touchdowns in the regular season and helped lead the Bulldogs from an 0-3 start to their 15th consecutive playoff appearance. In two years as the Bulldogs’ starter, Edwards has 2,849 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Last week, he was named to the Associated Press Division 3-4 All-State team.
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.
Comments
garrisondyer
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.
Good for him! Minnesota made big progress from last year to this year. Maybe he can help them get even better.
harry b
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 5:59 p.m.
and maybe not
Sparky79
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 4:32 p.m.
No, Michigan doesn't have enough running backs, hence why they are still after Derrick Green (one of the top HS backs in the nation). Not only that, did you see how well our backfield performed this season? Berkley wasn't offered because he doesn't fit the mold of what Michigan wants in a running back--BIG. They're looking for that 6-foot-plus bruiser. Berkley is a 5-foot-9 scat in the mold of Dennis Norfleet. Not only that, but when you look at Berkley's offer sheet (mostly MAC schools), Michigan isn't the only school that isn't high on him. But I'm happy for the kid to still end up at a Big Ten school and hope he finds success there. As for his proud Maize n' Blue supporter older brother... ugh (check out all the tweets he send out last night, not just the one AA.com linked to... https://twitter.com/OfficialBraylon)
Blue Marker
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 9:15 p.m.
Agreed. Jordan Diamond was another one we whiffed on at the end of last year. Treadwell and Green I think we'll whiff on this year. This staff seems great at recruiting the line and on D but struggles to bring in the top level skill player, Shane Morris excluded of course. An elite power back and a big, physical receiver would get instant playing time at Michigan.
Sparky79
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 7:27 p.m.
I just hope this year's class finishes out better than last year's class. We still got a great class last year, but at the end all the top recruits we had a legit chance at (e.g. Josh Garnett) ended up going elsewhere. Any combination of McQuay, Dawson, Conley, Treadwell, and Green would be a great finish to an already outstanding class.
Blue Marker
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 6:38 p.m.
It's nice to honor legacies if you can but it's not required. I have a bad feeling about Green though. It seems so obvious Michigan is the best fit considering his other finalist but he doesn't even list UM as a top two. I think the class will be closed out with Conley, Dawson and McQuay. At least I hope so.
golfer
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 4:01 p.m.
the reason he did not get michigan offer is they have enough running backs. simple as simple it is>
PillowRock
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 4:31 p.m.
Well, UM is, by all reports, still chasing one RB pretty hard. However, that player is an entirely different kind of back than Edwards is. Edwards is a 185 pound smallish, quick back. Derrick Green is a 220 pound power back. (Also, Green is considered to be one of the top 2 or 3 backs in the country by all of the recruiting sites / analysts.) If UM hadn't gotten Dennis Norfleet last year, there might have been a role for Edwards. I don't think that they need one of those guys in every class, though.