Bucknell University Athletics
A Long Journey to a Starting Position
10/13/2008 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 13, 2008
By Matt Saylor, Bucknell Athletic Communications
Standing at 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 264 pounds, Bucknell football player Stephen Edwards is a hard man to move. Yet, he has spent the last few years doing exactly that.
He moved from his home in Albuquerque, N.M., to the east coast with his family, now residing in Falmouth, Mass. He graduated from Falmouth High School and moved to the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., for a post-graduate year before coming to Bucknell in the fall of 2005. He moved from the campus dorm rooms of Lewisburg, Pa., to Northern Ireland, to study abroad in the spring of 2008.
Now he has moved again--into Bucknell's starting lineup at right offensive tackle.
After three years of position changes on the field, Edwards has finally been placed at the spot he always expected to play. Recruited from the Taft School as an offensive lineman, Edwards was immediately moved to the defensive line at the start of preseason practice his freshman year. He played eight games during the 2005 season for the Bison, appearing on special teams, but also as a back-up on the defensive line. For his sophomore campaign, Edwards was moved to the tight end position. He played in all 11 of the team's games, making his mark primarily on special teams, as the Bison did not use a tight end much in their offensive schemes.
Finally, Edwards was moved back to the offensive line, appearing as a backup and as a special teams regular in 10 games during the 2007 season. Edwards received his first collegiate start against Robert Morris earlier this year and has been entrenched as the top person on the depth chart ever since. His steady play helped him garner the team's offensive player of the game following his performance in Bucknell's 21-17 comeback win over Marist Oct. 4, despite not having the gaudy stats of quarterback Marcello Trigg or wide receiver Shaun Pasternak.
It has been a long journey for Edwards, who considers himself not only the "old man" of the offensive line, but the "old man" of the team as well.
"I'm 23-years-old," he points out. "At the college level, it has been very surprising this year to see so many young players come in and play right away, and I hope that I provide some type of leadership role to them."
Besides his age, Edwards has the look and maturity of an older man on the team. He credits some of that growth to his year at Taft.
"The year at prep school opened up this opportunity for me at Bucknell," he says. "It prepared me for the level of academics at Bucknell, and provided me with some experience being away from home for the first time."
Additionally, some of Edwards' leadership can stem from the fact that he is only one of five seniors to have lettered in each of the previous three years. He played on the 2005 team that suffered through an injury plagued 1-10 season, and the 2006 team, that had one of the nation's most improved years in terms of wins, going 6-5. What Edwards would like to play on a team that contends for a Patriot League championship.
"We started off my career going 1-10, and then have had a couple of up and down seasons," Edwards explains. "At this point, we really just want to take it week by week."
He continues on, discussing the ability of this year's team, saying "We have a lot of potential. We've played a couple of close games, too close, but we have a lot of potential to do well."
With a 3-2 record at this point of the season, the Bison have already equaled their win total from a year ago. The offense has a new look to it, passing with more regularity than any previous Bison team under sixth-year head coach Tim Landis.
"I like what we're doing on offense, playing out of the shotgun and a lot of other different formations," Edwards mentions. "It is a lot of fun to play and a little more exciting to watch."
Edwards has made sure not to limit the excitement of a full collegiate experience, taking the opportunity to study in Northern Ireland during the 2008 spring semester. He knew he would be missing spring football practice, but decided to go anyway.
"Going abroad is a big thing at Bucknell," Edwards, a political science major, says. "I wanted to take advantage of all the school has to offer. I didn't want to regret not taking advantage of any opportunities. So I went, and I had a blast."
With the half way point of the football season quickly approaching, Edwards knows that his playing days are coming to an end sooner rather than later. He wants to make sure not to miss any other activities that go along with senior year.
"Academically, I want to leave with as good of marks as possible, so staying on top of my studies is important," Edwards notes. "I'm going to be completing a pair of minors next semester in history and environmental studies. Plus, I still need to figure out what I'm going to do next year."
Edwards would like to live in the Boston area, close to where some of his family lives. He has spent, as he says "more summers than I can count," working on a fishing boat in Cope Cod during the summers.
"I go out on fishing tours with this crazy captain," Edwards laughs. "I love taking advantage of being near the water, being out on the water."
Before Edwards can play what awaits him this summer and beyond, he hopes to enjoy his final months at school as much as possible.
"I have a lot of friends here, and we are all going to be going our separate ways in a little while," he explains. "I want to make the most of our time together."
There is no reason to think Edwards won't take advantage of that time, as he has gotten the most possible out of everything else during his time at Bucknell.
