Sincere Edwards decommitted from Central Florida the day before he flew up to Pittsburgh for his official visit, and it went very, very well, but his recruiting process appears to be a ways from over.
In a recent interview with RecruitingNewsGuru’s Ryan Wright, Edwards said that he will likely be taking official visits to Maryland and Penn State in December.
“I like coach JT (James Thomas Jr.),” Edwards told Wright. “I mess with them heavily. Maryland has a great coaching staff. I have been to Maryland twice already. We should be setting up an official; it is the same with Penn State, it should be sometime in December.”
Edwards set a Top 5 of UCF, Pitt, Penn State, Maryland and USF after he decommitted from UCF last month, and Pitt appeared to be his final official visit. But that no longer appears to be the case.
He has been a key target for Pitt for a few months now, with the relationship turning a corner after an unofficial visit in April to check out a spring practice. The relationship he’s built, and he even told Wright that Pitt influenced his decision to decommit, has been vital.
“Honestly they just showed me something that I’ve never seen before, and what I mean by that is, for one, we could talk about the state of Pitt, Pennsylvania, it’s just different,” Edwards told PSN last month. “It’s something I’ve never seen before, something me or my family has ever seen before, and I got a real connection with coach Partridge. So, Pitt — I love the defense that they run, and I really see myself fitting in that scheme.”
Edwards holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Duke, FAU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Ole Miss, USF and Utah.
He committed to UCF last August, but he wants to be sure he knows exactly where he will be attending — without any doubt — before his senior season at Wekiva kicks off.
“I want to make sure that I capitalize on every opportunity that is given to me, and for me, decommitting is the right decision because I want to focus on strictly my senior year of high school and go through it with a breeze,” Edwards said. “I don’t want to stress about me being committed and me wondering if I’m really committed to the school, so until I really make a real thorough decision, I’ll be decommitted.”
His visit to Pittsburgh in April allowed him to not only check out Pitt’s facilities and the way the coaching staff runs practice but meet up with NFL players in Aaron Donald and Calijah Kancey.
“I got to meet a guy that I look up to, which is Aaron Donald,” Edwards told PSN in April. “I got to meet him; that was very cool. I also got to meet Calijah Kancey, and that was very cool. So, in meeting these Pitt legends, it was real fun and a great experience.
“It was a real fun (practice), and it was a good experience. I really enjoyed how high-intensity practice was — the defense completely dominated the offense, and it was one of the best practices — if not the best — I’ve ever went to so far.”
Edwards’ relationship with Charlie Partridge has been a major factor in his Pitt interest, with the two bonding heavily during the unofficial visit. They were able to watch Pitt’s film but also some of Edwards’ film from Wekiva, too.
“He loves my versatility, how I can play both inside and three tech and edge, and that’s one thing he mentions,” Edwards said. “If I come here, I won’t be limited to just one position. I’ll be able to showcase my talent at end, tackle and wherever.”
The way that Partridge developed Kancey — the best Pitt defensive tackle since Donald — hasn’t been lost upon Edwards either. “If you look, me and Calijah pretty much have the same body type. I’m 6-1, 260, coming into college he was 6-foot, 250, so it’s about the same there.” The pair share very similar frames and very similar styles of play.
As a junior at Wekiva, Edwards was one of the most disruptive forces in Florida high school ball. He recorded 78 tackles (48 solo), 27 tackles for loss, 16 sacks and recovered two fumbles. His blend of speed and power in a 260-pound frame is apparent.
247Sports rates him as the 549th-ranked recruit in the class (44th-ranked defensive lineman and 71st-ranked recruit from Florida) while On3 rates him as the 564th-ranked recruit in the class (54th-ranked defensive lineman and 75th-ranked recruit from Florida).
Rivals is even higher on Edwards, rating him as the 19th-ranked strongside defensive end and 47th-ranked recruit from Florida.
Pitt is in a very good place with Edwards as it stands, but it always bears watching when a recruit wants to attack the recruiting process all the way until the very end. At this point, it could be vital to land him for another unofficial visit.
Big 10 💰 at work
Unfortunately, the Panthers are in serious trouble at this point keeping any player of any quality is going to be difficult because it is coming down to the old mighty dollar in college sports and you have two conferences who have all money … wish them luck HTP
Waiting on that DREAM TEXAS OFFER