The biggest dreamers can come from the smallest schools. Don't try to tell The Kid From Fordham he can't beat the odds and pledge the NFL fraternity.
"I feel like my whole life I've always been like the small-school kid, the kid that was the underdog," Chase Edmonds says at the TEST Sports Academy in Martinsville, N.J.
"I remember being in class at Fordham, and the teacher might ask people what they want to do after college, and you got people saying they want to be engineers, you got people saying they want to work on Wall Street, and I say, 'I want to play in the NFL.' And you can feel when people are kind of looking at you funny. I took it like a grain of salt, whatever, patted myself on the back and kept moving forward, and tried to stay focused on my dream. And now that it's about to be reality, it's nothing better than to know that I proved many people wrong."
He is a 5-foot-9, 205-pound running back from Harrisburg, Pa., who rushed for 5,862 yards at Fordham, caught 86 passes and scored 74 touchdowns — even after a heartbreaking ankle injury that curtailed his senior season and left him wondering if his NFL dream might have been shattered.
When you ask Chase Edmonds what drives him, he tells you: "Proving people wrong. Just a chip on my shoulder that I've always had.
"I remember when I was a little kid my father would always tell me, 'You're gonna wear that yellow [Hall of Fame] jacket someday, son.' You hear that, and it's like, 'What are the chances of that?' But I really believe I can make it that far. I believe I can be that great, and then when people just laugh at your dreams, it's just more motivation."
Since 1968, just two Fordham players — quarterback John Skelton (2010, Cardinals) and defensive back Kenny Parker (1968, Giants) have been drafted. Edmonds has a chance to be the third.
"You stay the course, you keep the faith, and you never know what could happen," Edmonds says.
Chase EdmondsFordham athletics The Chase Edmonds story began after it nearly ended as a 6-year-old boy.
"I don't know what happened, I guess I got hit maybe, I come crying saying that I wanted to quit football," he says, "and my dad told me that anything you start in life you always finish. 'If you don't like football after this year, you don't have to play it again, but you're gonna finish it.' The rest is history."
Central Dauphin East High School head coach Aaron Blanding recalls the first time Edmonds took the field as a freshman.
"Put him back on kickoff return, and he took it back for a touchdown," Blanding said by phone. "He wasn't one of those guys who would just talk the talk."
But no one was knocking down the door for a 160-pound running back-cornerback. Until a man named Gump May, who was the defensive coordinator at Central Dauphin East, met Edmonds. May coached a man named Andrew Breiner. Breiner happened to be the offensive coordinator at Fordham.
"I think I got a kid, you gotta come down and look at him," May told Breiner.
It was love at first sight. Breiner left Fordham after the season to become the passing game coordinator/QBs at Mississippi State.
"He obviously does not have tremendous size, but the one thing about Chase that I do think is truly elite is his body balance, contact balance," Breiner said by phone. "I think every scout that came in probably for the last two years commented on that, his ability to stay on his feet, change direction and then get to his top speed quickly is special regardless of how big he is.
"I told every team that came in he checks all the intangible boxes. We were fortunate that our best player was our hardest worker. He's extremely intense, he's extremely goal-oriented, he's a great teammate, a very bright kid, picks things up quickly."
Edmonds is a fan of Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders, LeSean McCoy and Devonta Freeman, and draws inspiration from Antonio Brown, an undersized sixth-round pick.
Edmonds' scouting report on himself goes like this: "Vision, first and foremost, that's the No. 1 thing a running back has to have, I believe … creativity, so when a play breaks down I can still make something out of nothing … versatility. You need running backs to really line up in the slot, get a bad matchup for a linebacker, I feel like I'm the best running back that can do that in this class."
He was the best of the running backs in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle at the scouting combine.
"He's got explosive lateral speed," TEST Football Academy owner and CEO Kevin Dunn said.
"There's no question about when he gets into a camp he's gonna turn some eyes, but then when he gets into a game he's gonna be a gamer," TEST Director Geir Gudmundsen said.
Edmonds has a degree in broadcast communications and a 3-year-old daughter named Avery.
"Everything I do is for Avery," he says. "When you have a child very early, it's obviously difficult, but it makes you mature and smarter, especially with your money."
He isn't sure yet where he will watch the April 26 draft.
"It truly hasn't hit me yet," Edmonds says.
The Kid From Fordham has waited a lifetime for when it does.
0 Response to "Meet the underdog Fordham RB who's about to fulfill NFL dream - New York Post"
Post a Comment