University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Edwards Writes New Story
August 18, 2006 | Football
Aug. 18, 2006
By Adam Lucas
There are plenty of Larry Edwards stories in college football.
But there's only one Larry Edwards.
You know the outline of the typical Larry Edwards story: a player comes into college with a superpowered recruiting reputation, displays enormous physical gifts and raw talent, but can never quite fit into the box required of a major college football player. Maybe they're allergic to the classroom. Maybe they lack discipline. Maybe they never learned how to take coaching. But for whatever reason, within a couple of seasons they've washed out and are the answer to the frequent, "Hey, whatever happened to...?" queries.
That could have been Larry Edwards. He knows it. He saw it happen to his friends, saw it happen to his teammates, saw it happen to players he lined up next to on Saturday afternoons. Now they are--well, where did they end up, anyway?--and he is coining mottos and watching film and preparing for what everyone believes will be a monstrous senior season.
It was Edwards who came up with "The New Blue," the 2006 catchphrase that's now emblazoned on a sign at the practice field and is frequently cited by John Bunting when discussing his team. It was Edwards who emerged as one of the leaders of offseason conditioning. And it's Edwards who NFL scouts always seem to be watching when they spend the day at the Carolina practice field.
How far has he come? Listen to sophomore linebacker Mark Paschal.
"I've made leaps and bounds in knowing the game," he says. "I've followed the lead of some of the older players in getting to the film room. It makes the game a lot easier when you know where to go and who to read and where to fit. So I've watched what those older guys do in terms of watching film."
And whose lead is he following?
"I like watching film with Larry. He's older and knows a lot. He's always so enthusiastic. He sticks out in my mind as an older guy who knows what he is talking about."
Larry Edwards, older guy? Larry Edwards, film guru?
Understand that a couple of years ago this seemed borderline impossible. Edwards was a standout as a freshman on a bad Carolina defense, but then disappeared in 2004, registering just 38 tackles. He wasn't even assured a starting spot in 2005 and had to beat out Jeff Longhany for the strong side linebacker job.
Now, he's a veteran leader. Now, he's so taken for granted that Bunting rarely mentions him in his defensive assessments. His level of play is assumed. He's the latest incarnation of Dexter Reid or Tommy Richardson. Just send in the signals and watch him make tackles.
What's brought him to this point is a disarming earnestness. Other players made mistakes and there was always an underlying feeling that they might be trying to get into trouble, might be purposely doing the wrong thing.
Edwards never gives that impression. He could easily have a fractious relationship with Bunting and linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen. After all, it's Bunting who spent most of Edwards's first two seasons booming, "Lar-ree ED-wards" across the practice field at least once per practice to correct the latest misstep. It's Thigpen who has been his position coach and had to enforce the latest discipline, including this spring when the pair of coaches pulled him out of spring practice to focus on his academics.
It's Edwards, though, who has done something other players in his position haven't always done: he's listened.
"I know those guys have been where I want to go," says Edwards. "They've had success and they also understand that as a young man I'm going to make mistakes. The question is whether I have learned from them, and I think I have. We've had ups and downs but I always feel like I've made progress."
Everyone else in the program agrees. The progress has been so stark that he's almost a defensive version of Darian Durant, who experienced similar growing pains early in his career and evolved into a respected leader.
Both players also share an uncommon ability to speak plainly about their weaknesses--and how they plan to address them. An early summer meeting with new defensive ends coach Danny Pearman convinced Edwards it was time to become the leader his teammates needed him to be.
"Coach Pearman told me all great leaders once ran from leadership," Edwards says. "He told me to stop using my pointer finger and start using my thumb, which means stop pointing at other people and start pointing at myself. That motivated me to guide this team. I have a love for the game. And I wanted to show that all summer and make sure everyone was going for the same goal."
Most stories that begin the way his did at Carolina don't end with the player leading his teammates through training camp.
This one doesn't end that way, either. He still has what everyone expects to be a sparkling senior campaign to play...and maybe even more football beyond that.
By then, he may have rewritten the definition of a Larry Edwards story.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
