This season has been a rough one for the offensive line, as it has been snake-bitten by injuries since the preseason. The current Eagles team is on pace to become one of the worst offensive lines when it comes to sacks given up in NFL history. Currently, the Eagles have allowed 46 sacks in 12 games. It’s safe to say that it’s time to fix this for next year’s season.
Looking at the Missouri Valley Football Conference, where multiple talented teams are in, we look at Terre Haute, Indiana where Indiana State University is located. Here we will find the physical left guard in Isaiah Edwards, who is 6’8 and 355-pounds. You might recognize the name from the Netflix series Last Chance U in season 3, where Edwards was featured on the show. He helped Independence Community College rush for 169.9 yards per game and 28.9 points per game in 2017 before transferring to Indiana State.
When arriving at Indiana State, the Sycamore’s were coming off a winless season of 0-11, averaging only 107 rushing yards per game, and only 57 first downs on the ground, but the most important thing was only 14 points per game.
These numbers changed drastically with them improving to 248.9 rushing yards per game which was 14th in the FCS. They also got 129 first downs via running the football and averaged 31 points per game. They would go on to be 7-4 this year, and Edwards blocking the way was one of the key factors in their success. He would receive Honorable Mention All-MVFC and a spot on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team.
In 2019, Edwards would have an incredible game against Big 12 opponent Kansas, where he helped the Sycamore’s gain a total of 365 yards vs the Jayhawks in a close loss of 24-17. In the following week vs Dayton, they would put up a total of 427 total yards in another close loss of 42-35. He would, unfortunately, have his season cut short with an injury, but did receive a medical redshirt.
For this upcoming season, I expect Isaiah to have a great bounce-back season after his injury; blocking for lead back Titus McCoy as they hope for a good season in the MVFC with a playoff berth in the 2021 spring playoffs.
The Eagles should have a decent chance in selecting Edwards in the 6-7th round as a development piece to possibly replace Issac Seumalo. With the versatility of Edwards, he can play both tackle and guard making him every more valuable.
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