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BLOOMINGTON — When Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti popped in the film this week of Maryland, it wasn’t the first time he did a deep dive on the team’s starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.
Cignetti recruited Edwards when he was a three-star recruit coming out of Lake Braddock High School. His preps career unfolded less than two hours from James Madison’s campus. Edwards, who was the No. 1,588 overall ranked recruit in the 2021 class, had 30 scholarship offers.
“My first year at JMU, he was the guy we had targeted,” Cignetti said, on Monday. “I sat with his dad in my office a couple of times.”
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Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during the Indiana versus Charlotte football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Edwards initially signed with Wake Forest, but transferred to Maryland after redshirting. He spent the last two seasons backing the program’s record-setting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
He was 2-1 as a starter during that stretch with his most notable start (and win) coming in the 2023 Music City Bowl over Auburn.
The Terps also had success using him in their short-yardage and red zone package last season. He had seven rushing touchdowns last season and all of them came in the red zone. The team converted for a first down or score on nine of his 12 rushing attempts inside the 20-yard line.
“You know, he can make all the throws,” Cignetti said. “He’s got a lot of snaps under his belt. They’ll also run him, and obviously he’s a threat when he gets out of the pocket as well when he drops back and escapes the pocket.”
“So he’s a very competitive guy with good arm strength, and good leader. And they like him, and I can see why.”
Edwards won the starting job over N.C. State transfer MJ…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-football-why-curt-cignetti-185221263.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-09-23 18:52:21
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