After a busy camp weekend that landed Wisconsin four commits, the Badgers felt they were close to landing another in the form of Downers Grove, Illinois, tight end David Edwards. It turns out they only needed to wait a few days, as Edwards committed to UW on Wednesday.
Very blessed to say that I am committed to play football at The University of Wisconsin #OnWisconsin #Badgers
— David Edwards (@SilkyD8) June 18, 2014
Edwards visited #Badgers Sunday, which sealed the deal: ""I feel at home at Wisconsin and I feel like they have a good plan going into it."
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) June 18, 2014
Edwards, who visited Madison last weekend and is UW's 14th commit for 2015, is a four-star prospect who's listed as 6'6, 225 pounds. Ranked as the No. 28 athlete in the country and the No. 5 2015 player from Illinois by 247 Sports' composite rankings, Edwards actually played quarterback at Downers Grove North, and some schools like Iowa reportedly viewed him as an offensive tackle. The consensus, though, is that Edwards will play tight end in college. You can see in his Hudl profile and the video above that Edwards looks perfectly comfortable carrying the ball. In an interview with 247, he also confirmed that he'll be playing tight end.
"I'm an anchor, I'll be their blocking tight end and split out and create mismatches against linebackers and safeties and make my money in play action," he added.
Wisconsin landed Edwards thanks to the work of offensive line coach T.J. Woods, with an assist from special teams coordinator Jeff Genyk. Illinois and Iowa were the Badgers' principal competition, and Edwards also received offers from Iowa State, Syracuse and Vanderbilt.
With his commitment, Wisconsin's 2015 class jumps to No. 14 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten, according to 247Composite. Edwards also becomes UW's second tight end in the class, joining three-star California native Kyle Penniston. That's a talented haul for the Badgers, who will lose Sam Arneson to graduation after this season and also have two junior tight ends in Austin Maly and Austin Traylor.