MANHATTAN — It took a year, but Dylan Edwards is finally a Wildcat.
Edwards committed to the Kansas State University football team in June 2022, then left and settled at the University of Colorado, but found his way back to the Wildcats through the transfer portal on Sunday. The former Derby High School running back announced his decision at the end of a recruiting visit to Manhattan over the weekend.
At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, Edwards is one of the most dynamic running backs in Kansas high school history and had a productive freshman season at Colorado. He started six of 12 games, rushing for 321 yards and one touchdown and catching 36 passes for 299 yards and four scores.
But after starting the Buffaloes' first four games, including scoring four touchdowns in the season-opening win over TCU, Edwards felt his role was diminishing. He entered the transfer portal last week and quickly reconnected with K-State.
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It didn't hurt that one of Edwards' best friends growing up was Wichita-area youth football teammate and K-State starting quarterback Avery Johnson.
By arriving in Manhattan, Edwards' journey has come full circle. K-State defeated Oklahoma State and Nebraska for the first time two years ago when it announced its decision in a long-awaited ceremony in a packed Derby High School gymnasium. However, a few months later, he was back on the market and chose Notre Dame, only to switch again after Deion Sanders was named the new head coach at the University of Colorado.
K-State already has a star running back in DJ Giddens, a 6-foot-1, 212-pound bruising junior who has rushed for 1,226 yards and 10 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry, and added 29 He caught passes for 323 yards and three TDs. But Edwards brings an element of speed to the backfield, can line up in multiple positions, not to mention can wreak havoc in the return game.
In his four high school seasons at Darby, the Panthers went 42-7, with Edwards averaging 10.3 yards per carry for 6,426 yards, 178.5 yards per game and 95 touchdowns. He also caught 40 passes for 556 yards and seven scores, adding three kickoff returns and three punt return TDs.
Giddens is expected to return as a key player under new offensive coordinator Connor Riley and co-coordinator Matt Wells, but Johnson and Edwards should also get plenty of help. Together, these three would give the Wildcats perhaps the most explosive backfield in the Big 12.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. You can contact him at: agreen@gannett.com Or on Twitter @arnegreen.
