Three-star defensive back Terrance ''Deuce' Edwards recently committed to play for West Virginia.
Edwards is from Trinity Episcopal in Virginia and is in the 2025 recruiting class. His defensive coordinator Wali Rainer is no stranger to seeing football at the highest level, being a 4th round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.
Rainer says a lot of what made him and others around him great, he sees in Edwards.
"I think Deuce's attributes are he’s a leader, but he’s a leader in his own right. I think the thing about Deuce, he loves every aspect. He has a very fun personality but when he gets on the field he flips it on and he goes crazy hard. Just showing that duality for the young athletes, you don’t see much like that anymore," Rainer said.
Edwards is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound DB, choosing WVU over Michigan State and Virginia Tech. As a junior, Edwards recorded 33 tackles, 14 pass breakups, 3 interceptions and a forced fumble.
Rainer first was able to see Edwards' potential based on his in-game recognition of things other offenses were doing, something that stands out.
"On the field, just recognition, just game time recognition. He’s been in the game for a while and been around myself and some great guys that he understands how offenses are trying to attack. He understands what he needs to do for his film study, it’s picked up tremendously" Rainer said.
Rainer added, Edwards' work ethic is contagious to his teammates and it's something he thinks will carry over to when he arrives at West Virginia.
"There’s some days where I got to tell him, just rest. His continuous work ethic, I know he’s going to bring to West Virginia and that’s college ready," Rainer said. "That’s a college ready work ethic that he critiques himself in every aspect of the game. That right there in itself puts him beyond a lot of high school athletes who just train and they train. There’s no such thing as overtrain with him."
Rainer raved about Edwards' work ethic leading to him being able to have a level of confidence when he steps on the field.
"He has that 'it' factor. That 'it' factor is that swagger where you got a short memory. He has a short memory, he lives in the moment. Great ones live in the moment and that’s what he has," Rainer said.
While work ethic and on-field play have impressed Rainer, the biggest thing he sees is Edwards' love for football, something he thinks will help him in a changing landscape of collegiate athletics.
"He knows how I go about it, you always bring your hard hat. He’s going to bring that and he’s going to bring that joy of the game. That game took me to the highest level to play a lot of years in the NFL, and that’s the same thing with him. Having that joy, never getting tired of the game, never getting tired of bettering your best and that’s what he brings.
"I know a lot of young athletes now with NIL, portal, all this, they get wrapped up with all the other stuff. But with Deuce, he really loves the game and I think that as a coach, you can see that every day. The smiles, the laughter, the moves, that’s the things he’s going to bring," Rainer said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
