The West Virginia football program has added another piece to the backfield with a commitment from Northern Iowa running back Tye Edwards.
Edwards, 6-foot-4, 230-pounds, spent the past two seasons with the Panthers where he rushed for 1,557 yards and 11 touchdowns. That included this past season where Edwards rushed for 1,022 yards and 6 scores while catching 12 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.
The Florida native also spent one season at Texas San Antonio where he had 14 carries for 44 yards and appeared in a total of just three games.
Prior to that Edwards was at Hutchinson C.C. for two seasons where he rushed for 461 yards a 4 touchdowns in 2021 across eight games and in 2020 had a total of 713 yards with 8 touchdowns across 108 carries.
Edwards started his college career at Georgia Military College where he rushed for 442 yards and 6 touchdowns on 74 carries in 10 games, while adding 79 yards receiving and a touchdown.
A product of Menedez High School, Edwards rushed for over 1,900 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior.
Edwards first entered the transfer portal Dec. 26 after the ruling on junior college players and received interest from a number of programs including West Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina and more.
The talented running back made his way to Morgantown for an official visit Jan. 7 after previously visiting Louisville and made the decision to commit to the Mountaineers.
The graduate transfer has one year of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Edwards becomes the second transfer portal running back to commit to the Mountaineers following Catawba College rusher LJ Turner.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer of Edwards and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Over the past two seasons Edwards has played a total of 713 snaps at Northern Iowa in the backfield with 407 coming this past season and 306 the year before at the running back spot. In both of those campaigns, Edwards graded out at 82.0 according to Pro Football Focus.
A big physical running back, Edwards rushed for 1,557 yards total during his time with the Panthers and a total of 1,233 of that came after contact for an average of 4.39 yards after contact per attempt. But he also was elusive forcing a total of 71 forced missed tackle across 267 carries.
Edwards also has flashed speed with a total of 43 runs over 10+ yards and a total of 71 of his total carries traveled for first downs in his career showcasing his advantage in short yardage situations.
As a receiver, Edwards hauled in 21 of 29 targets for 168 yards and displayed the ability to be a pass catcher.
Fitting the program:
After the departure of DeAndre Desinor to N.C. State, West Virginia had only four scholarship running backs on the roster and only two of those had experience in Jahiem White and Catawba transfer LJ Turner.
The addition of Edwards gives the Mountaineers another experienced option that has already played at a high level in FCS and now will have a chance to prove what he can do in his final year in Morgantown. It’s telling that West Virginia prioritized Edwards even with what they have in the backfield, and he also provides a different dimension as a bigger bodied back that could get tough yards.
Edwards has already been to Morgantown and was able to develop a strong bond with position coach Chad Scott which makes the transition easier for him to step into a role.
Recruiting the position:
With the addition Edwards West Virginia should be done with adding to the backfield heading into the 2025 season with five scholarship backs and three of which have plenty of experience under their belt.
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