Football: New DL coach Edwards on field for drills

Football: New DL coach Edwards on field for drills

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • March 14, 2011

UL’s football players donned full pads for the first time during spring drills Sunday afternoon, and their new defensive line coach, Timothy Edwards, was there to watch all of the action.

Edwards, 42, spent the past three years as Florida A&M’s co-defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach and was a teammate of first-year UL head coach Mark Hudspeth at Delta State.

The Philadelphia, Miss., native replaces Mike Pelton, who recently left the Ragin’ Cajuns to become the defensive line coach for his alma mater, Auburn. His hiring is pending approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors."You always strive to move up as a coach just like in any profession," Edwards said. "I’m coming from an FCS school like Florida A&M to a school in a bigger league and a higher level of football. This was an attractive situation for me."

Florida A&M went 8-3 this past season, including a 7-1 mark in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Rattlers finished as MEAC co-champions with Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State, ranking ninth nationally in scoring defense, 12th in pass efficiency defense, 13th in tackles for loss, 17th in pass defense and 26th in total defense and sacks.Before his stint at FAMU, Edwards was an all-conference defensive lineman at Delta State and was inducted into the school’s sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He was a 12th-round pick of the New England Patriots in 1991 and spent three years with the team before playing three seasons for the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Rough Riders.Edwards later coached the defensive line and linebackers and served as the recruiting coordinator at Hampton University for five years. The Pirates won Black College national championships in 2004 and ’05 and MEAC titles from 2004-06 while making NCAA playoff appearances in each of those three seasons.

Hampton ranked in the top 10 nationally in several defensive categories when Edwards coached at the school. In 2004, the Pirates led the nation in turnovers forced (43).

Edwards has helped develop several pro players, including Justin Durant (Jacksonville Jaguars), Kendall Langford (Miami Dolphins), Marcus Dixon (Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets), Cletidus Hunt (Green Bay Packers), Kitwana Jones (CFL), Dewayne Woods (AFL) and Chris Avery (AFL).

Hudspeth said more than 100 candidates expressed interest in the defensive line coaching position with Edwards eventually landing the job.

"We played together in college and have always stayed in touch," Hudspeth said. "He’s been very successful everywhere he’s been and has been a really good recruiter on top of being a really good coach and also has coordinator experience. It was a natural fit."He’ll demand a lot out of our defensive linemen, is a really good coach and is a really good recruiter."

In an interesting note, Edwards played for the Patriots at the same time as former Cajun Chris Gannon, who spotted his former teammate at Sunday’s practice.Edwards is excited about the opportunity to work with Hudspeth and the Cajuns.

"We basically grew up as neighbors, so we’ve always been friends," Edwards said. "I’m ready to coach here and be a teacher of young men. I’m a high-energy guy, can relate to the kids given my background as a player and always expect a great effort from my guys. I think it’s going to be a good fit."