North Carolina State University Athletics
Edwards, Wolfpack Turn Attention to UNC
10/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - NC State cornerback Dovonte Edwards has lined up against some of the best and speediest wide receivers in the ACC. But he considers that to be a piece of cake compared to what it was like roaming the halls of Chapel Hill High School his senior year after he had committed to NC State. Needless to say, Edwards received more than his fair share of ribbing after turning his back on the hometown team in order to join the Wolfpack. Edwards will be back home this Saturday night when he and his Pack (3-1, 2-0) teammates clash with North Carolina (2-3, 1-2).
"I'm from Chapel Hill and have a lot of friends there who will be rooting for UNC," Edwards said. "They want me to do well, but this game has a lot of significance because I am from Chapel Hill and I had an opportunity to go there. It was between NC State and UNC. I picked a rival school."
And what did many of his classmates say when Edwards made his choice?
"They thought I was a cop out," he said. "But they're my friends so they understood my situation. They're behind me 100 percent. They want me to do well, but they want UNC to win."
Edwards, a two-sport start at Chapel Hill High, wanted to try his hand at playing both football and basketball in college. As it turns out, NC State was the school that promised him the opportunity to do both his freshman season.
"North Carolina coach [Carl] Torbush said he wanted me to wait until my sophomore year to try my hand at basketball," Edwards recalled. "Not only that, I was coming in as a wide receiver and Philip Rivers was a hot shot sophomore quarterback. I wanted to catch some of his passes."
In fact, Edwards' most memorable play as a wide receiver came his freshman year in a game against the Tar Heels. Getting open on a post pattern, Edwards grabbed a Rivers pass deep in the end zone and proceeded to collide with the goal post.
"I've seen it a lot and in the four years I've been here, I've heard about it a lot," Edwards said with a giggle. "I watch the game sometimes. It brings back some laughs."
Edwards says just a small handful of his high school classmates went to NC State, while the others chose UNC. Even his parents had to convert from being Carolina fans after he picked NC State.
Speaking of conversions, Edwards spent a half season on the basketball team his first year before fully focusing his attention on football. Between his sophomore and junior years, he was moved to cornerback. Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato says Edwards' background as a wide receiver and basketball player has helped him to become a solid corner.
"I think he's almost a natural as a corner because he was such a good basketball player," Amato said. "To play basketball, especially on defense, you have to bend your knees, move your feet and move your hips; he's really got good hips. When the ball is in the air he plays it like a receiver as opposed to a defensive back. He has a natural way of moving to the football. He's gotten better and better at the technique of bump and run."
This week, Edwards will be hearing it again from some of his friends just the way he did back in those days at Chapel High when his decision to attend the rival school some 30 miles away was met with dismay. But in the end, he figures to have the last word.
"A lot has changed since then," Edwards said. "You never know; if I was at UNC, I'd probably be playing basketball or maybe punting the ball."
