Ferris State's Austin Edwards To Compete In East-West Shrine Bowl This Week
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Big Rapids, Mich. – Ferris State University senior defensive end Austin Edwards (Lansing/Waverly) will compete in one of the nation's most prestigious all-star events this week as he takes part in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Saturday (Jan. 18) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
As the recipient of the 2019 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award presented by the Manheim Touchdown Club, Edwards received an automatic invitation to participate in the 95th annual event, which is the nation's longest-running college football all-star game. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET) and the contest will be broadcast live on the NFL Network with radio coverage on Sirius XM NFL Channel 88
Formerly called the East-West Shrine Game, the event has been played since 1925 to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children and its mission to provide advanced care for children with specialized medical needs. Among the hundreds of notable college all-stars who have played in the East-West Shrine Bowl and gone on to illustrious NFL careers are Tom Brady, Walter Payton, Brett Favre, Gale Sayers, John Elway, Dick Butkus, Roger Staubach, Mike Ditka, Mark Brunell, Troy Vincent and Willie McGinest.
In any given season, approximately 300 East-West Shrine Bowl alumni are on NFL rosters, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame has inducted 77 former players from the game.
The week's festivities, which culminate in the players' visit to Shriners Healthcare for Children — Florida, allow the top college senior football players the opportunity to showcase their talent to NFL scouts and a national television audience on the NFL Network. For more information, please visit shrinebowl.com.
The Upshaw Award is presented annually to the top NCAA Division II senior offensive or defensive lineman in the nation. Sports information directors from the football-playing Division II institutions comprised the voters.
Along with being FSU's first-ever Upshaw Award recipient this past fall, Edwards became the first defensive player to win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year Award since 2005 after leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated regular season, a second consecutive GLIAC Championship and a No. 2 ranking nationally. He followed up an All-America-caliber season in 2018 with his third All-GLIAC First Team selection and was a consensus first-team All-America choice this fall.
Anchoring one of the stingiest defenses in Division II, Edwards compiled 17.5 tackles for loss (-106 yards) along with 10.5 sacks (-87 yards) and 64 total stops this campaign with both a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The three-year starter was a three-time All-GLIAC honoree and three-time All-American who helped FSU to its sixth consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff appearance this year and the region's top seed along with a fourth-straight trip to the national quarterfinals or beyond.
The two-time All-GLIAC First Team pick was a finalist for the second consecutive year for the Cliff Harris Award as one of the nation's top small college performers and is a highly-regarded NFL prospect. He was named to the 2019 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America First Team and also chosen as the D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Year along with being a candidate for the 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy presented to Division II's top all-around performer.
Edwards became the first-ever Ferris State Football standout to receive the Upshaw Award and is the fourth Bulldog in the past six years to claim one of Division II Football's top individual honors, joining Harlon Hill Trophy winning quarterbacks Jason Vander Laan (2014, 2015) and Jayru Campbell (2018).
The Bulldogs concluded the year with a 12-1 overall record en route to the national semifinals and a GLIAC Championship. It was FSU's second consecutive conference crown and this year marked the Bulldogs' fourth-straight trip to the national quarterfinals or beyond, which is the longest streak in the country. This year's national semifinal contest marked the first-ever semifinal played at home for the Bulldogs and the latest game ever played in a year at Top Taggart Field. Over the past two seasons, the Bulldogs have compiled a 27-2 mark.