Ferris State's Austin Edwards Touted Among Top 10 NFL Draft Hopefuls By D2Football
D2Football.com Top Prospect Video 
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University football senior defensive end Austin Edwards (Lansing/Waverly), who was chosen as the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year this past fall, has been touted as one of the country's top 10 NCAA Division II prospects with an opportunity to be picked in this week's National Football League (NFL) Draft by D2Football.com.
Edwards was tabbed fourth overall by the D2 online media source and was the only player from a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) school featured on the top 10 list. The list was compiled by D2Football.com in conjunction with small college football draft expert Josh Buchanan.
Buchanan also has Edwards listed high among his top 100 Small School prospects entering the draft and has him projected as a potential late round draft choice or preferred free agent aquisition. The standout end has also been chosen by numerous other sources as one of the top prospective edge rushers this spring, including #33 overall by the Bleacher Report's Matt Miller. Meanwhile, Scott Wright's NFL Draft Countdown has Edwards featured as the nation's #29 defensive end and Edwards is also listed as the country's #14 top small school prospect by NFL Draft Blitz.
Edwards headlines a large contingent of Ferris State Football prospects who concluded their eligibility last fall hoping to make the jump to professional football. At least eight Ferris State products have been active in off-season training and have found ways to showcase their talents despite the COVID-19 virus with hopes of being late round or preferred free agent acquisitions.
The 85th annual NFL Draft will be a virtual one this year with round one on Thursday (April 23) night at 8 p.m. (ET). Rounds two and three will take place on Friday night with the final rounds four thru seven set for Saturday starting at noon. Both ESPN and the NFL Network will have endless coverage of the draft with ABC also simulcasting coverage at various points in the draft.
Two years ago, former defensive tackle Zach Sieler (Pickney) became Ferris State's first-ever NFL Draft choice when he was picked in the seventh round as the 238th overall selection by the Baltimore Ravens.
This past fall, a school-record total of five Bulldog alums were on active NFL rosters at one point, including Tavierre Thomas (Cleveland), Justin Zimmer (Cleveland), Zach Sieler (Miami), Brady Sheldon (Cincinnati) and Jason Vander Laan (New Orleans). Former receiver Malik Taylor also spent the year with the Green Bay Packers and all six remain with NFL organizations.
While Sieler is the only Ferris State football player to ever be drafted by an NFL team, several other former Bulldogs have inked NFL contracts as free agents and played in the league. Including last year, the Bulldogs have had at least one NFL free agent pickup following the draft each of the past six years and 10 different former Bulldogs have been invited to NFL Preseason Camps the past two years.
Along with being FSU's first-ever Gene 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. He also earned an invitation to compete in the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl held in January.
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 past 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 past 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 past 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.
Visit this link below for D2Football.com's Top Draft Prospect Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=579&v=tF9fkXT6X14&feature=emb_logo