5 Things To Know About Rookie Safety Mike Edwards
May 3rd, 2019
In the spirit of Kramerica Industries, JoeBucsFan.com has a college intern for a few months. It’s a true rarity. In addition to soaking up wisdom from The Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Zachary Seifter has a pile of Bucs knowledge himself and you’ll see some of his work here occasionally.
By Zachary Seifter
JoeBucsFan.com intern
While many see rookie linebacker Devin White to be the new face of the defense, there is another player the Bucs are looking at to turn around their historically bad defense from a year ago.
His name is Mike Edwards.
The late third-round pick out of Kentucky was the last of three defensive backs drafted by the Bucs last week.
Here’s some interesting stuff about him:
- The Bucs think he can be an instant starter
It seems Edwards will be given every shot to be a starter immediately in Todd Bowles’ defense, in what appears to be a wide-open safety competition. Edwards might have an edge. He possesses every characteristic they look for, safety coach Nick Rapone said this week.
“The safeties in Todd’s defense basically run the defense,” Rapone said. “And they have to call out the fronts, but they have to play multiple positions. And we thought he had the ability to do everything that we wanted. First of all, he’s physical. Second of all, he can blitz. Third of all, he can cover. Fourth of all, to the best of our knowledge, he is cerebral, and the safety in this scheme has to be cerebral. So that’s what we saw, all those qualities in him.”
- Edwards grew up a Broncos fan despite being from Cincinnati
The safety from Winton Woods High School in Cincy chose to wear No. 7 in college because of his Broncos fandom. The great John Elway inspired the choice, along with the “Honey Badger,” Tyrann Mathieu, who wore No. 7 at LSU. Ironically, Edwards’ nickname is “The Badger.”
- He has a shoe addiction
Edwards will shop for shoes on any day. He claims to own more than 100 pairs, including over 40 pairs of Air Jordan’s. “Feels like it’s my first pair of shoes,” he said in a video with Cincinnati’s ABC affiliate, WCPO- TV. “Every time.”
- He was one heck of a baseball player
Even though Edwards was a stud as a high school safety, he may have been a bigger stud on the diamond. He told Catsillustrated.com he was “a really good baseball player, probably better than football.” His baseball career drifted away in high school due to a shoulder injury, as well as his high school team not being very good. He’ll find a baseball friend in Bucs safety Justin Evans, who had professional baseball aspirations as a pitcher.
- He has experience in culture change
Despite offers from more successful D-1 college programs such as Louisville or West Virginia, Edwards chose Kentucky, a football team with a 2-10 record in 2013. His high school coach, Andre Parker, said Edwards desired to be part of a culture change at Kentucky. He wanted to lay the foundation for a more successful future there. The Wildcats finished 10-3 with a victory in the Citrus Bowl in his final season.
Here’s to hoping he will be a part of another culture change with the Bucs.
May 3rd, 2019 at 1:41 pm
Nice piece Zach!
May 3rd, 2019 at 1:45 pm
When they interviewed people at Kentucky, even inside info, EVERYBODY said Mike Edwards was more important than even Josh Allen.
Natural Born Leader
May 3rd, 2019 at 2:11 pm
Great refreshing article keep em coming!!
May 3rd, 2019 at 2:15 pm
Nice article and an awesome surprise to actually know who writes which article/post
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:05 pm
Best pick in the draft imo. Although I haven’t spent much time on the DEs we drafted but this kid looks like the real deal.
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:11 pm
After watching film, I’m not sold on Edwards. MJ Stewart is more physical and just as good at blitzing. They’re speed is similar. If MJ can learn the safety roll I see him playing alot…..ahead of Edwards. They may both start at safety because the jury is still out on Justin Evans and I don’t think Whitehead can cover.
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:18 pm
Good job Zachary! No discernible spelling errors (guess you kept the Joe duo away from editing your composition) and you embraced just enough brevity with each topic to keep it memorable.
Now that your feet are wet, what’s next for your budding career as a writer, a pro-Jameis article to test determatological thickness?
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Thanks, Zack…..it’s good to have some positiveness…….don’t let too much of the Joe’s rub off on you….
As for Edwards….the more I hear, the more I like….and that goes for the entire draft class…..we will see….but we are a younger and much faster team.
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:49 pm
Thanks for the info on this guy. Culture change is needed
May 3rd, 2019 at 3:51 pm
Nice Article! We may have a diamond in the rough. We need to give the coaches a chance to coach before making any assumptions.
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:14 pm
The Badger huh,that’s my favorite animal. He must be raw.
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:27 pm
The kid played CB / Slot / FS & SS in Stoops 3-4 hybrid D….Was the undisputed leader of a UK Def Backfield that had 5 SR’s taken in the draft/signed as UDFA, this yr…(Johnson / Edwards / Baity / West / Westry)…And lead the SEC in open field tackles for a DB / finished with 300+ for a career.
A winner!
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:27 pm
Welcome,Zach
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:41 pm
good stuff zach
as a UF fan, ive seen plenty of edwards and he’s a baller…..he and lonnie johnson jr were great in their secondary…..
GO BUCS!!!!
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:48 pm
How does a college kid have 40 pairs of Jordans????
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:52 pm
The Bucs also signed 2 more tall safeties from the UDFA pool
S Godwin Igwebuike 6’0 212lbs (son of Donald) and
S Josh Liddell 6’1 211lbs
Plus they signed FA’s
S Kentrell Brice 5’11” 200lbs and
S Orion Stewart 6’2″ 190lbs
There should be plenty of competition for the safety spots
May 3rd, 2019 at 4:53 pm
Just a hunch that’s a whole lot cheaper than owning horses. Just check out what it costs to house those things not factoring in what it costs to feed those animals (daily).
May 3rd, 2019 at 5:14 pm
Good piece dude!
I love stories about players snd their life story!
Keep em coming!
May 3rd, 2019 at 6:04 pm
Probably the best thing is his name isn’t Chris conte
May 3rd, 2019 at 6:38 pm
Is this your 1st article Zach? Nice start dude. And welcome to the pirate ship of….everything I’ve said all along this kid Edwards jumps out at you on film. Straight up ballhawk. He and our 2nd rder could be the steals of the draft.
May 3rd, 2019 at 6:43 pm
I thought we had a pretty good draft. Some sleepers that many overlooked. Edwards will make Evans better. Cam and Matty Ice both get frustrated against good defenses. Drew Brees lost a slight edge last season. He’s still great but aging. This year defense can seize the advantage on Mr Brees. Todd Bowles is a stud. He became a head coach because he totally earned it. He was a better hire than BA. Wait and see guys. This will be a swarming defense with speed and thump. The players will start having fun again.
May 3rd, 2019 at 9:03 pm
JOE (Lee, Ira, or Steve),
Is an intern still considered a “Joe”?
-Concerned Commenter
May 3rd, 2019 at 9:15 pm
“His high school coach, Andre Parker, said Edwards desired to be part of a culture change at Kentucky.”
This seems to be a unique personality trait. Definitely will be welcome here! It’s nice to see our that our FO finally seems to be making a point of drafting team leaders. We have had a dearth of leadership on this team for way too long.
May 3rd, 2019 at 9:32 pm
BigMac that’s what I was thinking today,this defense is going to be “swarming”. Perfect way to describe it. I honestly can’t reach a conclusion on which side of the ball will be more exciting to watch. Both will be so explosive man.
May 3rd, 2019 at 9:33 pm
BigMac when folks start researching Anthony Nelson and Terry Beckner jr more you’ll come away feeling like the Bucs had a Bad @$$ draft.
May 3rd, 2019 at 9:56 pm
Good look Jean, Godwin and Josh both 4.4 guys..
May 3rd, 2019 at 10:19 pm
Great article Zack..keep em coming
May 4th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
I will believe it when I see it. . .
But fingers are crossed