Edwards leaves his mark on Duke football's return to prominence

From unknown to unstoppable. Yet still an underdog.

DeVon Edwards heads into the 2015 season with a wealth of accolades under his belt. The redshirt junior has garnered All-America accolades at kick returner, is a preseason All-ACC selection at safety and has been charted as one of the top safeties in the nation entering the year.

Anyone who follows Duke football closely has come to know Edwards as a dynamic playmaker who has been a driving force behind the program’s recent turnaround. He has become one of the key playmakers in the secondary and a staple on special teams.

“We’re better athletically and the productivity is just pretty special,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said of the growth of his secondary. “DeVon Edwards—how many plays has he made? Back-to-back interceptions for touchdowns, which only two players in the history of the game have done.”

But despite his success during the past two years and the praise he receives from coaches and teammates, Edwards is not one of the stars everyone is talking about in the college football world heading into the season. Most of the attention has fallen on redshirt senior Jeremy Cash, a preseason All-America selection who is a top safety prospect in the 2016 NFL draft.

Although he has not received a great amount of attention for his accomplishments, Edwards has come a long way in the last four years. Edwards was an unknown two-star recruit coming out of Alcovy High School in Georgia, nearly bypassing the gridiron for the hardwood. His FBS offer came from a then-struggling Blue Devil program that was coming off of a 3-9 season in 2011.

Edwards watched from the sidelines as a redshirt in 2012 as the Blue Devils won six games and reached the postseason for the first time since 1994. When he was not in class or training, he served up smoothies at the Quenchers Snack Bar in Duke’s Wilson Recreation Center.

With talented players like Cash and Ross Cockrell anchoring the secondary at the beginning of the 2013 season, it was unclear whether Edwards would see the field during his redshirt freshman season. But when injuries and suspensions opened up spots in the secondary and at kick returner, the Covington, Ga., native finally got his shot.

Edwards got a nod at kick returner in the Oct. 12 game against Navy, nearly breaking off a huge return before being tackled by Midshipman kicker Austin Grebe. Two weeks later, Edwards made his first start in one of the most pivotal games in program history—Duke’s 13-10 win on the road against then-No. 16 Virginia Tech.

“You’re always nervous when you first come out there and start,” Edwards said. “I remember that feeling during my first start against Virginia Tech [in 2013]. Everything seemed so different. But the more you play, the better it is.”

Just weeks later Edwards would bounce into the national spotlight by scoring three touchdowns without ever playing an offensive snap in a crucial victory against N.C. State en route to the team’s 2013 ACC Championship game appearance. Nearly two years after his breakout moment, the redshirt junior has emerged as one of most dangerous playmakers in the ACC, in the secondary and on special teams. He finished the 2014 season as one of the ACC’s top tacklers and was seventh in the nation with five forced fumbles, and added better than 25 yards per kickoff return, including a touchdown against Pittsburgh last November.

For a player who almost did not get a shot at the FBS level, Edwards admits that he did not envision this kind of success when he was coming out of high school.

“It’s been a crazy journey,” he said. “I’m the type of guy who likes to learn new things every day and develop each day I get out there and play. It’s different because you never see something like this coming. A lot of people come out of high school and go through college, but don’t really get to develop their game.”

In many ways, Edwards’ story is one of many that reflect the rise of Duke football itself. Many of the key playmakers that have personified the rise of the program, including Edwards, did not arrive in Durham as heralded recruits. A number of them rose to stardom by proving themselves—breaking program and conference records and contributing to one of the great turnarounds in college football.

It is increasingly evident that the efforts of multiple players, with stories and backgrounds similar to Edwards’, have bought into the vision Cutcliffe has laid out for the program. This has led to wins and postseason appearances that have made Duke football relevant again.

“Our program has changed because of a lot of people,” Edwards said. “Different people who were having success here at Duke were able to win games and get better recruits. Coach Cutcliffe has built this organization so strong that there are a lot of talented guys coming in and contributing in different parts of the team.”

Despite the success they have had during the past three seasons, the Blue Devils still enter 2015 expected to finish toward the bottom or middle of the ACC, and there are questions about how they will handle the loss of the talent that has transitioned to the NFL. Just as so many in the college football world have overlooked Edwards during the past two years, many appear to be writing off Duke’s chances in the Coastal Division heading into the season—the Blue Devils were picked fourth in the division in the preseason media poll.

But being the underdog has not bothered Edwards or anyone in the Blue Devil program. In fact, that attitude has in part fueled the three straight postseason appearances and consecutive nine win seasons, meaning he—and Duke—should thrive again in 2015 as they seek to break a half-century-long bowl win drought and continue to earn back respect from the college football world.

Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.