Junior to Watch: Barrington Edwards

Junior to watch: Barrington Edwards

School: Bowie, Md.

Size and speed: Edwards is 6-foot-1, 210 pounds and runs a sub-4.5 second 40-yard dash according to Doug Rogers, an assistant coach at the school.

Statistics: Edwards rushed for 2,289 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior while helping lead Bowie to the class 4A State Championship.

Honors: Edwards was a first-team all-state selection, Prince George County Player of the Year and a second-team all-metro pick.

Favorite schools: Edwards and fellow Bowie product Steve Smith, a 6-4, 245-pound offensive lineman, are camping together at LSU and may also go to camp at Maryland. Michigan State, Penn State and Florida have also been in contact, according to Rogers. No scholarship offers yet, but they will come because he looks like one of the top players in Maryland.

The Skinny: “We knew he had it all along,” Doug Rogers, an assistant coach at Bowie High School said, of his star prospect, running back Barrington Edwards.

“We knew he could be a great player and he just proved us all right in that game.”

That game was this past season’s first playoff contest.

Edwards finished the game with 304 yards rushing and four touchdowns, but 275 of those yards came in the first half alone.

Edwards rushed for 2,289 yards and 27 touchdowns on the season, leading Bowie to the class 4A state title.

Rogers, who himself played football at Michigan State from 1983 to 1987, thinks he knows why Edwards is so dominating.

“He’s big, he’s strong. And his motor just goes and goes, his feet just never stop. And he doesn’t shy from contact,” Rogers said.

Not a bad assessment for Edwards considering last year was his first as a varsity starter. The blue chip back transferred to Bowie as a junior from nearby Roosevelt High School.

And Edwards is still trying to improve, particularly on his receiving skills

“We just didn’t put him in many pass-catching situations last year,” Rogers said of Edwards and his ability out of the backfield. “But I think we’re going to work on dumping the ball off to him more this year. That’ll give him the chance he needs to show what he can do.”

Opponents beware.

If Edwards shows he can do much more than what he did as a junior, it’s likely that he’ll end up a Rivals100 selection by the time his senior year rolls around.