Sting Factor: Dylan Edwards backs off pledge to Notre Dame
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Dylan Edwards was committed to Kansas State early in his recruitment and it seemed like a perfect fit since the 5-foot-9, 165-pound four-star all-purpose back drew Deuce Vaughn comparisons.
Maybe he was a little bigger, but the Derby, Kan., standout was going to play a similar role and he has that dynamic playmaking ability that makes both players so special.
But then Edwards backed off that pledge and committed to Notre Dame.
It was a big win for the Irish to dip into the state of Kansas for one of the best all-purpose backs in the class and it looked like a huge recruiting victory for the new Notre Dame staff.
That pledge would not last, either.
The four-star recruit is now back on the market and it looks like Colorado and new coach Deion Sanders is making a serious run at Edwards as he’s expected to visit later this month. There is a rumor that some close to the four-star want him to play in Boulder for Sanders.
But four-star Kansas State quarterback commit Avery Johnson said Thursday he’s trying to do everything possible to get Edwards back in the loop as he hopes the dynamic duo could head to Manhattan together.
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LOCAL REACTION
Notre Dame was the only school with three commitments from running backs ranked among the top 150 prospects in the 2023 class before Edwards ditched the Irish. Now the Irish have joined Alabama as the only two schools with two running backs in the top 150. Because Notre Dame still has verbal commitments from four-star running backs Jeremiyah Love (No. 59) and Jayden Limar (No. 144), the loss of Edwards and his dynamic play doesn’t burn as much as it could.
But the Irish coveted Edwards for a reason. He possesses the elite speed of which Notre Dame’s offense could always use more. It would have been fun to see how the Irish utilized Edwards in the offense. Running back will likely be the deepest position on Notre Dame’s roster next season with or without Edwards. That depth would take another hit if Limar, who’s still being pursued by Oregon and UCLA, exits the class as well. Notre Dame needs to put in extra work to make sure that doesn’t happen. - Tyler James, InsideNDSports.com
Sting Factor: 5
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NATIONAL REACTION
After just days on the job, Sanders has received two three-star commitments to add to Colorado’s recruiting class, but Edwards would give the coach a blockbuster name who could do huge things in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes are also after Malachi Coleman, Kadyn Proctor and others and we’ll see how Sanders recruits not to Jackson State but to Colorado, and not with just a few talented kids but an entire roster of them needed to win a conference title and more. Losing Edwards definitely hurts Notre Dame because he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands and while he’s not as tough to bring down or dynamic as Vaughn is at Kansas State, he’s still a pretty special player that could be used at any program in the country. This hurts a lot more if Limar decides to flip closer to home, but in the current situation while Edwards leaving isn’t ideal, it’s not a killer, either. - Adam Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director
Sting Factor: 7