Over the next couple of weeks, we here at Bulldawg Illustrated are going to be looking at Georgia football’s incoming freshman class of 2020 in a new series called First Year Look. The Bulldogs’ 2020 class features 25 signees that collectively finished as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports and Rivals.
All 25 of Georgia’s incoming freshmen have reported to campus before workouts started on June 8. Now, they are prepping for their first preseason camp. Over the past couple of days, Bulldawg Illustrated has taken a look a good portion of the 2020 class, and today we will move on to Daijun Edwards.
Per the 247Sports Composite, Edwards is listed as the No. 279 ranked player nationally, No. 21 running back and No. 28 prospect in Georgia. The Moultrie, Ga. native was always high on Georgia’s list and when the Zachary Evans fiasco unraveled, the Bulldogs turned their attention to Edwards. Running backs coach Dell McGee was the one who recruited this South Georgia standout as he committed to UGA just before National Signing Day. The Bulldogs beat out teams like Florida State and Arkansas.
Edwards was always higher on Georgia’s list of running back prospects than many realized. Dell McGee has been high on the South Georgia standout for some time and when it became clear that things just weren’t going to work out with Zachary Evans, despite the fact that he signed during the early period, UGA turned its attention to Edwards. Florida State and Arkansas went after him but a chance to play at UGA was too hard to turn down.
Edwards is an interesting prospect to watch because he’s so shifty when coming out of the backfield. He also has more experience as a receiver out the backfield than most running backs his age. He hauled in 69 passes in four years at Colquitt County while rushing for 4,357 yards and 63 touchdowns. He ran for over 100 yards or more in 19 games during his high school career. Edwards has all the tools to be a great back at UGA as long as he puts on some weight. But, it’s all going to boil down to how much he develops over the next couple of years because he has a lot of competition ahead of him. He won’t burn you out of the backfield, but his ability to make you miss, and pass-catching skills make him a possible weapon.
As a freshman, we don’t see Edwards really contributing much unless something extreme happens. The Bulldogs have three experienced backs ahead of him in Zamir White, James Cook and Kenny McIntosh. Then you have Kendall Milton, who enrolled early back in January. Edwards has the potential to be Brian Herrien type, which is a player who makes a positive impact every single season, but never is the No. 1 guy.
Check out the these other First Year Look profiles as well: