CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – For most high school athletes, the chance to move on and play for their favorite college team is merely a dream.

Clarksville High senior Nicolas Edwards is now turning his into reality, committing to play Power 5 football in arguably the top conference in the nation (SEC) at the University of Tennessee in the fall.

“It was kind of out of the blue,” Edwards said on how the circumstances came about. “I had just had my ACL surgery and I was lying in bed one morning and Coach (Isaac) Shelby called me and was like, ‘Hey Tennessee is looking for in-state offensive linemen.’ That’s an opportunity that you don’t close the door on.”

The 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman will now join the Vols as a preferred walk-on after turning down North Alabama’s invitation to come on board in the same capacity.

“I felt like it was an opportunity that just came at the right time,” Edwards said. “It’s nothing negative to the staff and program at North Alabama, I just felt like a chance to play football at Tennessee is not something you turn down.”

Playing career

Two current Division I offensive linemen in Eastern Michigan’s Jason Eaton and Furman’s Blake Hundley both played alongside Edwards in 2019.

Edwards shared what he learned the most from seeing each player go about their business on and off the gridiron.

“One thing they always taught me is that you don’t really talk about offers and stuff,” Edwards said. “Just always be humble about what you have going on and don’t really make yourself the center of attention.

“They also taught my how to keep good leverage and how to stay in a solid position. Jason, being a two-way player, would always throw me around if I wasn’t in the right spot at the right time, so that taught me where to go and be at the right moment.”

COVID has impacted recruiting for many athletes, and Edwards is no exception, having been the most affected over his final two years of high school eligibility.

“Early in COVID, I thought I would still get to take visits, and I had those five offers out of the FCS at first,” Edwards said. “I got three visits. I went to Kentucky my junior year, UT-Martin and Eastern Kentucky. I went to UT-Martin three days before the shutdown and never got to visit another school. It just made it where I felt like I was making these decisions kind of blindly. Someone can tell you one thing on the phone, but you don’t know what that program is really like until you get there.”

Road to recovery

In February, Edwards underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL, which he unknowingly played with in the last seven games of his senior campaign.

“I thought something was just out of place,” Edwards said. “Our trainer Miss Sparn (Therese) was the one who really caught it. She thought it was a meniscus injury at first and then one day at practice, it kind of popped and swelled up. I went to see her the next day, and she said she didn’t feel the resistance that your knee is supposed to give you, so she knew the ACL was probably gone at that point. It was playoff week, and I decided that I would just play on it and go from there.”

According to Edwards, his rehabilitation is going well to this point and he is currently ahead of schedule in his recovery.

“My surgery was February 2 the day before signing day,” Edwards said. “It’s April now and the doctor said I could be cleared by June. I’m on a pretty steady road to recovery for a surgery that should take you nine months to recover from.

“My therapist has been really good with the whole thing. She said she feels that I’m a lot stronger than most people who go through these surgeries, so she doesn’t sit there and have me do just little leg raises. I’ve been staying within protocol, but have also been trying to go to my maximum limit which has definitely helped to getting back as fast as I have.”

Getting back to business

As of now, Edwards is focused on doing what needs to be done in order to don the orange and white at Neyland Stadium in the fall.

“Right now my main goal is to just get back to where I was and just go from there,” Edwards said. “I’d love to get the opportunity to become a starter on Saturdays at Rocky Top which I think everyone that goes there has that dream. I know in the position that I’m in it’s going to take a lot of work, but I wouldn’t be going there if I was scared of it.”