Memorable experience: LH grad Edenfield无毛视频檚 college football career began at Cal and ended with him playing for 16th-ranked Oklahoma State
There is much debate about the transfer portal in college football but you无毛视频檒l hear no complaints from Ian Edenfield.
The Laurel Highlands graduate went on to play football at California University of Pa. and then wound up receiving an offer from Oklahoma State University as a red-shirt senior through the portal last year.
Edenfield wound up playing in 10 of the Cowboys无毛视频� 12 games this past season, finding himself on a team that wound up ranked 16th in the final AP Top 25 poll.
Edenfield, a tight end who played mostly special teams for OSU, embraced the chance to be part of a Big 12 program.
无毛视频淲e were ranked third in the country my junior year at Cal, but to be playing for a team ranked in the Top 25 from a Division-1 Power Five conference is pretty cool and unique,无毛视频� said Edenfield, the son of Chris and Carla Edenfield.
Playing for the Cowboys pushed Edenfield to be his best.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a lot different going from D-2 to D-1,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 not just one or two guys at your position, there无毛视频檚 like three, four or more guys that are just as fast, just as big, just as strong, if not stronger. Everyone in that position room was really good and everyone played an important role, even if it was the scout team, a back-up at practice being a two or a three. Everyone was pretty competitive.
无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 complain. I had a good time. I enjoyed it.无毛视频�
Edenfield was hoping to cap his collegiate career by playing in the Texas Bowl but an injury kept him on the sidelines at NGR Stadium during the Cowboys无毛视频� 31-23 win over Texas A&M, which completed a 10-4 season.
无毛视频淚t was the last five minutes of the last full-padded practice before the bowl game,无毛视频� Edenfield recalled. 无毛视频淚t was the same thing that happened to me at Laurel Highlands, I broke my fibula and tore ligaments. The same leg, it broke above the plate I had in there from that first injury. They had to take the plate out and move it up a little bit more.无毛视频�
What made matters worse was that OSU had even inserted a play specifically for Edenfield in the bowl game.
无毛视频淚 had a play, too, for me where I go in disguised as kind of a left tackle eligible, act like I无毛视频檓 blocking then pop up the left seam,无毛视频� Edenfield explained. 无毛视频淭hat was like a red zone play. That would无毛视频檝e been pretty cool if I could无毛视频檝e got in there for that play.无毛视频�
OKlahoma State used the 6-foot-5, 272-pound Edenfield mainly as a blocker.
无毛视频淢aybe in all of spring, all fall camp and all of practices, I had probably 20-25 catches,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淚t would无毛视频檝e been too cool to get one in the bowl game, but it wasn无毛视频檛 meant to be.无毛视频�
The season didn无毛视频檛 start out well for the Cowboys, according to Edenfield.
无毛视频淭here were a couple tough losses we had where if we could无毛视频檝e won those we无毛视频檇 probably have played in a New Year无毛视频檚 Day Six bowl game,无毛视频� he said.
Edenfield marveled at the atmosphere at some of the stadiums he played in this past season.
无毛视频淗ome games were really loud. The Oklahoma game and the Kansas State game, I couldn无毛视频檛 hear myself for three-fourths of the game,无毛视频� Edenfield said.
The Cowboys defeated Oklahoma in 无毛视频淏edlam,无毛视频� the nickname for their rivalry, 27-24.
无毛视频淧robably the coolest stadium was playing in the Big 12 (championship game) at AT&T Stadium,无毛视频� Edenfield said of the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, which is the largest stadium in the NFL. 无毛视频淚 was driving up to it and was like, 无毛视频榃ow, this place is huge.无毛视频� When I came out of the locker room and walked the field before warmups, I was looking at the stands and was just in awe.
无毛视频淭he bowl game was where the (Houston) Texans play, NRG Stadium, that one was pretty cool, too. My favorite, personally, was Arizona State (Mountain American Stadium), just for the view, the scenery, the desert in the background with some mountains, and there无毛视频檚 cactus all around. It was really different. I just loved the atmosphere at that place.无毛视频�
Cheered loudly most of the time at home, Edenfield got to experience the other end of the spectrum also.
无毛视频淎t the beginning of the year we actually got booed a little. That was pretty loud, too,无毛视频� Edenfield said with a chuckle.
Oklahoma suffered early-season losses at home to South Alabama and at Iowa State and was 2-2 and struggling after four games.
无毛视频淚t was a little weird at first at the beginning of the year because we had three quarterbacks. They kind of rotated a lot of guys,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淎round week four we started settling on one guy at most positions but we lost at Iowa State, and that was just a tough place to play.
无毛视频淭hen we went in the bye week and figured out what we were going to do the rest of the year, and got really good at it.无毛视频�
One key factor, according to Edenfield, was a suggestion from head coach Mike Gundy.
无毛视频淎fter the bye week he told us we just don无毛视频檛 have spark before games,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淪o he decided to let us dance and go have fun in warmups to get ready and get hyped before the Kansas State game. After we beat Kansas State, we just started doing that every game and I think it really helped get us in the right frame of mind to be pumped up and ready to play.无毛视频�
The Cowboys went 8-2 the rest of the season, including a win at West Virginia, which had a freshman wide receiver named Rodney Gallagher III, who is also an LH graduate.
无毛视频淚 saw Rodney before the game when they walked into the stadium and then I saw him real quick after the game,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 pretty sure we无毛视频檙e a couple of the only people who talked to each other after the game, everyone else just kind of shook hands and ran off.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 not really heard of, having two players from the same school playing against each other at that level, in a Big 12 game. That was pretty cool. We无毛视频檙e good family friends. He grew up whenever I was in high school. My dad coached him the past couple years so we have a good relationship with him and his family.无毛视频�
While Edenfield didn无毛视频檛 expect to hear from a Big 12 team when he entered the transfer portal, he admitted WVU was in the back of his mind.
无毛视频淏efore I went there, I was thinking, man, I无毛视频檇 love to go to WVU,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淏ut now I无毛视频檓 Oklahoma State. Go Pokes.无毛视频�
Edenfield, whose major is Social Studies Secondary Education, feels coaching could be in his future and learned a lot from Gundy and playing at OSU.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 cool, he无毛视频檚 a players无毛视频� coach, real personable,无毛视频� Edenfield said of Gundy. 无毛视频淚f you ever had a problem you could just go talk to him. He无毛视频檚 the man. He无毛视频檚 funny.
无毛视频淭he facilities there, it无毛视频檚 just ridiculous. The locker room, weight room.There were a lot of kids that I played with at Cal that could无毛视频檝e probably played at this level if they无毛视频檇 have had that training.无毛视频�
Edenfield got a close-up look at some of the most talented players in the country while at Oklahoma State.
无毛视频淭here are guys I played against last year that are going to be first or second round picks (in the NFL Draft),无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 4.4, 4.5 speed everywhere. Linemen, these massive dudes, run like 4.9s or 4.8s. It无毛视频檚 just amazing.无毛视频�
Edenfield was happy with how his career turned out.
无毛视频淚 had a couple bumps in the road throughout it with some injuries at Cal, too,无毛视频� Edenfield said. 无毛视频淚 was just happy I was able to get that opportunity to go out there. I can无毛视频檛 thank them enough for that, something I无毛视频檝e dreamed of since I was a little kid.
无毛视频淚 enjoyed my time there and made a lot of good friends. I still talk to a lot of them and everyday we无毛视频檙e in a group message with the whole team from this past year.
无毛视频淚t was a good experience, I built good relationships and I无毛视频檝e learned a lot to help me in the future with coaching.无毛视频�