2024 UCF Commitment Profile: DL Sincere Edwards
The UCF Knights added a really good player to the future of their program when Sincere Edwards made a pledge to join Gus Malzahn and his staff. Here’s a closer look at this young man’s talents.
Sincere Edwards
Size: 6’1 ½”, 252 Pounds
Position: Defensive Line
School: Apopka (Fla.) Wekiva
Recruitment
Edwards made his commitment on Aug. 10, 2022. UCF won the recruiting battle over other offers including Michigan State, Iowa State, UCF, Utah, Arkansas, Marshall, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.
Frame
Edwards has a well balanced frame. Well defined upper torso, good arm length, and long legs that can still be filled out with more muscle mass.
Athleticism
Excellent first-step explosion. Edwards usually stays low out of his three-point stance and attacks the player in front of him with speed and power. His best attribute is the ability to change direction quickly without the need to break down and restart his feet.
Another way to define Edwards would be to say he’s nimble. Even after engaging an offensive lineman, he’s athletic enough to side step the opposing player quickly while closing ground on the ball carrier or quarterback.
Mentality
Edwards attacks. He is an up-field, right now, get there as fast as I can, one-gap penetrating defensive lineman. He is best suited to play in a scheme that truly comes after the quarterback, which UCF certainly does.
Effort
Seeing Edwards chase down plays from behind is a great sign. Many top pass rushers loaf when the ball carrier runs away from them or they over run a draw play to the running back. Edwards, however, will turn and run full speed to chase the football. Great sign for his future.
Pass Rusher
Seeing Edwards use his quickness as an edge rusher provides insight into his quickness and agility. He suddenly turns his shoulders to gain an angle advantage against an offensive tackle and then uses his hands to “rip” or “slap” an offensive tackle’s hands away before moving on towards the quarterback.
When playing inside at defensive tackle, Edwards is too quick for the vast majority of offensive guards. His best weapons – agility and hand use – remain the same. He’s also adept at when to begin his pass-rush move so that he catches an interior offensive lineman off guard.
As Edwards adds to his repertoire of pass rushing abilities, i.e. move combination moves, he’s going to be very difficult to handle during one-on-one situations. That leads to the final category.
Position Flexibility
The question becomes how does the UCF coaching staff want to best utilize his skills to maximize not only what Edwards does, but the other UCF defensive defenders playing with him?
In a couple of years, Edwards will be playing along the defensive line that includes 2023 UCF commitment John Walker. Most teams are simply going to need to double Walker. He’s a behemoth with rare natural skills to penetrate and attack the quarterback.
That’s the type of situation where Edwards could move inside (see below) and play next to Walker and at least one of them has to be blocked by just one offensive lineman. This is likely to transpire during third down and long, or any given obvious passing situation.
That’s going to be a tough assignment for the player that’s assigned to go one-on-one with Walker or Edwards, depending on which player the opposing team selects to double team.
Building Edwards’ Frame
He could stay in the 250-to-260-pound range and be primarily an edge rusher, or bulk up a little bit more to the 270-to-280-pound range and become a player that consistently rotates between the edge and the 3 Technique (defensive tackle) position. There’s also another important factor to consider.
He’s a natural pass rusher whether it’s on the edge or along the interior, so It might be best to place Edwards at the spot where the opposing team has the weakest link for pass blocking.
If that’s an offensive guard, move Edwards inside. If an offensive tackle that struggles in pass protection, let Edwards go to work on that player. He’s versatile enough to make plays from either defensive end or defensive tackle.
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