He was recruited to Iowa as a tight end, after all, a distinction that lasted only one week after he got into preseason camp last year and the depth chart at linebacker started to thin.
But he hasn’t let his receiving skills diminish.
So, it came as little surprise when Edds, an athletic 6-foot-4, 244-pound sophomore, leapt into the air from his outside linebacker position Saturday night and made an acrobatic interception off Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan late in the second quarter of the Hawkeyes’ 17-13 loss.
He jumped up, reached behind his head and made a catch not many linebackers could make.
It was the tight end within him coming out.
Now, after starting four games on defense, the tight end within him could be coming back.
“That was just one play,” Edds said Tuesday, shrugging off talk that he might be forced into an ironman role now that the depth chart has thinned at tight end.
“Every now and then, I’ll work on the jugs after practice to stay sharp. You never know.”
With starting tight end Tony Moeaki out, the Hawkeyes depth chart at one of the most important positions in their offense is junior Brandon Myers and sophomore walk-on Tyler Gerstandt. Myers has four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown this season. Gerstandt has no career stats.
After that?
“Auditions are open,” coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday.
But is Ferentz willing to sacrifice one of his best defenders? Edds was just coming into his own at linebacker, having recorded seven tackles, the interception and a forced fumble in Saturday’s game. On the season, he ranks fifth on the team with 24 stops.
“A.J.’s doing a great job,” said senior weakside linebacker Mike Humpal, who played on the outside last season before shifting over to make room for Edds.
“He’s doing everything the coaches are asking of him. He’s been making some good plays out there.”
That, too, has come as little surprise. It was expected from one of only three true freshman to see the field in 2006.
Edds is a guy who, before the season, Ferentz dropped the name of former Iowa All-American Chad Greenway when talking about his potential.
Would you move Chad Greenway to tight end?
“I guess he’s a possibility,” Ferentz said of Edds, “but he’s really starting to get the hang of it on defense right now, and I don’t think we want to tinker with something that’s working pretty well.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it, but that’s about as far as that one went.”
So, Edds will stay at linebacker — for now. And he’s focused clearly on Saturday’s opponent, an Indiana Hoosiers team with which he’s all too familiar.
Edds is a native of Greenwood, Ind., a city of just under 50,000 people some 45 miles up the road from IU’s campus in Bloomington.
He grew up a Hoosier. His father, David, played football at Indiana. His family had season tickets for years.
“We went to all the games, even when they weren’t very good,” Edds said. “We were always sitting there cheering whether it was rain or shine. So, I’ve been to a lot of games at Indiana.”
Saturday, Indiana comes to Kinnick Stadium with a 3-1 record, and Edds and his defensive mates will be trying to contain an explosive spread offense triggered by sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis.
With Edds’ athleticism — 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash — he figures to play a major role in the defensive scheme against the spread.
Or, if Myers were to go down with an injury, he could show up on offense.
Just in case, Edds will be putting in some extra time after practice this week, looking the ball in, squeezing it between his hands.
Just in case.
“We’ll see,” Edds said. “Like I’ve told Coach Ferentz from the beginning, I’ll play wherever the team needs me to play.”
Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com.
