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Former University of South Carolina star football player Brad Edwards will attend this weekend’s University of South Carolina football game against LSU where he will meet informally with several members of the school’s board of trustees, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to this media outlet.
Edwards, 58, of Lumberton, North Carolina, is one of the names being bandied about as a possible replacement for outgoing Gamecock athletics director Ray Tanner – although he reportedly made plans to attend the game long before Tanner shocked Gamecock nation by announcing his impending resignation this week.
Several South Carolina trustees tried to get Edwards to come to South Carolina five years ago when Tanner was on the verge of being ousted. At the time, Edwards was athletics director at George Mason University. He resigned that position two years ago and was hired by the National Football League (NFL) as its alumni association director in October 2022.
Edwards played football at South Carolina from 1984-1987 under head coach Joe Morrison. During his senior season at South Carolina in 1987, he led the Gamecocks in tackles (130) and interceptions (8) – including a memorable, game-clinching pick-six that sealed an upset win over then-No. 8 Clemson.
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Edwards was chosen in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft (No. 54 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings. He played in 122 games for three teams over nine seasons in the NFL – recording 589 tackles, eighteen interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.
As a member of the Washington Redskins, Edwards intercepted Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly twice in Super Bowl XXVI to help secure the franchise’s third world championship – returning one of his picks for 21 yards and the other for 35 yards. Edwards also laid some serious wood on Buffalo wide receivers in that game.
Prior to his stint at George Mason, Edwards was athletics director at Jacksonville University (2012-2014) and Newberry College (2009-2012). From 1999-2006, he was an assistant athletics director at South Carolina under the late Mike McGee.
Not everyone is wild about Edwards’ being in the mix for the South Carolina job, as comments on one popular Gamecock message board made clear.
“Brad Edwards would be a very typical Carolina hire,” one commenter noted.
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Another intriguing possibility for the position is University of Tennessee deputy athletics director Ryan Alpert – who is currently overseeing a $337 million renovation of Neyland Stadium. A native of Columbia, S.C., Alpert was recently the runner-up for the University of Houston athletics director position.
“Ryan is truly one of the rising stars in our profession,” noted Volunteers athletics director Danny White.
Alpert also served in a deputy athletics director position at the University of Missouri prior to being hired in Knoxville.
According to reporter Lulu Kesin of The Greenville News, other candidates for the position include Arkansas State athletics director Jeff Purinton, Coastal Carolina vice president of intercollegiate athletics Chance Miller, Army athletics director Mike Buddie, Toledo athletics director Bryan Blair, Georgia Southern athletics director Jared Benko and Arkansas vice chancellor Hunter Yurachek.
This media outlet has also heard reports that Mike Cappacio of The Citadel is a possible candidate for the job.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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