Virginia Tech football: 33 days til kickoff with a look back at Ken Edwards

Today is July 29, 2019, which means we are officially just 33 days away from the Virginia Tech Hokies opening the college football season at Boston College. Yesterday, we profiled one of the best running backs in Virginia Tech history in Ryan Williams. For No. 33, we stay in the offensive backfield with a profile of former fullback Ken Edwards.

Edwards first suited up for the Hokies in 1967, finishing third on the team in rushing with 230 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 50 yards. In 1968, Edwards finished second on the team with 469 rushing yards, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt and scoring four touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 74 yards and another score.

As a senior in 1969, Edwards finished third on the team in rushing with 298 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt. He also scored five touchdowns during his final season. Edwards put up consistent numbers throughout his career despite never being the lead back for the Hokies. He was the fullback for Terry Smoot for his entire career and still made an offensive impact for the Hokies.

Edwards wasn’t the only family member to wear the No. 33 jersey for Virginia Tech. As most know, his son, Tommy, played for the Hokies from 1992-1994, before transferring to Boise State. Tommy was a star running back at nearby Radford High and redshirted his freshman year for the Hokies. As a redshirt freshman on the 1993 Hokies that started the current bowl streak, Edwards was second on the team in rushing and also scored 10 touchdowns. Hence the ‘Touchdown Tommy’ nickname that had followed him from Radford.

Over the years, Tommy Edwards has been a strong mental health advocate, starting his own foundation, The Heart of Virginia Foundation, which focuses on raising awareness for mental health. Tommy also has his own band.

Back to Ken, for his career, he rushed for 993 career yards and also caught two touchdowns. He was an old-school fullback who resembled a linebacker playing in the offensive backfield. Tommy was almost a carbon copy of his father.

The Edwards’ are just another outstanding family in the history of Virginia Tech football and they just happened to share the same number. Another cool stat about father and son, when Tommy scored a TD in the 1993 bowl game, it was the first time in NCAA history that a father and son both scored touchdowns in a bowl game.