Houston Receiver Patrick Edwards Going for a Dangerous Precedent

In college football, the players are mere “talents”. Not so much individuals unless they are vying for a post-season award or if their involved in some off-the-field incident. Other than that, their just puppets for their coaches, not free to transfer in a bad situation without penalty, not free to take gripe with the coach, not free to enjoy college life as much as non-football athletes.

And in such a competitve “business” now, it’s very unlikely that a player does anything to stand out away from the field. But Houston receiver Patrick Edwards is beginning a case that could make athletic directors very cautious.

During the 2008 season, receiver Patrick Edwards was on track to have a very productive season. He was the team’s top offensive weapon, and in a Kevin Sumlin offense, that usually means 1,000 to 1,200 yards and double digit touchdowns for a receiver. But against Marshall early in the season, Edwards wasn’t given the chance to reach those numbers.

On a deep touchdown pass, Edwards sprinted full speed into the end zone to make the catch between halfway and at the back-end of the endzone. Because of his tremendous speed, he wasn’t able to slow down by the end of the endzone, and as isn’t unusual for speedy players, over-ran the field boundaries after making the catch.

As his feet continued to try and slow down, Edwards crashed into a metal medical cart, flying over it and making SportsCenter highlights. But this was no laughing matter.

Edwards had a compound fracture in his right leg, and was forced to miss the rest of the 2008 season. Edwards committed to his recovery, and actually made a great comeback in 2009, finishing with over 1,000 yards and double digit touchdowns.

But he’s not ready to let that situation against Marshall die.

“I feel like I need to protect my rights and do what’s right.” Edwards said, as he is now pursuing a case against the C-USA and Marshall University, claiming they were negligent in leaving the metal cart there. Whether Edwards wins the case or not, it will have to make athletic directors plan this one extra step.

But if he does win, it could be a huge blow to the University and conference, one that could result in athletic directors redesigning fields and reorganizing staff to ensure that a possible multi-million dollar lawsuit doesn’t take away from their all important football profits.