Trey Edmunds named to Parade Magazine All-American team

It was hard for Trey Edmunds to come up with the words to describe his feelings Thursday after hearing the news from his father, Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds, about being named to the nation’s premier All-American high school football team.

But after the season he had on the football field, it was quite easy to finally find the words to say.

“Just all in one word, it was a blessing,” Edmunds said. “I was flabbergasted when I heard it. Hearing great news coming off the bus walking into the house, my dad told me and I just went crazy. I was very excited. I give all the honor to God, to my family, to my football family, to everybody around this community and I just think it’s a tremendous honor.”

The Dan River senior and Virginia Tech football recruit is the first player in school history to be named to the Parade Magazine All-American high school football team. The 49th edition of the All-American team will be revealed in Sunday’s edition of the Parade Magazine.

“Football is all about preparation, hard work and dedication. These are the three things that I see in Trey every day,” Ferrell Edmunds said. “He’s determined to do things and do them the right way with heart and hard work.”

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound athlete rushed for 2,596 yards and 33 touchdowns on 283 carries, accounting for 61.5 percent of Dan River’s offense. Dan River won two playoff games in a season for the first time in school history and, in the process, Edmunds rushed for 696 yards and 10 touchdowns in the three postseason games.

Edmunds was named the 2011 Danville Register & Bee All-Metro football offensive player of the year and was named first-team offense in both Region B and the Dogwood District.

Edmunds, who is projected to play on defense for the Hokies, was named first-team defense in the Dogwood District. He racked up 143 tackles, four interceptions and returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

“Coming into this season, he wanted to accomplish a lot of goals. He set goals, but to actually at the end of the season to start getting different awards and everything, it’s a great honor,” Ferrell Edmunds said. “I’m very proud of him for all the hard work and the coaches at Dan River that really work with Trey over the years to get Trey to the point where he’s successful his senior year. It’s been a lot of different people who helped Trey along the way.”

The younger Edmunds is one of three players from Virginia to be named to the All-American team, being joined by Goochland kicker Colby Cooke and Ashburn defensive lineman Alex Carter.

Edmunds, who can sign his National Letter of Intent to Virginia Tech on Feb. 1, joins an exclusive club of Virginia Tech recruits to be named to the Parade All-American team. Darren Evans and Tyrod Taylor were the last Hokies to make the squad back in 2007.

“I had always been an All-American in the back of my mind. It wasn’t one of my primary goals, but it was one of my goals,” Trey Edmunds said. “Just reaching it at this point is just great. I’m just speechless right now.”