Let’s take a look at what the newest Tar Heel accomplished while he was at Maryland.
Carolina’s newest addition to its QB room, transfer Billy Edwards, might by a mystery to most UNC fans. Billy Edwards spent most of last season at Wisconsin recovering from injury. In 2024, Edwards started at Maryland for Mike Locksley. Prior to that, Edwards spent three seasons learning behind Taulia Tagovailoa at Maryland and one behind Sam Hartman at Wake Forest.
Edwards’s one season as a starter yielded some mixed results. His game logs from that season can be found here. His best game against a P4 opponent: Michigan State. Edwards threw for 253 yards, completed 75% of his passes, with two touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating in that game was 152, and his QBR was 81. His worst game: Minnesota. The Gophers limited Edwards to 19 completions on 34 attempts (54%), with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His QBR in that game was 22.3, and his passer rating was 91.
The game logs show a hot start to the season and a fading finish, although game by game contexts can be misleading. Maryland’s strength of schedule in 2024 ranked 17th nationally (FEI). His last four games featured three very good defenses: Minnesota, Oregon, and Iowa. Edwards was injured against Iowa, sitting out most of that game and then all of the Penn State contest. Edwards transferred to Wisconsin following the season with the presumption of being Wisconsin’s starting quarterback.
Rutgers would be the most worrying data point in those last four starts. Rutgers’ defense in 2024 ranking 81st nationally per FEI. Edwards threw for 335 in that game, but he posted a QBR for that game of 43.7, completing less than 60% of his passes, throwing an interception, and managing only 17 points against a bad defense.
Summarizing various evaluator opinions, Edwards seems to be QB with the ability to make some very impressive throws as well as some head-scratchers. Seamus Rohrer of Badgernotes assembled an excellent film review of Edwards’s one year of starting at Maryland that details strengths and weaknesses. If you have the time, it’s an excellent watch.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Category: General Sports
