Full circle: Kansas State football lands running back and former commit Dylan Edwards

MANHATTAN — It took a year, but Dylan Edwards is finally a Wildcat.

Edwards, who originally committed to Kansas State football in June of 2022, only to back out and wind up at Colorado, found his way back to the Wildcats via the transfer portal on Sunday. The former Derby High School running back announced his decision at the conclusion of a weekend recruiting visit to Manhattan.

The speedy 5-foot-9, 170-pound Edwards, one of the most dynamic running backs in Kansas high school history, had a solid freshman season at Colorado. In 12 games, six of them starts, he rushed for 321 yards and a touchdown, plus caught 36 passes for 299 yards and four more scores.

But after starting the first four games for the Buffaloes, including having four touchdowns in a season-opening victory at TCU, Edwards saw his role diminish. He entered the transfer portal last week and quickly reconnected with K-State.

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It didn't hurt that one of Edwards' best friends growing up was K-State starting quarterback Avery Johnson, a youth football teammate in the Wichita area.

By winding up in Manhattan, Edwards' journey has come full circle. K-State initially beat out Oklahoma and Nebraska two years ago when he revealed his decision in a much-anticipated ceremony at a packed Derby High School gymnasium. But a couple of months later he was back on the market and chose Notre Dame, only to switch again after Deion Sanders was named the new head coach at Colorado.

K-State already has a star running back in bruising 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior DJ Giddens, who rushed for 1,226 yards and 10 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry, plus caught 29 passes for 323 yards and three TDs. But Edwards brings a speed element to the backfield and can line up at multiple positions, not to mention havoc he can cause in the return game.

In his four high school seasons at Derby, the Panthers went 42-7, and Edwards rushed for 6,426 yards on 10.3 yards per carry and 178.5 yards per game with 95 touchdowns. He also caught 40 passes for 556 yards and seven scores, plus added three kickoff return and three punt return TDs.

While Giddens figures to be a workhorse back under new offensive coordinator Conor Riley and co-coordinator Matt Wells, there should be plenty of touches to go around for Johnson and Edwards as well. Together the three should give the Wildcats arguably the most explosive backfield in the Big 12.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football nabs Dylan Edwards the second time around