Former FCIAC football stars Jackson Mitchell of Ridgefield and Cam Edwards of Norwalk both had very good years and were two of the best players for the University of Connecticut during the fall, 2023, season.
Mitchell ended his UConn career with such a good senior year as a 6-foot-2, 235-pound inside linebacker that he earned an invite to the 2024 Hula Bowl Football All-Star Game this Saturday at the UCF FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 o’clock noon.
Mitchell led UConn in team tackles in each of the last three years and he’s now third on UConn’s all-time list with 438 total career tackles. He was selected to the New England Football Writers Association All-New England Team for the third consecutive year.
Mitchell was one of three Huskies who made All-New England this year after he had 113 total tackles, including a sack and seven tackles for a loss, and averaged 9.4 tackles per game to finish ranked 19th in the FBS (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision).
Mitchell also forced a fumble, had a fumble recovery and an interception, and got the second defensive touchdown of his career when he returned a fumble 50 yards for a TD to help lead the Huskies to a 38-31 victory at Rice on Oct. 7 for their first win of the year. They ended the year with a 31-18 victory at UMass to finish 3-9.
Mitchell had five games with double digit tackles this past year to finish his career with 19 games with double digit tackles. The University of Connecticut’s athletics department reported on Dec. 12 that Mitchell accepted the invitation to play in the Hula Bowl, which will have about 100 of the top seniors from this past college football season.
In an article posted on the www.nflmocks.com website on Jan. 8, John Blair reports that “players taking part in this game carry late round or undrafted free agent grades.”
Blair summarized 12 players as NFL prospects to watch, and two of them were Mitchell and his UConn teammate, Eric Watts, a 6-foot-5, 277-pound defensive end.
“My highest-rated player taking part in this game is UConn linebacker Jackson Mitchell who currently carries a sixth-round grade,” Blair wrote. “The reason he is my top prospect in the Hula Bowl is his nose for the ball. He has had three straight seasons with over 110 tackles, and in 2019 he led all true freshmen in tackles per game with an average of 6.5 tackles.”
Prior to his excellent senior year when Mitchell had those 113 total tackles, Mitchell racked up 140 tackles (4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss) for an average of 11.7 tackles per game during his junior season in 2022, and two years ago he started in all 12 games as a sophomore and averaged 10 tackles per game with his 120 total tackles.
Mitchell excelled as a two-way starter at Ridgefield and was a two-time selection to the All-FCIAC Football First Team. During his junior year he had 40 tackles, three of them sacks, and three interceptions on defense and on offense he was a key weapon for the Tigers with 80 receptions for 1,124 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2017.
The following year the senior captain had 14.5 sacks among his 35 tackles, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and four touchdowns. In addition to repeating as an all-conference first-teamer, Mitchell was also selected to the Top 26 team on the 2018 Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Football Team and to the New Haven Register All-State Football First Team.
Edwards, a 5-foot-10, 202-pound sophomore running back, led UConn in rushing this past season with 618 yards on 123 carries for an average of 5 yards per carry and he also had a team-high four rushing touchdowns.
He did not get any running back action in the first three games and then Edwards averaged 68.67 yards per game rushing as he played in nine of UConn’s 12 games. He also caught a touchdown pass among his 15 receptions for 132 yards (14.67 yards per reception).
Edwards was excellent as a running back and defensive back at Norwalk High School and began his UConn career as a defensive back in 2022 before coach Jim Mora switched him over to running back in the middle of Edwards’ freshman season. He got his first action in the backfield this past season on Sept. 23 and rushed for 43 yards on 13 carries in UConn’s 41-7 home loss to Duke.
Edwards had his biggest output when he averaged 6.8 yards per rush while rushing for 149 yards on 22 carries, including a 33-yard touchdown run, and he also caught a 6-yard TD pass among his four pass receptions in UConn’s 24-21 home loss to South Florida on Oct. 21.
Four weeks later Edwards rushed for 90 yards on 12 carries (7.5 yards per carry) and caught a pair of passes for 18 yards while helping lead the Huskies to a 31-3 victory over Sacred Heart University on UConn’s Senior Day at Rentschler Field on Nov. 18.
He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second time in the season when he rushed for102 yards on 19 carries and scored the last two touchdowns on runs of 4 and 8 yards to help lead UConn (3-9) to its season-ending 31-18 victory at UMass.
Edwards had an excellent career at Norwalk High School, culminating in him being selected the Player of the Year for the 2021 GameTimeCT All-State First Team after his fantastic senior season when he rushed for 1,666 yards and scored 23 touchdowns for the 7-3 Bears. He was also selected to the Top 26 of the CHSCA All-State Football Team and the 2021 All-FCIAC First Team Offense.
Edwards averaged an amazing 8.3 yards per carry for his career while rushing for 2,349 yards on 283 carries, including 25 rushing touchdowns among his 44 total touchdowns. As a sophomore Edwards made the 2019 All-FCIAC Football Second Team and when he was a junior the 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suffice it to say, Edwards, coach Mora, and the UConn fans are enthused about the future with Edwards carrying and catching the football for the Huskies.