Albany State quarterback Caleb Edmonds looking downfield, not looking back

ALBANY — Quarterback Caleb Edmonds confidently tosses a soft pass to Michael Green that goes 16 yards for a touchdown. The Albany State senior quarterback congratulates his teammate, then thanks his offensive linemen and heads to the sidelines.

Edmonds made the play look easy last Saturday night against nationally-ranked West Georgia, but it hasn’t always been like that. The veteran has had his share of struggles, which he credits for helping him get to this stage.

The quarterback has passed for 932 yards and five touchdowns in four games.

After a season of looking over his shoulder, making sure he beat out the competition, it’s finally Edmonds’ team. And he’s doing everything he can to lead the Rams.

“Caleb, he’s comfortable,” said wide receiver Quadrey Simmons. “He’s got his confidence and he’s feeling good, making plays, which is what we need him to do. As long as he’s confident, we’re behind him 100 percent.”

Edmonds has grown into a player Albany State is glad to have. Not only can he beat you with his arm, he’s a threat to make plays outside the pocket.

As comfortable as the left-handed signal-caller looks these days, it took a while to get to this point.

As a freshman, he didn’t take things seriously and took the game for granted. He was ruled academically ineligible, and it didn’t get much better as a sophomore. After trying to work his way into good standing, he missed being eligible by a few points.

“It was more me, it wasn’t anything else,” Edmonds said. “It was all me. I came in my freshman year and I wasn’t disciplined, wasn’t going to class like I was supposed to. After that, I’m ineligible and it hurt. Then to come back the next year and not do enough, I think my GPA (grade point average) was like two or three points from being eligible to play, then boom, I was ineligible again.”

But Edmonds was determined not to let his career fold. As a sophomore, he stayed around the game, often attending film sessions and studying under former all-conference performer Frank Rivers.

“I did basically everything but travel,” he said. “That helped me a lot. It helped me understand and I got a better grasp of the offense. It was a negative, but I did the best I could to try and make it a positive.”

Edmonds got his chance last season when he threw for 1,761 yards and seven touchdowns to help lead the Rams to the SIAC Championship Game. He also rushed for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He garnered second team all-conference honors and was the team’s Most Improved Player.

“I was playing not to make mistakes,” Edmonds said of last season. “When you play like that, you play too tensed up and you don’t make plays like you are supposed to.

“But my experiences taught me a lot. I had to be more disciplined. I couldn’t blame anybody else, and I had to accept responsibility for everything that I did. That helped me from then to now. Anytime it’s a mistake, it doesn’t matter if it is somebody else fault, I’ll take the blame. I don’t have a problem.

“I feel like it helped me become a man. That was big because a lot of people don’t come back from being ineligible for two years. I just know what it’s like for this game to be taken away from you, so that’s why I come out every day and go hard.”

Edmonds now faces the task of trying to help the Rams overcome a 1-3 start, with losses to three nationally-ranked opponents — Valdosta State, Tuskegee and West Georgia. Albany State faces the meat of its conference schedule and still has a lot to play for. He said he’s going to do his part.

Green said Edmonds’ accuracy makes it easy to do something with the ball after a catch.

“He’s putting it right where I need it,” Green said. “He’s really set me up for some great plays. I’ve just got to make the play.”

Offensive coordinator Steve Smith said he expects even bigger things from his quarterback as the season progresses. He said he has been impressed with Edmonds’ maturity.

“There are times he calls the play because he knows the playbook … this is his offense,” Smith said. “We’re just here to make sure he calms himself down, doesn’t get too high or too low, stays right in between and every call he’s making helps us continue to move forward and move the ball downfield.”

Just like he did Saturday night when he hit Green on a perfectly executed touchdown pass.