Football
- Title:
- Tight Ends
- Email:
- kyle.edwards@richmond.edu
Kyle Edwards joined Russ Huesman’s staff as tight ends coach in March 2024. Edwards comes to Richmond after working with some of the nation's top programs and coaches at stops including Alabama and Maryland.
In his first season with the Spiders in 2024, Edwards helped guide tight end Matt Robbert to become Richmond's fifth-leading receiver, with 264 yards and a touchdown. Robbert averaged 11 yards per catch and 20.31 yards per game, while the tight end group also contributed to blocking for a Spiders run game that ranked second in the CAA in rushing yards with 2,527. As a whole, the Spiders' offense recorded 27.15 points per game and 380.4 yards per game, finishing fourth in the CAA in total offense with 4,945 yards. With Edwards' help, the 2024 Spiders went 10-3, reached the FCS Playoffs for a third consecutive year, and won back-to-back conference championships for just the second time in program history. They finished the regular season with 10 wins, their best regular-season record since 2009. Edwards also played a key role in Richmond completing an undefeated 8-0 conference season, marking just the second such accomplishment in program history. The 2024 team became just the seventh in CAA history to finish conference play unbeaten.
Prior to joining Richmond, Edwards served as a graduate assistant at Maryland beginning in May 2021, where he worked with the Terrapins' quarterbacks and tight ends under offensive coordinators Dan Enos and Josh Gattis.
A descendant of the Mike Locksley coaching tree, Edwards helped guide the Terrapins to three consecutive bowl victories, a feat Maryland hadn’t accomplished in over two decades. He played a key role in helping Taulia Tagovailoa become the all-time passing leader in Big Ten history and set every major Maryland passing record.
Edwards also helped tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo get drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. While at Maryland, Okonkwo set the record for the second-most receptions in a single season by a Terrapins tight end and later earned a spot on the 2022 NFL All-Rookie Team. In 2023, Maryland tight end Corey Dyches ranked fourth among all FBS tight ends in receptions, completing a streak of 25 consecutive games with a catch under Edwards’ guidance. Edwards also worked with former Spiders quarterback Reece Udinski, who spent the 2021 season with the Terrapins. A native of Springfield, Va., Edwards was instrumental in signing several recruits from the DMV area to Maryland.
As a student-athlete, Edwards served as a scout team quarterback for head coach Nick Saban at Alabama from 2017 to 2019. Although he did not see game time, Edwards was an important member of the 2018 National Championship team, which held the nation's top-ranked offense, as well as the 2017 Orange Bowl-winning roster.
During his time in Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s quarterback room included Edwards, along with three Heisman Trophy finalists and future NFL starters: Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Mac Jones. Edwards won Alabama's prestigious Fourth Quarter Award, given to players who demonstrate the highest level of performance and mental toughness during offseason training, and earned All-SEC Academic honors in 2018 and 2019 for outstanding academic achievement.
After his playing career, Edwards transitioned to coaching and began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Alabama. He worked closely with Saban and Steve Sarkisian (now the current head coach at Texas), focusing on tight ends and quarterbacks. Edwards helped the team earn a 35-16 victory over Michigan in the 2020 Citrus Bowl. Following his time at Alabama, Edwards became one of the nation’s youngest position coaches when he was hired to lead the quarterbacks at UT Martin, before the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately canceled the season.
A three-time Dean’s List honoree, Edwards graduated Cum Laude from Alabama in just three years with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2019. He went on to earn a master’s in public safety leadership and administration from Maryland in 2023.
