Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards didn’t just rush for 1,487 yards and 16 touchdowns this season while leading the Wildcats to an 8-4 record and a Guaranteed Rate Bowl berth. Off the field, the sophomore from Derby, Kansas, just delivered the most powerful stiff-arm of his life: to generational struggle.
On Wednesday night, in a surprise ceremony streamed live on his Instagram (now sitting at 4.2 million views), Edwards handed his father, David Edwards, the keys to a brand-new, fully paid-off five-bedroom home in Derby – literally two doors down from the childhood house where Dylan grew up eating ramen after double practice days. “Dad, you’re officially retired at 48,” Edwards said, voice cracking as he hugged the man who worked 80-hour weeks as a forklift operator and night-shift janitor to keep cleats on his son’s feet. “No more 4 a.m. alarms. No more overtime. This is your peace. I love you.”
The moment? Pure, unfiltered heart. And in a sport drowning in NIL headlines and transfer drama, it’s the kind of story that stops the scroll and reminds everyone why they fell in love with college football in the first place.
🏈 From Walk-On Dreams to Wildcat Workhorse
Dylan Edwards was never supposed to be this guy.
A three-star recruit out of Derby High School in 2023, he had exactly one Power-5 offer: Colorado. Deion Sanders swooped in, made him the centerpiece of the Prime-era hype video, and Edwards exploded as a true freshman in Boulder – 1,221 all-purpose yards, four kick-return TDs, and the viral 100-yard KO return against TCU that had everyone calling him “The Human Joystick.”
Then came the chaos: Colorado’s 4-8 collapse, mass exodus, and Edwards hitting the portal in December 2024 searching for a real home. Kansas State – just 45 minutes from Derby – won the sweepstakes. Chris Klieman didn’t promise fame; he promised family. Edwards bought in, moved back within driving distance of Mom and Dad, and turned into the heartbeat of K-State’s offense alongside Avery Johnson.
2025 stats through 12 games:
• 218 carries, 1,487 yards (6.8 YPC), 16 rushing TDs
• 42 receptions, 418 yards, 3 receiving TDs
• 28.1 yards per kick return (1 TD)
• Doak Walker semifinalist, All-Big 12 First Team
He forced 94 missed tackles (2nd in FBS), had six 100-yard games, and sealed the Iowa State upset with a 75-yard TD scamper in the fourth quarter. But every postgame interview, he deflected: “This one’s for my dad watching back home.”
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