Some bumps in the road, but Bo Edmundson continues Lake Travis' quarterbacks run
A senior season's worth of frustration, injury and anxiety will end with relief — and yes, excitement — for Lake Travis quarterback Bo Edmundson.
Edmundson signed his national letter of intent to play for UNLV on Wednesday. He'll graduate from Lake Travis this spring and begin life as a UNLV Rebel in June. After a frustrating fall that included a lingering injury that hampered him, personal issues and a commitment and subsequent decommitment with Michigan State, the quarterback didn't sign in December and didn't commit to the Rebels until two weeks ago.
“I’m probably equally excited and relieved,” Edmundson said. “There was a lot of uncertainty about whether I’d get to play in college. I was looking anywhere just for the chance to play. I was super fortunate for UNLV to come to be.”
UNLV went through a coaching change following a 5-7 season. The school named Barry Odom head coach on Dec. 6 — about one month after Edmundson had backed out of his pledge to Michigan State — and Odom rounded out his staff by hiring former Texas receivers coach Brennan Marion as his offensive coordinator.
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Odom and Marion both agreed that UNLV needed to sign a quarterback this cycle, as the Rebels have three juniors and a sophomore on the roster. Marion called Edmundson on Jan. 17.
“He said he only had two questions: Do I love football and am I healthy?” Edmundson said. “I answered yes to both and they offered me a scholarship. There was a sense of anxiousness, anxiety, relief — it was a wild experience.”
The family took a quick visit to Las Vegas and Edmundson committed on Jan 22.
“I love the culture that the new staff is creating,” he said. “They’ve been there less than a month and what I see from the players who are there and the confidence that they have in the coaches, it makes it easy for me. It’s a fresh start for everyone, including me. That’s what I needed.”
A great ending to a not-so-great beginning of Edmundson's final season
Edmundson’s senior season never materialized like he — or anyone associated with the Lake Travis program — had hoped. A herniated disc hampered him throughout last spring and summer, and as the injury persisted, he said he grew frustrated that he couldn’t play at the level he needed to for the Cavaliers to succeed. He tried to play through the injury in the team’s preseason scrimmage against Cedar Ridge and knew he couldn’t continue.
“It was just the constant (frustration of) not knowing when the injury would be relieved,” Edmundson said. “Your mind has power over everything. In my mind, I was doubtful that I could go out and do it at that point. That took a big toll on my senior year.”
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Plus, even more than the physical injury, Edmundson said he suffered a loss of confidence that took much longer than he expected to overcome. He missed roughly half the season dealing with the injury and his confidence issues. After committing to the Spartans in February and visiting Michigan State four times through September, he backed out of his pledge on Nov. 2.
“I needed to have my confidence translate onto the field and I feel like I took that for granted,” Edmundson said. “I lost my confidence. I started to doubt myself. With an injury or flaw in your game, you don’t know if you’ll get it back. How do you respond to that? We looked at it like a slump, and we had to attack that from the mental side.
"The thing is, everyone at some point goes through a slump. I just went through it earlier than a lot of people," he added. “I’ve always been super hard on myself. Perfect is the enemy of great, and I was trying to do that. If I missed a throw, I worried about how people would feel about it. It was super-unfortunate timing.”
Finally back on the field, but only for a little bit
He made his season debut in the second quarter of a 49-7 win over Del Valle in October and started the Cavaliers’ 55-7 win over Austin High, throwing a pair of touchdowns. While he played in just five of the team’s 12 games, he stayed engaged and used his experience to help junior Kadyn Leon lead the offense.
“He’s going to be a coach one day and he’s always looked for opportunities to be vocal and lead,” Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said. “He did that this year even though he didn’t play as much as we all thought he would. Watching him on the sideline, seeing him celebrate touchdowns and being engaged, you’d never know he was dealing with things. He looked at how he can help the team and that’s exactly what we saw all year long.”
After the Cavaliers' bidistrict playoff win over Round Rock, teammates credited Edmundson for having been a calming voice in the locker room, helping them put together a second-half rally that turned a 10-7 deficit into a 35-10 win. Edmundson played a key role on the field as well that night, taking part in a trick play that resulted in a touchdown and later rushing for a score to seal the win.
Lessons learned — but the hard way
“If something good came from this, it was the chance to dip my toe into coaching when I got removed from the field,” Edmundson said.
The quarterback also said stepping back from the field allowed him to realize just how much he loved football.
“At that point, I knew that this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “Stepping back (and focusing on recovery) allowed me to take the steps that I’m taking now. I knew I loved football and what I’m capable of, and I knew I was healthy enough to continue to play football.”
Said Carter: “I’m excited for him. He had a rough year and he’s got a chance to go play college football and realize one of his dreams.”
Edmundson was one of five Cavaliers who signed on national signing day, along with defensive backs Lucas Casey-Moore (U.S. Merchant Marines) and Tyler Mitchell (Harding), defensive lineman Griffen Willis (Navy) and offensive lineman Greyson Sofia (Colorado School of Mines).
And Edmundson became the 10th straight Cavaliers quarterback to sign with an FBS school. The quarterback who passed for nearly 6,000 yards and 57 touchdowns in his high school career is ready for his next chance, he said.
“Confidence can overwhelm all else,” Edmundson said. “Just keep a level head and never lose hope in yourself.”
For Lake Travis: 10 in a row
The last 10 Lake Travis quarterbacks have signed FBS scholarships:
Todd Reesing (2004-05): Kansas
Garrett Gilbert (2006-08): Texas
Michael Brewer (2008-10): Texas Tech
Baker Mayfield (2011-12): Oklahoma
Dominic DeLira (2013-14): Iowa State
Charlie Brewer (2014-16): Baylor
Matthew Baldwin (2017): Ohio State
Hudson Card (2017-19): Texas
Nate Yarnell (2019-20): Pittsburgh
Bo Edmundson (2020-22): UNLV
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ten in a row: Lake Travis' Bo Edmundson keeps Cavs' quarterback legacy
