Juco combo guard Daryl Edwards recaps his “amazing” LSU visit

By CODY WORSHAM | Tiger Rag Editor

When Daryl Edwards and his father arrived on LSU’s campus last weekend for an official visit, they enjoyed the kind of one-on-one treatment every recruit dreams of receiving.

Edwards, a 6-foot-4 sharpshooting combo guard from Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla., got plenty of facetime with LSU’s three-man coaching staff this weekend. The basketball team was on spring break with the rest of the student body, but Edwards did no partying during his time in Baton Rouge.

“I had an amazing time,” Edwards told Tiger Rag on Tuesday. “I just got in the gym, like a real workout. It’s pure business. I’m not there to party or anything.”

With the players gone, Edwards was the sole focus of head coach Will Wade and assistants Tony Benford and Greg Heiar. They toured the facilities, hit the gym, ate seafood and soul food, and talked about what sort of role Edwards – who averaged 13.6 points per game last season and shot 47 percent from 3 – could play at LSU.

LSU set for visit from 6-foot-4 Northwest Florida sharpshooter Daryl Edwards

“Mainly just being a leader on the floor,” Edwards said of Wade’s vision for him at LSU, “being a point guard, defending, helping my teammates be better and still knocking down open shots at the same time.”

Edwards has known Wade for years. Wade recruited Edwards when he was head coach at Chattanooga from 2013-2015 and monitored him at VCU, offering him a scholarship before he left Richmond to take the LSU job. That connection gave LSU an instant boost among Edwards’ other suitors, which include Iowa State, Utah, and UNLV.

“Coach Wade being there, that alone was a big factor,” said Edwards. “Coach Wade, I’ve been knowing him for five or six years. As soon as he got there, (LSU) was already moving up the charts.”

Edwards also hit it off with Heair – “GH,” for short – thanks to a firsthand look at Heiar’s reputation for player development. Heair coached in the Panhandle Conference, where Northwest Florida currently competes, for six years, and has extensive connections in the region. Edwards particularly enjoyed the workout Heiar put him through during the visit.

“I never did one thing I did in that workout before,” Edwards said, laughing. “Crazy ball handling drills with a tennis ball; hook shots from outside the block. It was amazing. I really feel like I’d get a lot better working with GH. He’s a good dude on top of that. That only makes working out with someone that much better.”

The original plan for Edwards, who already visited Iowa State, was to visit Utah this week and UNLV this weekend. He told Tiger Rag last week before his LSU trip he would take all of his visits before making a decision.

But after visiting LSU, Edwards was coy about putting a timetable on his future plans.

“My next visit was scheduled to Utah,” he said. “But I’ve been talking with my family, putting everything together and just trying to make the best decision”