His Moment Is Now

Billy Edwards Jr. patiently waited three years for his moment. He even switched schools. 

The Maryland starting quarterback bet on himself and wrote his own story. Now, he’s distinguishing himself as the Terps’ next great signal caller. All it took was a bit of faith, passion, belief and hard work. 

“When you talk about grabbing every opportunity, there's no player that exemplifies that more to me than what Billy Edwards Jr. has done for us,” head football coach Michael Locksley said. “He's not just probably one of the best quarterbacks in our league right now, but also one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

Edwards backed up professional quarterbacks at both institutions he attended. He was at Wake Forest for just one season in 2021, buried on the depth chart behind current Washington Commanders QB Sam Hartman. Edwards redshirted and transferred to Maryland. He backed up the Big Ten’s all-time leading passer, Taulia Tagovailoa, for two seasons. Tagovailoa now plays for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Each scenario represents the underdog Edwards has been his whole life. He’s used the past as fuel this season, leading him to a career year. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt junior studying communication is a true dual-threat quarterback. 

He’s completed 128-of-177 (72.4%) passes for 1,444 yards and 11 touchdowns through five games. As a runner, he’s added two scores. Edwards ranks eighth nationally in completion percentage, 10th in completions, and 14th in yards per game (288.8). He was even named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Top 25 Watch List on Oct. 7. The award recognizes the top upperclassman quarterback in college football. 

“I'm very appreciative knowing that I've had to work my way up the food chain, and I have gotten really good opportunities put in front of me over the last two, three seasons,” Edwards said. “I’ve just been trying to take advantage of it, be grateful for the moment and then just make the most of it.”

Edwards’ past is an easy form of motivation. The Springfield, Virginia native attended Lake Braddock Secondary School, where his father served as the football team’s defensive coordinator. Despite compiling over 5,000 passing yards and 750 rushing yards for 65 total touchdowns over two seasons, Edwards wasn't even a top-40 ranked recruit in Virginia. It didn’t help that he didn’t take the field during his senior year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Demon Deacons were the only Power Four conference school to offer Edwards a scholarship. Still, they didn’t offer him until the fall of his senior year. In Winston-Salem, N.C., where Wake Forest’s campus is located, Edwards was over five hours away from family. Despite this, his parents and sister regularly drove to see him. But they never saw him between the white lines, as he didn’t appear in any games during his one season at Wake Forest. 

Eyeing a possible path to seeing the field and being closer to home motivated Edwards to transfer to Maryland. His familiarity with its football program helped. He says he has been familiar with Coach Locksley and former Maryland assistants Dan Enos and Mike Miller since he was an early teenager.

Furthermore, his brother, Kyle Edwards, was already a graduate assistant for the Terps. He served on Locksley’s coaching staff from 2021-23. According to Billy, his father even played at Maryland in 1985. The Terps won the ACC championship under head coach Bobby Ross that year. 

“It was a perfect fit,” Edwards said. “Looking back on two years ago, I got pretty lucky. I'm glad I made the decision. I'm glad it all kind of worked out the way it did.”

Edwards sat behind Tagovailoa for two seasons but showed early glimpses of his capabilities in 2022. He drew his first career start on Oct. 22 against Northwestern, filling in for Tagovailoa, who was sidelined with an injury. Edwards led the Terps to a 31-24 win over the Wildcats to become bowl-eligible. 

In 2023, the Terps discovered a way to use Edwards in short-yardage situations, emulating the Philadelphia Eagles’ “tush push” play. Edwards rushed for seven touchdowns that season, including three against No. 2 Michigan. He later drew his only start of the season against Auburn in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. The quarterback led the Terps to a convincing 31-13 victory, earning game MVP honors. 

During his two years backing up Tagovailoa, the pair developed a close relationship. Edwards also used the opportunity to learn from his record-holding teammate. Edwards says his biggest takeaway was understanding how to handle success and adversity.

“A little-known secret, Billy was like Lia's brother's keeper,” Locksley said. “If I needed Lia to get somewhere on time, Billy, as his backup, was the guy. They had a really strong relationship.”

Everything has come full circle for Edwards. Against Villanova on Sept. 21, he completed 28-of-32 (87.5%) passes for a career-high 328 yards and two touchdowns. His completion percentage broke the single-game school record held by Tagovailoa, who completed 87.1% (27-of-31) of his passes at Charlotte in 2022.

Edwards wasn’t immediately handed the keys to Maryland’s offense heading into the 2024 season. He participated in a battle that lasted the entire spring and fall camp. Edwards earned the job, remaining poised throughout the battle. Locksley concluded he gave the team the best chance to win week in and week out.

“When you meet him is who he is as a player,” Locksley said. “Very rarely do you see him get excitable. He has emotion, and he's one of those guys that’s on both sides of the aisle. You'll see him hanging out with the running backs, and then he'll be with the big O-lineman. He gets along with everybody.”

One of the running backs Edwards has formed a relationship with is redshirt freshman Nolan Ray. He says Edwards’s best quality as an athlete and teammate is his leadership. 

“He's a great guy to have at quarterback,” Ray said. “His leadership capabilities, vocally, he's going to show you how to do it the right way. He's going to tell you how to do it the right way. He's going to pick you up if you get down on yourself. He won't allow you to do that. That's important to have in the huddle. When you face that adversity in those tough games, you need a guy who's going to be able to pick the team up and keep everybody's spirits high. He's really good at that.”

Messages on sticky notes are posted on the bedroom walls and bathroom mirror of Edwards’ apartment. He calls the notes on his mirror his “accountability mirror.” Inscribed on each note are his goals, motivational quotes, Bible verses and other guiding principles. Some are from his sister, but all serve as a constant reminder of how far he’s come and what he still hopes to achieve.  

One of Edward’s long-term goals was to become the Terps’ starting signal caller, which he achieved. The next objective he has his eyes set on is winning a Big Ten championship. However, the redshirt junior is taking everything one game at a time. Next up is Northwestern — the school he started his first career game against — at SECU Stadium on Oct. 11. 

“This kid has the mindset that we have as coaches,” Locksley said. “Having him on the field now, and the confidence that we have in him to be able to get us in the right situations. We're putting a lot on him and I really like the way the kid is playing. I like the way that he continues to lead us on offense, and he’s doing special things for us.”