[Buckskin86]

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/s...-7666403c.html

Barrington Edwards, ranked the No. 5 running back in the country during his 2002 senior season, visited the University of North Carolina on Thursday to discuss transferring to the school from national champion Louisiana State. Edwards also is considering N.C. State.

Edwards is a 6-foot, 217-pound tailback who has a time of 4.48 seconds over 40 yards.

He played the 2003 season at LSU but had just 41 carries for 169 yards.

He requested his release from LSU this month and is interested in transferring to a school where he will have more opportunity to play.

He will sit out the 2004 season and have three years of eligibility remaining.

Scott Chadwick, Edwards' coach at Bowie (Md.) High School, said Edwards visited UNC on Thursday and hoped to visit N.C. State on the same trip.

Edwards also is looking at Pittsburgh and Ohio State, Chadwick said.

"This came about really quickly," Chadwick said. "I was vacationing at Nags Head when he called to say he had gotten his release. I was able to get some tapes Fed-Exed to me, and I visited N.C. State for him on Monday.

"He is very interested in both schools."

Chadwick said that if the Wolfpack lands Washington, the mutual interest by Edwards and State would diminish.

"Having T.A. McLendon wouldn't be a factor, but bringing in Darrell Blackman and Bobby Washington this year and having Andre Brown and Barrington next year could create the same type of logjam he faced at LSU," Chadwick said.

Brown, a high school All-America at Greenville Rose in 2003, committed to State but is attending Hargrave Military Academy this fall.

Edwards rushed for 2,289 yards and scored 27 touchdowns during his junior year, when Bowie won the Maryland state title.

Chadwick left the school after Edwards' junior year and the team went to a pass-oriented offense. Edwards rushed for 590 yards as a senior.

"I have never seen a player with the passion for football that Barrington has," Chadwick said. "He loves to play the game, which is one of the reasons that he is transferring."

UNC Insiders premium

It looks like he is about ready to committ to North Carolina.

http://www.herald-sun.com/sports/18-508429.html

Edwards likes what he sees at UNC

Barrington Edwards met academic counselors, coaches and players at North Carolina on Thursday. Edwards, a tailback transferring from LSU, sounded as if he would soon be a Tar Heel, though he stopped short of saying so.

"There was nothing I didn't like," he said. "I loved it there. I loved the players, the coaches, the campus, the fitness program."

Edwards said he would make an announcement Tuesday. But he's already made a decision. "In my mind, yeah (I've made a decision)," the 6-0, 213-pounder said Thursday night. "I'm done, but it's not done. I haven't decided exactly."

Edwards did not visit N.C. State on Thursday, as he had said he planned to. He was confident he could be cleared for admission for the school of his choice by the first day of classes. He would need to be enrolled by then to play in 2005.

Edwards, a top-25 tailback out of Bowie (Md.) High, ran 41 times for 169 yards for LSU last season as a true freshman. He was the No. 4 tailback on a national championship team, and he decided after the year that he wanted more playing time. He will have three years of eligibility at his new school.