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BOLIVAR, Mo. — “Quarterback U.”
That’s what TJ Edwards called it. He sat on the sideline at Plaster Stadium in Bolivar where nine months earlier he watched the best football season in the history of Southwest Baptist University end in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Now, all he could think of was who came before him… who laid the foundation.
He pointed to Roberty Clardy down the bench: “He’s the one the started all this,” he said. “Quarterback U.”
The Bearcats head coach came to Bolivar from Marshfield over a decade ago and left the program with a handful of career records. He remains the leader in career passing percentage, but most of those marks now belong to Steven Gachette.
Now, the SBU head coach can see what he has in Edwards. Clardy plays coy about where he could end up, but saw it from his first game at the helm.
“We’ve had some great quarterbacks here in the past,” Clardy said. “TJ just continues to climb up the charts.”
Others are a bit more liberal with the term… the “G” word.
The “GOAT”.
Senior captain Kendrick Payne said it during camp this summer. Former signal caller Willie Tindal tweeted: “TJ Edwards may be the best Quarterback ever at SBU when it’s all said & done #WinningIsEverything” last September.
The rhetoric is far removed from the start of Edwards’ career in Bolivar, entering the program after starting just one varsity year at Lakeview Centennial High School near Dallas.
He lost the quarterback battle to Mason Farquhar that fall, and entered the 2015 season opener at Grand Valley State as the backup. It was the first game after Clardy had the interim tag removed from his title as head coach, and Farquhar went down with injury midway through.
“We were like: okay, we’ll put the other guy in, see how he can do. He’s done some great thing in practice and he just came in and handled it well.”
Edwards carved into a 36-7 deficit in the third quarter, throwing two touchdowns and running in another. The result was a 36-28 defeat, but the freshman solidified the job that day.
His first two seasons have brought GLVC Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year honors. He set a single-season program record with 34 passing touchdowns last year. The Bearcats earned their first ever conference title and postseason berth while Edwards was nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Heisman of Division II.
“We always had a vision, we just knew we had to put in work and it would finally come around,” said Edwards.
Edwards had that vision when he chose SBU after only three college visits. Now, he has surpassed Clardy in career passing yards and touchdowns. He calls it a blessing to even be mentioned in the same breath as his head coach.
“(Edwards) is always trying to make sure he and his receivers are on the same page because he wants to be great and he wants them to be great,” said Clardy.
He has proven to be equally efficient on the ground, compiling 685 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns even with Bubba Jenkins, a top five rusher nationally, sharing the backfield last year.
Now with Jenkins gone, the junior’s versatility will be even more critical. Five of the seven players who caught touchdowns last year return, including Payne, who tied a program record with 13 scores through the air in 2016.
They have a chance to surpass it this fall, but Edwards wouldn’t be able to point out if they do. The main focus is a lofty one, but one he and the Bearcats do not shy away from.
“No more conference champs or any of that,” he said. “The ultimate goal is a national championship.”
The season begins at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Eastern New Mexico.
