Interview: 7-Offer All-State 2022 Arkansas OL Brooks Edmonson is a Dominating Force for Bryant
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
Technically sound, a bruiser, above the grain strong, and a collegiate frame, all the attributes that go into what makes Brooks Edmonson a D-I recruit. The Class of 2022 standout has worked his way up to seven offers after helping Bryant High School to an Arkansas 7A state championship in 2020. Displaying the skills at right tackle for the Hornets, Edmonson dominates the opposition, but is learning to do so not just with his 6-4, 285-pound, stature but with technique and skill.
The first of the scholarship offers was dropped by Kansas and more are piling on for the second team All-State standout with interest expanding. Equally as impressive, Edmonson is getting after it in the classroom carrying a 3.9 GPA with a 29 scored on the ACT.
In an RNG stylized interview, Edmonson took a break from his offseason workouts covering ground on and off the gridiron.
Interview
Brooks, the Hornets offense was about as balanced as it gets between the run and the pass covering 2,900 on the ground and 3,000 in the air. With the versatility in the attack, how did that help you extend your overall talents at right tackle in 2020?
It definitely helped with my pass protection; that was not as great my first year. We were airing it out and we had three great running backs, which made my job easier. It made me realize I had to help them as much as they helped me. I worked on things in practice that I was not great at last year.
Making that four-game run in the playoffs to grab the state championship, going up against some of the state’s best, how were you challenged?
There was a lot more speed deeper into the playoffs. The guys were faster and stronger. We had seen them earlier (North Little Rock). The difference the second time around was knowing what they are going to do. Them knowing our offense and how I was going to play them made it more difficult to read them. Knowing that, and as athletic as they are and being smarter, made it harder.
How have those challenges made you a better lineman?
It made me better at blocking someone that knows what I am going to do and knows our offense.
Much of run blocking is the willingness to get nasty in the trenches. You had a boatload of knockdowns and/or pancakes. Did you track how many you had for the season?
I did not. When I do that, I get up and keep running. That is the way I was coached; it does not matter if your guy is down, you have to get downfield and keep blocking. I never really tracked that.
Me asking you to guess, about how many per game?
Probably three or four.
Which parts of your run blocking got better in 2020?
Most likely my feet, getting my steps down and right. I was getting to the defensive linemen faster and to the next level faster. Knowing my steps and pulling knowing my steps got better. Going up on a linebacker, who will be faster than me, getting my feet right to block them was a big improvement.
And what about with your pass protection?
I have gotten more patient with my hands. I am not as eager to lock up to let them get their moves going. This season I was waiting on them. A lot of them freeze up not knowing what to do because I am waiting on them, so they just run at me. I make them get five yards deep before contact. By that time, they are out of the play.
Another thing that shows in your game film is your strength. What have you been doing this winter to add more power to your blocks?
We always train really hard at Bryant. The weight room is our No. 1 priority. There are consequences if you miss it. I am lifting heavier and faster to be more explosive. Squatting 350 pounds, I can go slow or fast to build that explosiveness. I am building how fast I can move with heavy weights.
What are your weight room maxes?
530 on squat, 320 on bench, and 290 on power clean.
Whoa! That’s really impressive across the board, especially your power clean.
Thank you.
Beyond seeing you sitting in that chair and keeping your pad level low, your footspeed was on it shuffling side to side. What are some of the drills you do to improve that part of your game?
As a team we have drills we do during practice, the entire team, working on staying low and moving your feet in a lower position. After practice we stay and get more work in. We get bus tires working through and around them and going under a chute moving our feet fast and moving laterally. We can stay low with our feet like that.
With your technique, what is your focus this winter and spring?
I need to work on, funny you mentioned finishing blocks, I need to work on that. I can drive someone five or six yards but I want to keep working on that. The goal is to take them as far as I can and knock them down. Getting bigger, faster, and stronger to be a dominate force for my team is my focus.
Let’s get into the last part of the interview talking about recruiting. Which programs are showing interest?
Air Force, Army, and Rice. There was some from Mississippi State, Tulane, and a ULM coach followed me the other day.
How many offers do you have?
I have seven: Kansas, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, and Middle Tennessee.
Impressive. Going into the classroom, what is your cumulative GPA?
My GPA is 3.9 and I scored a 29 on the ACT.
Which program was the first to offer you?
Kansas.
Getting that offer from the Jayhawks, what was that like for you?
It was definitely a shock. The first one always is. It was surreal. I was in my room, I called him, and I felt like I was floating. It was crazy.
Visits are expected to pick back up in June. When that happens, are there any programs you’d like to go visit?
I’d like to go up to the Northeast to visit some Ivy League schools. I am not sure which ones yet. We are only allowed a certain amount of official visits. We will see what all happens at that time.
Brooks, I learned a lot about you today and enjoyed it. Thanks for your time. Wishing you and your teammates success this offseason with workouts until we talk again.
Thank you, sir.
Photo credit: Edmonson family; Brooks Edmonson