Rutgers lands Miami RB transfer Gus Edwards

Former Miami running back Gus Edwards has found a new home for his final season of college football.

Edwards, who gained 977 yards and scored 12 touchdowns over three seasons for the Hurricanes, told ScarletNation.com he will play for Rutgers for Chris Ash, who is entering his second season as the program’s head coach. Edwards, a native of Staten Island, New York, is excited to play closer to home.

“It is a great opportunity to get back home for my last year and be closer to my family. I really like where Coach Ash has the program heading,” Edwards said. “Coach [Jerry] Kill is going to come in and do a great job with the offense and I have a great bond with the running backs coach [Lester Erb]. I think I could learn a lot from him. I think I could come in and make an impact.”

Miami announced in January that Edwards planned to pursue a graduate transfer. Later, news emerged that Miami would not allow Edwards to explore opportunities at two schools he apparently had interest in: Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Both schools are in the ACC alongside Miami and are on the Hurricanes’ schedule in 2017. In a move that is a fairly standard practice (though it goes against what Mark Richt’s longtime stance on transfers), Miami athletic director Blake James said it’s institutional policy not to allow student-athletes to transfer to an upcoming opponent.

“Institutionally, our policy has been that we would not do that for a school we’re going to play in the upcoming season,” James told the Palm Beach Post.

[Follow Dr. Saturday on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr]

With those schools ruled out, Edwards told ScarletNation.com he eventually whittled it down to two: Rutgers and Oklahoma State. In the end, he opted to stay on the east coast.

“Not a lot of people get to go through recruiting twice. I just wanted to make a good decision for me and my family,” Edwards said. “There were a lot of schools that were talking to me, but after I visited Rutgers, I cancelled all my other visits. That was the best opportunity.”

At Rutgers he joins a backfield that returns leading rusher Robert Martin, who has 1,822 yards and 15 touchdowns over the last three seasons. Edwards said he is on track to graduate from Miami in May. From there, he will be eligible to suit up for Rutgers immediately.

The Scarlet Knights went 2-10 in 2016.

For more Rutgers news, visit ScarletNation.com.

– – – – – – –

Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @SamDCooper