Aggies remember LaVell Edwards’ influence

LaVell Edwards' USU jersey in a display case alongside other items from his career.

Former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards died Thursday morning after complications from breaking his hip on Christmas Eve, according to the Daily Herald.

He is primarily known for what he did coaching football at BYU. His long list of accomplishments include the 1984 National Championship, 22 conference championships, 20 bowl games and being named national coach of the year twice.

But he also has some history with Utah State University too.

In the 29 years as the head coach of BYU’s football team, Edwards gave Utah State 21 losses, but well before all of that he was on the Aggie side of the rivalry. From 1949 to 1951 Edwards was a three-year letterwinner on USU’s football team and earned all-Mountain States Conference honors as a linebacker in 1950, but he spent time on offense as well. He was also named to USU’s All-Century football team in 1993. In 2011 he was inducted into USU Athletics Hall of Fame.

According to a Utah State football press release, USU Athletics Director John Hartwell said the athletic department was saddened by the passing of Edwards.

“LaVell created a tremendous legacy during his time as a student-athlete at Utah State and that stature only grew throughout his professional career as a football coach,” he said.

Head coach Matt Wells tweeted a picture of himself and Edwards speaking to the team at Merlin Olsen Field. In the photo, Edwards is wearing an Aggie hat.

“RIP to one of the greatest ever our sport had. Sincere condolences to Patti and the Edwards family,” the tweet said.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr” xml:lang=”en”>RIP to one of the greatest ever our sport had. Sincere condolences to Patti and the Edwards family. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AggieAlumni?src=hash”>#AggieAlumni</a> <a href=”https://t.co/EKizCgIAHh”>pic.twitter.com/EKizCgIAHh</a>

— Matt Wells (@CoachWellsUSUFB) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CoachWellsUSUFB/status/814537100389335041″>December 29, 2016</a></blockquote>

Assistant coach Mike Canales also tweeted his thoughts.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr” xml:lang=”en”>College Football lost an ICON today. Thankful Coach Edwards allowed me be apart of his legacy (’85-’86). <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AggieAlumni?src=hash”>#AggieAlumni</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AggieBrotherhood?src=hash”>#AggieBrotherhood</a> <a href=”https://t.co/JgGbgHpWXg”>pic.twitter.com/JgGbgHpWXg</a>

— Coach Mike Canales (@coachcanales) <a href=”https://twitter.com/coachcanales/status/814608316382883840″>December 29, 2016</a></blockquote>

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According to a 2010 article in Utah State Today, Edwards briefly returned to Logan in April 2010 as a guest coach to help former head coach Gary Andersen work with the players and speak with the team.

Edwards’ Hall of Fame plaque in the USU HPER Building states that Edwards majored in Physical Education with a minor on Sociology and a heavy concentration in Military Science while in school. He was also a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity and met his wife Patti while at USU.

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