Reigning MVP Edwards embraces leadership role as blue-blood Western seeks Vanier Cup bid

Western University running back Keon Edwards remembers his first carry well.

After being recruited to Canada's "Running Back U" in 2018, the Toronto native spent his first two seasons buried on an extremely deep Mustangs depth chart and had the 2020 season wiped out due to COVID-19. But it left the door open for his first offensive touch on home field in London, Ont., against the McMaster Marauders in 2021.

"I had the mindset that this cannot be [just] a five-yard gain, this needs to be more," Edwards told CBC Sports about a carry that went for 30 yards. "I just hit the inside gap and made a bounce to the outside. Then I remember getting hit late to tack on another 15 yards.

"My emotions were through the roof … I was just like, 'Okay, now it's time to go.'"

Edwards would go on to rack up 174 yards on the ground and three touchdowns on the game to kick off a superlative season that saw him lead the country in both rushing yards (838) and touchdowns (nine) during six regular-season games. He added another 449 yards and seven touchdowns in five playoff games en route to a Vanier Cup title — Western's first since 2017.

WATCH | Western running back Keon Edwards a dominant force in U Sports:

The breakout was abrupt, but not exactly unexpected to Western running back coach and director of football operations Jake Kirk, who first started working on-field with Edwards in his first season in 2018, overseeing the development of the back who worked extensively in the weight room during COVID-19.

"Through the COVID year … we were able to do a lot of things in the off-season that we were never able to do," Kirk told� CBC Sports. "We were able to have more meetings and get in-person training sessions. And just through that time,