SAN ANGELO, TX — When the San Angelo Central football team lost its leading wide receiver, Colton Hill, to a season-ending injury last year in Week 2, it seemed like the kind of loss the Bobcats wouldn’t be able to overcome.
Instead, it revealed that Central had another No. 1 receiver waiting to emerge.
Jimmy Edwards stepped up in Hill’s absence and immediately became the team’s new go-to target. He finished the season with 49 catches for 825 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Now Edwards is a senior — and Hill is healthy — giving the Bobcats a formidable receiving corps with two legitimate No. 1 options in the passing game.
“Jimmy was huge for us last year,” Central head coach Mark Smith said. “Colton was the leading receiver on the team the year before, and in the second game of the year you lose him to injury. Well, who’s going to now step up into that role? And Jimmy quickly escalated to that position and ended up having an amazing year.
“Statistically, he was our best guy. When we needed a play, he was the guy you went to. That’s not always easy for a player when you’re in that position, but elite players rise to the occasion, and Jimmy certainly did that a year ago. And not only from a standpoint of his performance playing, but his general leadership of the group.”
Edwards showed what he was capable of in the season opener last year when he torched a Top 10 Abilene High team with six catches for 94 yards and two TDs.
The next week against Amarillo High — when Hill was injured — Edwards had four catches for 132 yards and two TDs.
Almost overnight, Edwards had become one of the Bobcats’ team leaders, and he took the job seriously.
“It was kind of a big responsibility for me, but I enjoyed it and I embraced it,” Edwards said. “I definitely think it grew me as a player.”
Edwards said he grew up watching Central football, and he has a “core memory” of Adam West’s legendary one-handed touchdown catch in 2016 in the Bobcats’ third-round playoff game against Allen.
Edwards is making highlight-reel catches of his own now, and that ability is just one part of his skillset.
San Angelo Central wide receiver Jimmy Edwards hauls in a 34-yard catch against Abilene High on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at San Angelo Stadium.
“Jimmy’s a great route runner,” Smith said. “He understands coverage, and his football intelligence is high. … And he’s got elite speed. Jimmy can outrun a defense to the end zone. But he’s not just the big-catch guy. He’s also the intermediate guy, and he’s also the quick guy.”
With Edwards and Hill leading a receiving corps that also includes first-team all-district selections Gavin Johnson at wideout and Casner Stribling at tight end, the Bobcats could be dangerous in the passing game.
“We’ve got guys all across the field that require attention, so that’s going to be a problem for other defensive coordinators,” Smith said.
For all the individual success Edwards had last year, he still hasn’t experienced the playoffs, and that’s his main goal for his senior season.
“I think we’re capable of anything we set our mind to,” Edwards said. “We’re going to be a really hard team to stop offensively and defensively. I think our defense has a chance to be one of the best in the district. So I think we’re going to have a good season if we put all the pieces together.”
Edwards and the Bobcats will begin the 2025 season at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, when they travel to take on Abilene High, which is ranked No. 9 in the state in Class 5A Division I.
Central’s home opener is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, against Amarillo High at San Angelo Stadium.
Central's Jimmy Edwards makes a difficult touchdown catch against Abilene High on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at San Angelo Stadium.
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