From Madisonville to Minnesota

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By Paul Dehner Jr., CNATI.com Posted December 11, 2009 3:06 PM ET

Ray Edwards sat on the couch of his close friend Scott Vonderhaar and watched intently as the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft fell to the pick of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Edwards grew up in the dark, outlying shadows of Riverfront Stadium in Madisonville. He rose out of those tough streets to the halls of Purdue University thanks to a football ability second to none and academic standing second to only one at Woodward High School.

Now suddenly, a Bengals team in need of defensive help could deliver a hometown venue for Edwards to display his talent in front of a sprawling community of family and friends.

Then, the pick was in.

"With the 91st pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select, Frostee Rucker, defensive end, University of Southern California."

Vonderhaar turned his head toward a player he always viewed as a little brother and awaited a reaction.

"I looked at him," Vonderhaar recalled, "and he just said, 'I know I am better than that guy.'"

Three-and-a-half years later, Edwards finally has his chance to prove the Bengals wrong.

That's because the following round the Minnesota Vikings took a chance on the local product and watched him develop into the starting defensive end on a unit first against the rush in each of the past three seasons.

As easy as it is to see Edwards drives the Vikings defense with his career high 6.5 sacks and 41 tackles this season, it's equally clear the 24-year-old in his fourth NFL season hasn't forgotten the day the Bengals decided the hometown boy didn't make good enough..

"They had a chance to get me, but they took Frostee Rucker," the 6-foot-5, 268-pound Edwards said. "It was cool. I guess they felt he was the better player at that point in our careers. It is a business and they made their best business decision for themselves. I don't look at it like that because I couldn't be in a better place than I am now."

'IT IS A PRETTY ROUGH COMMUNITY UP HERE SOMETIMES'

Earnest Morgan knows all about Madisonville. The owner of Distinguished Cuts barber shop placed his business in the middle of it.

He has seen crime and drugs bury the hopes and dreams of many promising young minds. He first met Edwards as a teenager running around the outskirts of his shop and popping in for the occasional cut and conversation.

"He was just a kid in the neighborhood," Morgan said "Just like any kid up here."

Edwards grew up living with his grandparents, who played the primary of role of guardian. More than anyone, his grandfather was the man who instilled in him the discipline that formed him.

During a basketball tournament at the conclusion of Edwards' freshman year, his grandfather passed away.

Vonderhaar was the athletic trainer for football and an assistant basketball coach at Woodward and recalls being there that day. From his perspective, it was the day he took a vested interest in this student.

"I always treated Ray like a big brother type of deal," said Vonderhaar, 39, now a Territory Manager for Metro Industries. "He kind of took to that and wanted to make sure he could bounce questions off me and get a little guidance from things that were going on."

In a tough neighborhood and a family situation that took a difficult turn, Edwards reciprocated the friendship. He began spending time at Vonderhaar's house with his family and directed the line of well-known college coaches on recruiting visits to his office.

"He has helped me out a lot," said Edwards, who sees himself as a big brother to Vonderhaar's four girls and even brought all of them up to see Minnesota play at Detroit earlier this season. "Our friendship just kind of grew."

Vonderhaar's support served as the centerpiece of an entire community that helped this star rise. Morgan would do his best to keep Edwards straight, both in haircut and mental attitude during regular visits to the barber chair.

"It is a pretty rough community up here sometimes," Morgan said. "He grew up in it and made it out of it."

'GOD GAVE ME THE ABILITY TO PLAY FOOTBALL'

Edwards shunned the pitfalls of Madisonville to become an All-State linebacker with 110 tackles and 12 sacks his senior year and was second in his graduating class academically. It set him up for his full ride to play football at Purdue. In only two seasons he moved into the top 10 sack list all-time for the Boilermakers. He broke for the NFL as a junior and went in the fourth round to the Vikings.

"He is very determined," Vonderhaar said. "I'll never forget driving him home one day his freshman year. I remember saying, 'Ray, how come you didn't end up like all these other guys, doing drugs or not in school?' He looked me square in the face and said, you know Scott, God gave me an ability to play football. I am going to take it wherever I can take it. I can use my skills and ability God gave me or I can get caught up in these gangs and drugs and be dead when I am 25."

Edwards turns 25 on New Years Day and couldn't be more alive. He tied for the team lead in sacks in 2007, then led the Vikings in tackles for loss in 2008. This season has been his best yet by the numbers. He collected five sacks in the last five games as the Vikings rose to 10-2 and first place in the NFC North.

"I'm a little bit more focused, little more mature," he said. "I'm growing into that role. I came into the league as a young man and as I am getting older I know what I need to do be successful on the field."

And this week, he's the concern of his hometown team that passed on him. Edwards plays it cool and admits he was never a Bengals fan growing up despite living in their territory as a budding football star. He more followed great players, and as a child of the 1990s, his hometown team had few to offer.

Still, the 30-plus ticket requests and endless stream of texts and phone calls from friends this week were the most Edwards had to deal with for any game as a Viking. Along with a captive Cincinnati audience on television, the distractions serve as measurable clues this is no ordinary Sunday for him.

When Vonderhaar brought up the idea of coming up for this game, Edwards replied with, "Yeah, you and everybody else."

Even so, Edwards welcomes them all with open arms. He understands where he came from. And he more understands he wouldn't be playing a game he loves for millions of dollars if not for the assistance of all of them.

"I definitely believe it takes a village to raise a child," Edwards said. "I had so many influential people who weren't a part of my family that helped me get where I am today. I give thanks to all of them who helped me out, from coaches to mentors to friends of the family, to even guys on the street. I want to thank them for keeping me on the right path."

That path will move from Madisonville to Minneapolis on Sunday.

Morgan will be loading a van of himself and five friends from the barber shop to plow through rough weather conditions to the Metrodome. As the kickoff floats into the air at 1 p.m., Morgan will be surrounded by an entire section of those that claim Cincinnati and Minnesota's No. 91, looking on sporting a combination of purple, gold, orange and black apparel.

"It's going to be a double-sided thing," Morgan said, unsure how he will be cheering when the Bengals are on offense against Edwards.

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