Former EWU standout Edwards back to coach receivers

The wide receivers at Eastern Washington University are now in the hands of one of their own.

Former All-American Nick Edwards has been named the Eagles receivers coach, the school confirmed Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Edwards replaces Junior Adams, who resigned in January to coach the receivers at Boise State. Edwards is the first new football assistant at Eastern in two years; coach Beau Baldwin hired three coaches in the winter and spring of 2012.

After finishing his playing career in 2012, Edwards was a free agent in the professional ranks before returning to Cheney last year to serve as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach.

After interviewing several candidates, Baldwin said he hired Edwards because he is “way ahead of his years in every aspect of how he approaches the game.”

“He was a very mature player, so you already saw qualities that I thought were going to translate into the coaching world for a number of reasons,” Baldwin said.

In four years, Edwards had 215 receptions for 2,634 yards and 33 touchdowns. During his All-American season of 2011, he caught 95 balls for 1,250 yards and 19 scores.

A member of the Eagles’ 2010 FCS championship team, Edwards had seven catches for 74 yards in the title game against Delaware.

As an assistant, Edwards will coach several former teammates this year, including returning wideout Cory Mitchell, whose older brother Bo Levi Mitchell was Edwards’ quarterback in 2010 and 2011.

Johnson signs in CFL

Former EWU linebacker Zach Johnson signed a two-year contract with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders.

Johnson hasn’t played since his career at Eastern Washington ended in the 2012 FCS semifinals. He will report to minicamp in late May.