CARTHAGE, Texas (KLTV) - Four Carthage Bulldog football players inked their national letters of intent on Wednesday.
KJ Edwards and Qui Beck signed with Texas A&M. Carson Crawford signed with Colorado. Junior Henderson signed with Mississippi State.
Edwards became the Bulldogs’ all-time leading rusher and all-time leader in rushing touchdowns last week in a win over Pleasant Grove. This season, Edwards has 1,596 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. He also has 223 yards receiving and one touchdown. Edwards will be graduating from Carthage early to enroll at Texas A&M and participate in spring ball.
“I knew I was all in with A&M once I committed. The way they deal with my family, I mean, I just took that as an honor. Like, they actually need me and they actually want me,” Edwards said. “They did the little pieces right there that none of the other colleges did, so it was a no brainer.”
Beck has 66 tackles and four tackles for loss this season. He also has two sacks and two fumble recoveries. He, like Edwards, will graduate from Carthage early to enroll at Texas A&M and participate in spring ball.
“It was the family part about it. This is very different than any other college I’ve visited,” Beck said. “I like Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and all those others, but nothing like the Aggies.”
Crawford, the Bulldogs’ defensive leader, has a team-high 97 tackles and 16 tackles for loss this season. He is also tied for the team lead in sacks with six and has forced and recovered two fumbles. Offensively, he has thrown a touchdown pass and caught three touchdown passes as well. Crawford is also graduating early from Carthage to enroll at Colorado and participate in spring ball.
“It was just a great connection with the coaches. We’ve had a great, great connection with those guys and it really helped me make my decision,” Crawford said. “Early on I was committed to Texas State, then Colorado stepped in and after that it was a no brainer.”
Henderson was committed to the University of Arkansas, but decommitted when their coach was let go. This season, Henderson has played in seven games and has 27 catches for 368 yards and nine touchdowns. Henderson will also be graduating early and enrolling at Mississippi State to participate in spring ball.
“They recruited me the hardest. Even when I got hurt, and they’re going to throw the ball,” Henderson said. “They’re going to value me at the school and took me even with my injury, so I’m ready to work now.”
All four players will be graduating early and enrolling at their respective colleges in the spring. Carthage head coach Scott Surratt is proud of them for getting the work done to leave school early.
“They’re graduating early, so they’re taking care of their business. That’s the main thing, these guys are going to graduate early, and go get an education out of the little game of football,” Surratt said. “They’ve taken care of their business and they always do. That’s the reason they’ll be very successful in whatever they do in life.”