Edelman Crosses Paths with McVay Again

ATLANTA (973espn.com) - One thing has become evident in Atlanta this week, everyone feels pretty old around Sean McVay.

The wunderkind coach of the Los Angeles Rams turned 33 this week and is half the age of his counterpart in Super Bowl LIII, New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick.

Heck, McVay is nine years younger than the quarterback of the Pat, Tom Brady, and he's even got four months on Brady's best wideout, Julian Edelman, a player the young mentor actually competed against as a college football player.

Edelman was a quarterback in the MAC at Kent State while McVay was a receiver at Miami of Ohio when the two actually met twice over the 2006 and 2007 college seasons.

Edelman completed 14-of-22 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and added another 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground as Kent State won the first matchup with McVay chipping in with four receptions for 47 yards for the RedHawks. A year later Miami of Ohio won the revenge game with McVay hauling in three passes for 37 yards while Edelman was even better statistically despite the setback, throwing for 260 and running for 93.

Edelman, the more high-profile player, had no recollection of McVay.

“Honestly, I don’t [remember], but it was pretty cool to see some footage," the veteran slot receiver said.

McVay, known for his recall and borderline photographic memory, did have some memories to fall back on.

“He certainly could really do it all," the Rams mentor said. "He could throw, he could apply pressure to people with his legs. ... He’s a lot better player than me. That’s why he’s still playing, and I’m coaching.”

Both end games here are pretty impressive, though.

Edelman has already snared 105 postseason passes in his career, second only to Jerry Rice [151] while his 1,271 postseason receiving yards are third entering Sunday's game where he needs just 44 to pass Michael Irvin for the second spot.

McVay, meanwhile, seemingly has the rest of the NFL searching for anyone who ever had coffee with him to lead their organizations.

"He’s a stud,” Edelman said of McVay. “He’s my age, and he’s leading an organization to a Super Bowl. It’s unbelievable, and it’s a testament to how much he knows the game, how hard he works. I love seeing it."

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen