Before he became a clutch playmaking legend in New England, Kevin Faulk was one of the all-time greats at LSU.
After the conclusion of his Patriots Hall of Fame career in Foxborough, Faulk returned to the Tigers’ program in a coaching role, one that resulted in his promotion to running backs coach last week.
Long after his playing days, Faulk is clearly still making a major impact at LSU for the defending National Champions, something that 2020 NFL Scouting Combine attendee Clyde Edwards-Helaire made quite clear last week in his meeting with the media in Indy.
“I couldn’t be more excited for him,” Edwards-Helaire said of Faulk’s promotion and contributions to the LSU program. “You know, I’ve been able to pretty much kinda know his background. My stepdad’s from Lafayette (Louisiana) and he’s from Lafayette, and just understanding the whole nature of everything Kevin’s been through his whole life and everything that he’s achieved. I think this is one, out of all the things that he’s done, I think this is something that he really wanted to do — be able to come back, come to LSU, and coach guys who was in his spot or who’s currently in his spot, and ultimately try to get them to the next level. I think this is something that he wanted to get accomplished.”
Like the 5-9 Faulk, the 5-8 Edwards-Helaire is an undersized running back with the potential to be a major contributor in the passing game for whichever NFL team he lands with. Faulk was an obvious resource for the running back to lean on in his development with the Tigers.
“Ultimately, the first thing when Kevin came on staff two years ago, I asked him about pass pro,” Edwards-Helaire said. “It wasn’t about, ‘Hey, what’s up. How you doing?’ Ultimately it was, he walked in the door, I asked him about pass pro and we immediately got working on it because I understood his standpoint from it. I mean, he blocked for Tom Brady – one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the football league. So he played for 12 years, which ultimately he learned how to pass pro and I knew that I was going to have to do that on the next level. And that’s something I pride myself on also. As soon as he came in, we hopped on it.
“He’s kinda the guy that helped me along the lines with it and then ultimately just the way he ran the ball and everything else from his height standpoint, my height standpoint, everything we were seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things.”
That includes Faulk’s route-running tricks from his days as Brady’s most trusted target.
“I feel like some things can be taught and some things come natural,” Edwards-Helaire said of his own route-running. “For the most part I feel like it was natural ability, but also being able to be coached on certain keys that will ultimately separate me from the crowd or separate myself from a player when I ran a route was something [Faulk] helped me on a lot. Little things that he learned from older guys from when he was being taught in the league and right now, man, it’s all kind of trickling down.”
Even before the three-time Super Bowl champion Faulk was Edwards-Helaire’s coach, the young back was familiar with the on-field work of his mentor.
“I have recent comparisons, Maurice Jones-Drew and all that and everything else, but for the most part, film wise, Marshall Faulk and Kevin Faulk were two guys that I watched a lot in understanding route leverage and on routes and everything else and me being able to ultimately catch the ball is something that really sets me apart,” Edwards-Helaire said of NFL players he modeled his game after.
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