Jahmal Edrine, a 22-year-old wide receiver from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been turning heads with the Virginia Cavaliers. At 6′ 3″ and 221 pounds, he was UVA’s second-leading receiver in 2025 and helped the team set a program record with 11 wins.

Edrine started his college career at Florida Atlantic, then transferred to Purdue before eventually landing at UVA. Along the way, he had to bounce back from a serious ACL injury in 2023. That injury kept him off the field for the whole season, but his talent and resilience have made him a key player for the Cavaliers. When asked why he chose UVA, Edrine said the program’s history of developing wide receivers made it the perfect fit.

“To see the history of who they brought in, what they’ve been able to do with those guys, and what coach [Adam Mims] has done with players in his past,” he said, “it just felt like the right place for me to grow and improve.”

He caught 46 passes for 564 yards and a touchdown last season. The Cavaliers came really close to making the CPF but fell in an overtime loss to Duke in the ACC championship, showing just how important players like Edrine were to their success.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Edrine’s long road through college football

Long before starting his career at FAU, Edrine showed signs of what he could pull off. During his sophomore season with the Owls, he piled up 570 receiving yards and six touchdowns. But after the 2022 season, Edrine felt ready for more. A bigger stage and even better opportunity, and so he entered the transfer portal for the first time.

“I have taken some time with my family to re-evaluate what’s best for me to continue to develop,” Edrine wrote in an IG post. “And I’ve decided to continue my journey in the transfer portal. I look forward to the next chapter in my football journey, but I will never forget the memories I have made at FAU.”

That move took him to Purdue, but almost right away, everything came to a standstill. He went down after a season-ending injury in 2023 that kept him sidelined before he ever got a chance to hit the field at all. By the time he finally came back next year, Edrine was in a tough spot. He did whatever he could on a Purdue team that struggled all season, finishing 1–11 and dead last in the Big Ten. He still managed 23 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, finishing second on the team in receiving yards. But Edrine wasn’t fully satisfied with how things went.

“I felt like I need to be better. Need to go back to the drawing board and do more work. I feel like I left a lot of opportunities out there that I wouldn’t usually do,” said Edrine about his 2024 season.

That honesty pushed him back into the portal again. “I would say it was more pinpoint, more focused than the first time,” said Edrine. “I would say I was more locked in. I just knew what I wanted as soon as I got in.” After talking with WR coach Adam Mims and seeing UVA bring in QB Chandler Morris, he felt something building in Charlottesville. “He’s a big guy. Really fluid for his size. You watch the way he catches the ball. He looks very, very natural catching the ball,” HC Tony Elliott said of him.

Elliott even mentioned that some of Edrine’s movements reminded him of former Clemson wideout Mike Williams.

“I have specific plays from Mike Williams, it was a screen play, for a big guy he [Edrine] does that. It was a slant play or was what we call a bang eight, which is a skinny post,” said Elliott. “Really for me it was a screen play that I saw where I saw him stop and start and be able to make somebody miss as a guy that size. The next play he’s running a slant into a tight window and catching the ball. So just a big body, the fluidity of movement, the natural hands.”

And Elliott didn’t stop there.

“I think his ceiling is, he can be an NFL guy,” he said.

Looking back now, Edrine’s journey through injuries and tough seasons has shaped him as the player he is today.