Nick Sirianni was his mentor. Now, Roy-Al Edwards is building a new football program.

Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — Roy-Al Edwards had little interest in Indiana University of Pennsylvania when he first started looking at colleges. The star wide receiver from Media had earned offers to walk on at big, Division I schools, like Penn State and Temple, and was recruited by Vanderbilt University.

IUP, by contrast, was a smaller program, in a tiny town, 56 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Edwards was only willing to move far from home if it meant going to a powerhouse. A Division II school that produced fewer than a dozen NFL players did not seem worth the effort.

Then he met Nick Sirianni. It was January 2006, and the two sat together in an office inside Strath Haven High School. Sirianni, then a wide receivers coach, asked Edwards about his goals. He al