Historic day at WMU

WINFIELD — Before Wednesday, Winfield-Mount Union had never sent a football player to a Division 1 college. Now, the Wolves are about to send two.

WMU seniors Cam Buffington and Abram Edwards both signed their letters of intent to attend and play college football at Division 1 colleges. Buffington will be going off to Iowa, and Edwards will be playing for Army.

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The two have been an inseparable force for the Wolves since jumping onto the varsity athletic scene when they were only freshmen. The entire WMU school district was on hand to see the duo ready up for their next adventures side-by-side.

“I'm not the type to do all this stuff and be the center of attention. I just kind of agreed with it,” Buffington said. “They came to me with the idea of doing it in front of the whole school, and I was like, 'only if Abram did it with me.'”

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Buffington and Edwards were an integral part of the Wolves’ success on the gridiron the last four years. Under the leadership of Coach Scott McCarty, the Wolves went from a one-win team before the duo got to high school to state semifinal team this fall.

McCarty spoke to the packed crowd before the two players officially signed. He told the crowd the two are products of when talent meets hard work.

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“A lot of times, you have kids that are talented that don’t work. Sometimes you have kids that work hard that aren’t talented,” McCarty said. “This is the success that happens when you’re a good kid. You’re talented and you work hard.”

Coach McCarty addressed the crowd for a short time, but had a lot to say about his two senior stars.

“I’m very proud of these two young men, and everyone in this gym should be too,” McCarty said.

Like Buffington, Edwards said he was excited to do the signing next to his friend and teammate.

“That helped me tremendously in practice, us being able to push each other and go head to head,” Edwards said. “Learning from him, him telling me different things to work at. The leadership ability coming from Cam was just amazing.”

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The two players took different paths to making their college decisions. The tight end committed to Army this June, but Buffington has been a Hawkeye commit for the last three years, verbally committing before his sophomore season.

“This is the only choice,” said Buffington, who will play linebacker for the Hawkeyes. “Anyone could offer me, and I still would have chosen Iowa. I'm the hometown kid. I'm 45 minutes away. I could never really go anywhere else.”

Buffington, who grew up a Hawkeye fan, says he hasn’t wavered from his initial decision one bit.

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“My mom has a picture of me in a Halloween costume, dressed up to be an Iowa football player when I was three or four years old,” Buffington said.

As for Edwards, he says the coaching staff at West Point was a big draw to the school.

“What stuck out was the bond I had with all of their coaches,” Edwards said. “I felt like their coaching staff was welcoming, and the campus is amazing.”

Edwards also addressed his even longer commitment, a five-year mandatory service agreement to enlist in the U.S. Army after his time on the Black Knights’ football field is over.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to it,” Edwards said. “It’s something that I’ve always thought about growing up, serving in the military. I’m just looking forward to serving my country.”

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The duo is currently helping the WMU basketball team put together quite a run as well. The Wolves have won eight games in a row and sit 7-0 atop the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division.

Buffington squashed rumors that he may graduate at semester, saying he is focused on helping the team go far on the hardwood, as well as the track this fall.

That means the two will have one more athletic semester together, and they know the entire WMU community is right behind them.

“It's a good feeling to know the whole community wishes you well and hopes you do well,” Edwards said. “It just felt really good.”