Background
Mario was raised in Denton, Texas, where his father played for the Dallas Cowboys.
Mario was raised in Denton, Texas, where his father played for the Dallas Cowboys.
Edwards attended Prosper High School for his freshman and sophomore year, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track.
He played college football at Florida State. He was taken 35th overall by the Raiders in the 2015 NFL Draft. Edwards recorded 69 tackles and three sacks as a freshman on top of catching 17 passes for 361 yards and three TDs.
He then transferred to Billy Ryan High School.
As a junior, he recorded 127 tackles, 50 tackles for loss and 18 sacks leading Denton Ryan to a state runner-up finish against Austin Lake Travis led by Michael Brewer. Further, he earned All-American honors by United States of America Today, Parade, Sports Illustrated, and Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. In track & field, Edwards competed as a shot putter during his final two years at Denton, recording a top-throw of 15.08 meters (49 ft, 3 in) at the 2012 Richardson Invitational, where he placed first.
Recruiting
Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Edwards was ranked as the Number. 1 defensive tackle prospect in his class.
In fact, he was ranked Number.
3 overall, which was Rivals.com’s highest ranking for a defensive tackle prospect since Haloti Ngata (Number 2) in 2002. According to Entertainment and Sports Programming Network recruiting analyst Craig Haubert, Edwards was similar to Da"Quan Bowers at the same stage of their careers. Recruited by numerous schools, Edwards took official visits to Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State, and Louisiana State, before committing to the Seminoles on January 24, 2012.
In his true freshman year in Tallahassee, Edwards was initially projected to redshirt, but then forced into action due to the loss of Brandon Jenkins in week one.
Edwards appeared in 11 games and made his first career start in the 2012 Administrative Committee on Company-ordination Championship Game replacing Cornellius Carradine. He was the only true freshman to register a start for the Seminoles on the defensive side of the ball.
Foreign the season he had 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks. As a sophomore in 2013, Edwards recorded 28 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception.
Returning as a starter his junior season in 2014, Edwards recorded 23 tackles and three sacks.
After his junior season, Edwards entered the 2015 NFL Draft. Oakland Raiders
Edwards was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (35th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. On December 23, 2015, the Oakland Raiders placed Edwards on Injured Reserve and promoted linebacker John Lotulelei to the 53-man roster.
Edwards was born while his father, Mario Edwards Senior, was still in high school.
After Edwards Senior was drafted by Dallas Cowboys in 2000, the family moved to the northern Dallas area.