Football runs in the family for the Edmunds brothers

Football has been a part of life for the Edmunds brothers from an early age, growing up in Danville.

"Trey was the leader of the pack. He was an awesome big brother. Terrell was probably the most excitable one. Tremaine, on the other hand, he was more quiet, more reserved," Mom Felicia "Cookie" Edmunds explained.

The game has taken all three from Dan River High School to Blacksburg to play for the Hokies, and in oldest Trey's case, to Maryland for a graduate year. Trey is now in New Orleans where he just completed his rookie season with the Saints.

This week, younger brothers, Terrell, and the 19 year old baby Tremaine will join him in the NFL. Those two have anchored the Virginia Tech defense over the past two seasons. Terrell is expected to be a mid round selection while Tremaine will likely be one of the first 15 names off the board Thursday night. All three are following in Dad's footsteps. Ferrell Edmunds, the current coach at Dan River, was drafted in the third round in 1988 out of Maryland, playing 7 seasons with the Dolphins before finishing his career with the Seattle Seahawks.

"We're all excited for what's about to happen for them. I'm telling them to just be as calm as possible. It's kind of impossible to be calm right now but that'st he only way you can get through this thing because there's so many highs, so many lows and so many people telling you things," New Orleans Saints Tailback Trey Edmunds said.

"It's definitely been an exciting process, something that we always dreamed of, so even though it's long and it's hard, it's something that we wouldn't ask for any differently so definitely a good process, going through it," Terrell said.

"All three of us, we're just blessed, the whole family is blessed. This is a dream come true, and definitely to be going through this with Terrell, we can give each other advice and talk about a lot of things together," Tremaine said.

Mom and Dad have had a front row seat for the journey, and they've been there every step of the way, laying a firm foundation for their success.

"The main thing is to understand where you want to go and by knowing where you want to go, you start setting goals. And right them down. A lot of people set goals and if you don't right them down, your goals change, but once you write them down and have something to reflect back on, then it becomes concrete," Former NFL Pro Bowler and Dad Ferrell Edmunds said.

"They were introduced to the theory of deferred gratification at a very early age. And they were taught the importance of working hard today. Prepare today for tomorrow so if you work hard today, you will be rewarded for it in the future. I know when we first bought them ipads when they were in middle school, there was a caption on the back and it said prepare today for tomorrow," Felicia said.

Danville, on the banks of the Dan River will always be home to Trey, Terrell, and Tremaine, even as they settle into new chapters across the country. But their roots in Southside Virginia have certainly shaped who they are.

"I'll start with my grandfather who worked in the tobacco fields. One of his theories and one of his favorite sayings was, "boy, I want you to work from can to can't." When I was little, I was trying to figure out what the can to can't means. He'd say 'can in the morning, can't at night.' Don't let anybody outwork you. That's what we've passed on to our boys more than anything else," Ferrell said.

As Terrell and Tremaine prepare to join Trey and their father in a unique fraternity, the family is taking nothing for granted, but planning to soak it all in.

"God has had his hand in it from day one, and all the things that they've gone through, they've had to go through them in order to get to today," Felicia said.