“I always was surrounded by football,” Slippery Rock nickelback Eddie Faulkner IV said. “Growing up around it, I just naturally gravitated towards it.”
Runs in the family
Faulkner IV was born into a football family and has continued the tradition throughout his life, coming to Slippery Rock University in 2020 and now playing in his fourth season with the team. Growing up in a football family prepared him for the journey early on. He understood the demands of the game mentally and physically long before arriving at SRU.
“The stuff that goes on outside of football in a football family, I think I got a good perspective on that in terms of dedication and time away,” Faulkner IV said.
A good portion of the Faulkner family’s commitment to football comes from his father of the same name who is currently in his fifth season as the running backs coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The level of football knowledge required to reach that position is invaluable to younger football players. Faulkner IV has capitalized on that resource his entire life.
“Having that reassurance and the perspective that most players or kids don’t have, for one as a kid and two right now with me playing college football, I have just another opinion from somebody that’s been in football for as long as he has,” Faulkner IV said. “Whether it’s how I’m playing, certain circumstances off the field that I’m in, he knows how to handle it and good advice that he has to give.”
One of the biggest lessons he learned from his dad is not necessarily from an experience but rather a book Faulkner IV received from his father titled “Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great” by Joshua Medcalf.
“[My dad] read this book. It’s called ‘Chop Wood Carry Water’… I read it too. I think ever since high school, my junior and senior year all the way up until now, that’s just been the underlying theme,” Faulkner IV said.
The book helped Faulkner IV design the rules he lived by as he developed throughout his football career.
“That book has just been the underlying theme of my entire career,” Faulkner IV said. “After I read that book it all just became a little more clear that, just do the right thing, all the time, to the best of your ability.”
Managing pressure
“Chop Wood Carry Water” discusses themes of perseverance, discipline and focusing on the little things to reach your long-term goals.
“The theme of ‘Chop Wood Carry Water’ is “every day just do the same thing. You don’t have to be anybody special,” Faulkner IV said.
The themes have also helped the graduate student develop his own code as to how he approaches life and the game. Part of his code is managing expectations. More specifically, Faulkner IV mentioned you don’t have to do things because of the expectations other people have set for you.
“Any pressure that you feel should just come from yourself. It doesn’t have to come from any external circumstance,” Faulkner IV said.
The nickel back was named First-Team All-PSAC West, First-Team All-Region and a member of the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) Division II All-American team in 2023. It is safe to say he has done a good job managing the pressure. Despite this, the expectations are as high as ever because of his quality of play.
“Any playmaker, whether somebody says it or not, maybe it’s subconscious, but you expect players that have made plays previously to continue to make plays,” Faulkner IV said. “I think what’s helped me stay grounded and keep away unnecessary pressure that I’ve put on myself is that I know how to do my job on any given play and all I have to do is just do that job. I don’t have to try to be some superhero at each position,” Faulkner IV said.
Managing pressure is an important part of keeping your mental game strong. You cannot let unreasonable expectations infiltrate your mind and inhibit your play. This is especially important when accounting for the role that Faulkner IV has grown into with The Rock’s defense over the past year.
“It’s a role that I love being in, but that’s not to say it doesn’t come with a little bit of pressure,” Faulkner IV said. “Perfection is impossible, there’s no sense in chasing perfection. It’s just a sense of chasing discipline and doing the right thing. I think that’s what’s gotten me this far and what will continue to help me succeed.”
Faulkner IV’s role on the team can be conducive to distractions. As a nickel defender, he often has to fill the role of a cornerback, true safety, box linebacker and now even an edge rusher. Very few players are active in all three levels of the defense the way he is.
Carving out a new role
On your average first-and-10 or second-and-six, you’ll likely see him playing in the second level as a slot defender. But when you get to third-and-long or an obvious passing down, The Rock has defensive setups that place the versatile defender as an edge rusher, often coming from a five tech or a wide nine like a traditional speedy pass rusher.
Not only has he been effective in the role, but in tandem with the wealth of talent on SRU’s roster, he adds another gear to the defense that opposing offenses need to gameplan around.
Faulkner IV said the key to unlocking his highest value is the depth at every level of the defense. When he is asked to produce in a different spot, someone can step into the spot he was in and still be proficient.
It allows the whole team to play to their strengths rather than playing to fill holes created by a lack of talent.
That does not mean the transition to playing on the line of scrimmage at times was all sunshine and rainbows. Playing much closer to the ball means you are usually much closer to other players. Players who are oftentimes the biggest and physically strongest players on the field.
“D-line is a little bit more gritty, D-line is a little bit more dirty… DB you’re kind of spread out. There’s a lot of space… I always tell the D-line, ‘I’m an old football player but I’m a young D-lineman,” Faulkner IV said.
According to Faulkner IV, the process to become technically refined in all of his positions leads to a much different experience at practice than almost every other player at Slippery Rock.
“The way the week goes for me is different than anybody else on the team,” Faulkner IV said.
He explained Wednesdays are usually the day in practice each week when The Rock focuses on third downs and obvious passing downs. For Faulkner, this means Wednesday is the day he has to lace up and throw on his practice jersey as a deep safety, a slot corner, a linebacker and a defensive lineman.
“I’ll go from pass [defense] as a DB and then I’ll jog across the field and take one-on-one reps against the O-lineman,” Faulkner IV said.
The defensive Swiss-army knife has help though. He’s never pursuing these unique endeavors alone.
“Guys like Munchie Johnson, Todd Hill, Coach Bader, all those guys, and Coach Razzano too, those guys have helped me just develop into a sharper technical player,” Faulkner IV.
And of course, it is a lot of work, but the nickelback by trade and defensive lineman by design still has fun with his new unit. He said defensive backs coach Cedric Whittaker coined the alias “Eddie Bosa,” for when Faulkner IV is rushing the passer in reference to prolific NFL edge rushers Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa.
Faulkner IV had high praise for the entire coaching staff. Whittaker, as the coach of his main position group, has significantly impacted him.
“We have great leadership. One to start with, coach Cedric Whittaker. He came in and last year was his first season. He has done an absolutely tremendous job at empowering people. Older players, younger players, leaders and those who aren’t as inclined to be leaders.”
Whittaker’s processes have worked to develop an elite Slippery Rock defensive backfield.
“Me, Josh Stokes, Savion Harrison and Kenyan Johnson all came in with the same class, we’ve all been in this program the same amount of time. We’ve seen the same things,” Faulkner IV said. “We’re so confident in our technique and our scheme and we are so confident that whatever we are doing is so disciplined and we are so sound in what we are doing that it doesn’t matter who we are playing against.”
Greatest hits
Outside of the accolades, Faulkner IV’s development has led to more than a few exciting and memorable plays. Perhaps the best of his career up to this point was a strip-sack coming off the edge where he forced a fumble, scooped it up and took it to the house all in the same play against the University of New Haven on Sept. 7.
“I got off the ball really fast and I was in the backfield quicker than I thought I’d be… A theme that we are trying to press on defense this year is a constant attack on the football,” Faulkner IV said. “Instead of just trying to tackle him, I knocked at the ball. I got a lucky bounce, it was bouncing off the ground, I just scooped and after that I just ran.”
The play is made more impressive because of how recently Faulkner IV picked up being an edge rusher. While he may be a self-described “young D-lineman,” it was the type of play you see from a savvy veteran to notice the quarterback was holding the ball in a compromised position and punch it out.
The play was made even sweeter when you consider Faulkner IV has had two previous defensive touchdowns taken off the board, one in 2022 and one in 2023.
“I had two defensive touchdowns previously that got called back so it was finally nice to get a touchdown,” Faulkner IV said. “Even on that play there was a penalty, so I was like, ‘no way.’”
Thankfully this time there was indeed “no way” and the flag did not take away the defensive score. If it was not poetic enough already, he returned the ball 32 yards for the touchdown, matching the number he wears every time he takes the field.
As for his favorite game? Unsurprisingly, it was a matchup against The Rock’s biggest rival a year ago. The 42-21 victory over Indiana University (Pa.).
“Last year IUP was probably my favorite game to play in. The previous two years they had beat us, so, that’s our rival and those are my first two years of college football so I hadn’t really beat our biggest rival since I’ve been here,” Faulkner IV said. “One, they’re our rival. Two, I hadn’t beat them since I’ve been here. Three, it was a night game. Four, we got to debut our all-black uniforms, so that was a big deal for us. And then five, just the game itself. We kind of dominated them on offense, defense and special teams. And the last thing is, I had a good game.”
Outside of the obvious flowing emotions when playing your rival, the White and Green use the IUP game every year as a bit of a benchmark for where they stand competitively.
“We kind of all circle that IUP game… who are we really when we play IUP?” Faulkner IV said.
On the shoulders of giants
When having such a storied career, it is important to occasionally take a step back and look at the big picture of what you have done and how you got here. When being retrospective, Faulkner IV always takes time to remember his faith and those who helped him get here.
“Every game, if I can, I’ll run to the end zone, a lot of our players do it, but I’ll just kneel down and say a quick prayer,” Faulkner IV said. “I’ll pray about our team’s safety, our team’s confidence and just the knowledge that no matter what happens on this field, good or bad, to anyone, everyone on this field will be seen the same by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Faulkner IV has a successful family. His humility is evident, and he consistently mentioned his thankfulness for those who have put him in a spot where he can play football at this high of a level.
“[My dad] told me, my sister and my cousin that we are standing on the shoulders of giants,” Faulkner IV said. “I just want to make them proud.”
It does not stop at just football and humility either. Faulkner IV was also named a 2023 College Sports Communicators Division II Academic All-American. It is clear in everything he does, he is doing it to make those who have helped him proud.
“The foundation, love, care and support that they’ve given me through not just college but my whole life is just more than I could ever ask for. I’m just truly blessed,” Faulkner IV said.
