His father played at Ohio State. Now Mooresville’s Caleb Edstrom chases his own dream
Mooresville High School middle linebacker Caleb Edstrom has two very clear personal goals for the 2023 football season: make more than 200 tackles and make first-team all-state.
He has the resume to do it, and a Blue Devils team behind him fresh off a Greater Metro 4A Conference Championship and a second round N.C. 4A playoff appearance.
“He’s got really good instincts, runs well, he tackles, he’s got a very good grasp of our defense,” Mooresville coach Joe Nixon said. “He’s been doing it for what feels like forever. His football IQ is really really good.”
Edstrom’s football IQ and cat-like instincts come from a tackle football background stretching all the way back to when he was 4 years old. Since then, his father, Shane Edstrom, a former Ohio State football player, has been pushing him to be his very best, both inside the classroom and out.
Now a senior, Edstrom has had to sacrifice valuable time with his peers to focus on succeeding in football and in school — an effort that has earned him attention from colleges and universities.
With one season left to play, Edstrom has offers from Catawba College, Livingstone College and Limestone University and growing interest from Division I programs like Appalachian State, Duke, South Carolina and Wake Forest.
So far, he feels like this year’s Mooresville team is more competitive than last, with a veteran-filled defense. The 2022 season saw Edstrom make 74 solo tackles among 134 total. He averaged 12.2 tackles per game, and he wants to surpass those marks this year.
“In practice, there’s like a dogfight going on every time,” Edstrom said. “Plus, knowing that we won a conference championship last year, and trying to go back to back, we can’t be satisfied with what we have going on right now.”
One area where Edstrom feels he’s grown since joining the program his freshman year is his leadership. Coming in, he felt confident in his abilities on the field but didn’t feel comfortable speaking out like the seniors did his first season.
Now, he’s making sure his teammates aren’t slacking off in training by leading by example and working as hard as he can each and every day he steps on the field.
“You gotta compete against him because he’ll push you to work, make sure you do your best,” junior outside linebacker Jamari Farmer said. “He motivates you every day. He’s always the first one to do something. Try being first, and he’s already going.”
Farmer and Edstrom have been playing together since they were 12 years old. Now, they command Mooresville’s defense side-by-side. Edstrom said having teammates like Farmer working with him only pushes him to play harder as well.
He understands that last year’s senior class did their job. It helped lead the team to a conference title. Now, it’s Edstrom’s turn to do the same and maybe even take the team deep into the 4A playoffs.
“I definitely keep getting people hungry,” Edstrom said. “I know some people get satisfied with the conference championship and they think that we’re all good right now. But, it’s a whole new whole new season.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
