Clyde Edwards-Helaire: Bigger than Baton Rouge

Clyde Edwards-Helaire continues to make LSU proud, both on and off the field.

[autotag]Clyde Edwards-Helaire[/autotag] was a four-star all-purpose back from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge when he signed with LSU in 2017.

He played in 41 games over three years as an LSU Tiger. His best season was his final season in 2019 when LSU went undefeated and won the national championship. Edwards-Helaire carried the ball 215 times for 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground as well as making 55 receptions for 453 yards and a touchdown.

He cemented his name in the Baton Rouge history books as a local kid who won it all at his dream school. He was then selected with the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. During his rookie season for the Chiefs in 2020, Clyde rushed for 803 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games.

The Chiefs would end up going to the Super Bowl to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa. The Chiefs came out on the wrong side of that game in a 31-9 loss, but that would not be Clyde’s only opportunity at a ring.

The Chiefs would return to the Super Bowl once again in 2023 to face the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, Edwards-Helaire did not get to play in the game. He was listed as a healthy scratch so he did not play when the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35. This season, Edwards-Helaire saw his least amount of production on the field, but his production off the field more than made up for it.

Before the Chiefs played in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills, a story dropped about Edwards-Helaire attending nursing school at LSU starting last fall.

“It’s something that I’ve been pursuing since I started college but I wasn’t able to do the nursing things (in college),” Edwards-Helaire explained, per USA TODAY Sports. “I wasn’t necessarily planning on leaving early but I had the opportunity to… It’s close to my heart.”

Clyde’s mother went to nursing school after serving in the Army. While she was in nursing school, she had a daughter, Maddee, who was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy. In 2021, Clyde wore cleats to shed light on MDA as part of the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” initiative.

It’s such an honorable thing for Clyde to do because life is bigger than football and he knows that. He wants to help people in any way possible. This season, he got the chance to go back to the Super Bowl as the Chiefs took on the 49ers once again. As you remember, Clyde didn’t get a chance to play in the Chiefs’ last Super Bowl, so he was fired up for this one. He appeared on the “Up & Adams” show to discuss what this Super Bowl would mean to him.

The Chiefs would go on to win the Super Bowl 25-22 as Helaire won his third Super Bowl ring in four tries. Edwards-Helaire only carried the ball one time in the game but, once again, he made more of an impact off the field.

On Feb. 15, the Chiefs held their Victory Parade in downtown Kansas City. It was supposed to be a day to celebrate another title that Andy Reid and the Chiefs had won for the city. Unfortunately, a day that was supposed to be a dream, turned into a nightmare.

During the parade, a shooting broke out that sent everyone running. During the madness, a child named Zach Cotten was separated from his father who was in the bathroom at the time. Zach was helped by two bystanders during the scramble. In 15 minutes, thanks to the help of the two bystanders, Zach was reunited with his father.

If you have read this article for this long, you know where I am going with this. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was one of the bystanders who helped Zach take cover while the shooting was happening.

“He was trying to calm me down, saying everything is going to be okay and not to worry about anything because I would find my dad,” Zach said.

Zach read messages they (He and Clyde) exchanged after the chaos was over.

“I said thank you for helping me.”

“He said, ‘All love bro. Tell your dad thanks for staying on the phone and trusting me. Zach, you are a warrior. Always be that way.”

When everything hit the fan, Clyde helped a kid get back to his dad. You could say it was a coincidence that Clyde was the one who was there when that happened, but it could be more than that. Who on his team would have been better suited for that situation?

First responders have a different mentality than most people when in a bad situation. When their fight-or-flight senses kick in, they choose to fight. It is like the firefighter’s mentality of running towards the burning building instead of running from it. Clyde saw a kid who needed help and he sprung into action. That is who he is. That’s who his mother is.

Zach’s dad, Chris Cotten, had this to say about Edwards-Helaire after it was all over.

“One thing I’d like to say about Clyde is that you only have a short opportunity to be an athlete and your whole life to be a great human being,” Cotten said. “For him to take that time to help my son was exceptional.”

No matter what Edwards-Helaire does on the field for the rest of his career, he will be remembered as the guy who stepped up when he was needed the most. He will be looked at as a hero.

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