In the 1998 season opener versus the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Edwards had 21 catches for 405 yards—the most ever receiving yards in a single game by a college player.
[1] His twenty-seven touchdown catches during his 1998 senior year remains the NCAA Division I-A season record.
He held the NCAA career record for touchdown receptions with fifty until it was broken by the Rice Owls' Jarett Dillard.
This, combined with head coach Bill Cowher's tendency to run the football, inconsistency at the quarterback position from Kordell Stewart and various backups, and a rare decline in the Steelers on-field success led to Edwards openly admitting to his unhappiness in a 2001 radio interview—a year in which the Steelers returned to Super Bowl contender status.
Years later, Edwards admitted that he should have handled his time better in Pittsburgh and blamed his immaturity for failing to live up to expectations.