Slippery Rock football’s Eddie Faulkner IV hoping to hear name called in 2025 NFL Draft
Most children grow up with designs on an extravagant future.
Some want to be astronauts, others pop stars. Eddie Faulkner IV wanted to be a professional athlete.
“It’s been sort of a lifelong dream,” Faulkner said. “I think every kid grows up wanting to be a pro athlete or maybe a singer, rapper, whatever the case may be.”
Faulkner is moving closer to that goal following four seasons as a defensive back at Slippery Rock University. He participated at Pitt’s pro day and will be glued to the television screen on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft, which will be held April 24-26, hoping to hear his name called.
It could be the end result of his hard work and patience at SRU.
Stepping on campus at the Rock, he put his hopes on hold. Undersized and joining a Division II program, the 5-foot-8 Faulkner was realistic with himself. He was “completely OK with my last four or five years of football being at Slippery Rock,” he said.
Faulkner operated with a day-by-day approach. He steadily worked his way up, starting as a special teamer as freshman. During his sophomore season, he had a defensive role. Then, as a junior, he registered four interceptions and was a Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American. He followed that up with an All-PSAC West honor last season.
The success of those two campaigns restored his itch to try to reach the professional ranks.
Faulkner understands he has to be steadfast with the details. It’s what helped him earn a starting spot at SRU. He’s stuck to the same principles as he trains for the NFL. He’s been training with Terry Grossetti and eating chicken, rice and broccoli.
Faulker’s father, Eddie Faulkner, is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running backs coach. Biased or not, the elder Faulkner believes his son has what it takes to play in the NFL.
“He keeps it 100% real with me,” Faulkner said. “If he didn’t think I would make it to the NFL, he wouldn’t be scared to let me know.”
Faulkner had 116 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks over the past two seasons. That output, along with his father’s relationships with other coaches, got Faulkner a spot at the Panthers’ professional audition at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex last month.
He was told he ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.5-second range. He posted a vertical leap of 37 1/2 inches, which would’ve tied for third-best among cornerbacks at February’s NFL scouting combine.
“At this point, I am who I am,” Faulkner said. “If somebody’s out there and my height or where I went to school is a problem for them, I know I’m not going to be the No. 1 prospect,” Faulkner said. “Not everybody’s gonna like what I have, but I know that there’s probably going to be somebody out there that can give me an opportunity and see my capabilities.”
