It’s not every day that you see football players from overseas. Considering the game originated in the United States, it is not nearly as common as say basketball to see a player get recruited while out of the country. But for defensive end Edward Vesterinen, that is exactly what happened.
Out of Helsinki, Finland, Vesterinen played football at the French Finnish School of Helsinki before being recruited to come play for the Mountaineers. It was a sneaky good recruit by Neal Brown’s team as Vesterinen saw the field a lot immediately upon arrival.
In his freshman season, the DE played in eight games and even started one. The impact in the statistics wasn’t quite there yet but it would soon follow in the his sophmore campaign. That season, Vesterinen finished with 10 tackles, including one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
Last season is when Vesterinen really stepped up into a big role on the defensive line. The 285-pound defensive end collected a total of 28 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks while starting in all 13 games. That included the Mayo Bowl where the junior really stood out; six tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Those numbers last year were good enough to get Vesterinen a spot on the coaches’ All-Big 12 Conference Honorable-Mention team.
This upcoming season will be a big one for the now senior. Without a redshirt or Covid year to his name, this will be the last season that Vesterinen will get to play repping the Gold and Blue. Both Neal Brown and Vesterinen have said they believe he has what it takes to get signed in the NFL, he just has to go out and prove it.
Once a kid playing a foreign sport in Finland, Eddie Vesterinen will now look to anchor down a defense seeking a conference championship in front of 60,000 people every week.
