ASU #28

Ed Gainey



Defensive Back - DB
Height: 5-11 Weight: 190
Sophomore
Previous Affiliations
Mt. Tabor
Previous Experience
Winston-Salem, N.C.

One of only two true freshman starters for the Mountaineers a season ago (DE Lanston Tanyi being the other) ... made the most of his opportunity when another true freshman, Dominique McDuffie, suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice, vacating the right cornerback position that he manned for the first three games of the season ... a week later, Gainey seized control of the postion on a full-time basis and went on to earn Southern Conference all-freshman recognition ... so confident are the Mountaineer coaches in Gainey’s ability that he will remain at right corner this year while McDuffie is moved to nickel.

2008 : Played in all 14 games as a true freshman ... spent the first three games of the season mainly as a special-teams contributor ... when fellow true freshman Dominique McDuffie suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice in late September, Gainey moved to second-string at right cornerback for the Presbyterian contest ... after making seven tackles and displaying good coverage skills against the pass-happy Blue Hose, Gainey was promoted to starter at RCB for the Oct. 4 contest versus The Citadel, and held on to the role for the rest of the year ... displayed above average skills not only as a pass-defender, but also as a tackler against the run ... despite not being in the starting lineup until the fifth game of the season, finished eighth on the team in tackles with 51 (32 solo) from his cornerback position ... broke up nine passes but did not record an interception ... notched a season-high eight tackles (seven solo) and broke up a pass in ASU’s 26-14 win over No. 18 Furman ... broke up two passes in heart-stopping win at Georgia Southern and SoCon title-clinching victory over No. 11 Elon ... tallied multiple tackles in 9-of-10 games following move to the starting lineup and made at least four stops in 7-of-10 ... was one of four ASU representatives on the SoCon’s inaugural all-freshman team.

High School : A two-time all-region selection and Shrine Bowl participant ... rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com ... intercepted six passes, forced three fumbles and was team’s second-leading tackler as a senior to help lead Mt. Tabor to 4-A state championship game ... led state with 13 interceptions as a junior ... coached by Barry Stewart.