Early Life
Top: Julian with his sister and brother
Below: (clockwise) Young Edelman sitting on his porch, Edelman as a toddler, and Edelman's family; from left to right: Edelman, his mother, brother Jason (standing), father, and sister Nicole. |
Julian Francis Edelman was born on May 22, 1986 in Redwood City, California. He was born to his parents, Frank and Angela Edelman. Edelman started playing football at a young age, since his older brother, Jason, was always involved in the sport. At the age of 8, Julian had been playing on the Redwood City 49ers in Pop Warner. In an interview with ESPN, Edelman said that winning the Pop Warner Super Bowl at age 8 and 12 "'...Was a huge part of my life.'" As a child and young adult, his favorite football team was the San Francisco 49ers. In a 2012 interview with ESPN, Edelman said that some of his favorite players growing up were Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jerry Rice. Also, Deion Sanders influenced Edelman to wear the number 21. Edelman says that starting to play a sport at a young age helped teach life lessons, and it helped him. Edelman wasn't always a Wide Receiver playing football, in fact he was a tailback and also a quarterback. He played the position of tailback from the age 8 to age 15. By the time Edelman started playing the position of quarterback, he was in High School. As a young child, Edelman always wanted to play football like his father dreamed to. Edelman's father revealed in an interview with ESPN, that he pushed Julian because when his father died at the age of 3, he had no one to push him to reach his dream. When Julian Edelman was in fourth grade, his mother said that he would practice his autograph for when he was famous. Little did they know, everyone wants it now. As a young child, Edelman attended Roosevelt Elementary School.
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High School
Top: Julian and his team at Woodside High School
Bottom: Edelman posing with a football in his high school jersey |
Julian Edelman started his high school career by going to Woodside High School located in Woodside, California. When Edelman entered high school, he was only 4 feet 11 inches tall, so his struggle began. People told him he was too small, and once the harassing started, it never stopped. Frank Edelman, Julian's father, said that his son "...was four-foot-nothing, just getting killed out there." Edelman decided to continue fighting for his dream of playing football. Sophomore year of high school, Edelman became a Quarterback and was no longer a Tailback. Edelman's high school career blossomed when he grew eight inches and gained 50-60 pounds his junior year. As a quarterback, Edelman led his team to an undefeated, 13-0 season, his senior year. Edelman also stated in an interview, that that year, him and his team won a CCS Championship. Today, the jersey that Julian Edelman wore, which was number 1 is hung up on display at Woodside High School.
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