EFFORT NOW EQUALS MOUTH NUMBER SWITCH SUITS EDWARDS.

Byline: Walter Hammerwold Staff Writer

DANA POINT - Braylon Edwards always knew what it meant to wear Michigan's No. 1 jersey. Now the receiver knows what it means to keep it.

Edwards coveted the number, which is held with the same prestige at Michigan as No. 55 is at USC, the moment he set foot on the campus in Ann Arbor, Mich.

When coach Lloyd Carr told Edwards he would have to earn it at the start of his sophomore year, the receiver responded with a breakout season that included 67 receptions for 1,035 yards and 10 touchdowns.

``There's only five people (at Michigan) including myself that have worn the number,'' Edwards, now a junior, said. ``So I knew if I was going to do it, I was going to have to prove I was worthy of having the number.''

Edwards traded in his No. 80 for No. 1 at the start of this season. In doing so, he traded in a life of relative obscurity for life in the fish bowl.

The only thing more lethal than the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder with electrifying moves and speed - he also competes in the 200-meter dash and high jump for the Wolverines - has been his tongue. And the increased scrutiny the new jersey placed on Edwards was enough to inspire criticism early in the season.

Comments Edwards made to reporters during fall practice suggested a ``me-first'' mentality. And three subpar outings to start the season had doubters wondering whether he deserved the same number worn by Anthony Carter and David Terrell.

The media branded Edwards a detriment to the team, a sentiment that intensified after Carr told reporters, ``Braylon Edwards and I are not on the same page,'' after Michigan's season opener.

The tarnished image came as a shock to Edwards, who felt the characterization did not match reality. He is still in awe of how quickly it traveled and how far it reached.

When questioned this week about his run-in with Carr, Edwards sheepishly asked, ``That reached L.A.?''

Edwards could have ignored the criticisms. Instead, he spent the second half of the season trying to rebuild his image.

``I knew No. 1 means a lot to the program,'' Edwards said. ``At the University of Michigan, No. 1's a big thing. And I have to represent that. I have to behave as a representative of it and what it means.''

Edwards kept his comments in check and worked toward becoming a leader on the team. He caught at least one touchdown in seven of the Wolverines' final eight games and turned in three consecutive 100-yard performances at the end of the season to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the second consecutive season.

``He's team-oriented now,'' offensive lineman Tony Pape said a couple of months after Carr's comment. ``He cares about how the team does and not about his individual performance. That's the greatest change he's made.''

Most of the scrutiny was superficial. Edwards' remarks created controversy, but his actions have never given the program a black eye. He interacts regularly with fans and interrupted interviews at the team hotel this week to make small talk with children who approached him for an autograph.

His play has improved as well.

Dropped passes, which have haunted him throughout his career, persist, but to a lesser degree. And though Edwards' physical prowess has always been the crux of his game, he now has a mental edge to go along with it.

``I think it's behind me,'' Edwards said of the run-in with Carr. ``Everybody tried to blow that up, but it really wasn't a big deal. Everyone tried to make it out to be this great rivalry of coach vs. player, or of a rebellious player, but it wasn't anything like that.

``Coach Carr let me know I needed to come out and be the guy I can be. And that's the way I took it.''

Carr later said the public brow-beating was the best way to reach his player. Asked whether he felt the two were back in sync, Carr said, ``Absolutely. It's great to be on the same page.''

USC vs. MICHIGAN

Jan. 1, 1:30 p.m.

TV: Ch. 7

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Photo:

Braylon Edwards showed Michigan coach Lloyd Carr that he deserves the No. 1 jersey.

Bernardo Alps/Staff Photographer