2025 Football Roster
Jersey Number 96
Edward Vesterinen
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 282
- Class:
- Redshirt Senior
- Hometown:
- Helsinki, Finland
- High School:
- French Finnish School of Helsinki
- Has played in 35 career appearances with 16 starts
2024 (Sr.)
- Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team honors
- Redshirted
- Saw action in two games before sustaining a season-ending lower-leg injury against UAlbany
2023 (Jr.)
- College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
- Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team
- All-Big 12 Conference Honorable-Mention (Coaches)
- Started all 13 games at defensive tackle
- Big game against North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, including six tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss
- Finished with two solo tackles, including a sack at Baylor
- Assisted on two tackles at Oklahoma
- Assisted on a sack at Houston
- WVU Blue Collar Award (Houston, TCU, Texas Tech, Duquesne)
- Totaled four tackles and assisted on a sack at TCU
- Registered a career-best seven tackles, including three solo stops against Texas Tech; also added a tackle for loss
- Posted one solo stop in the Pitt game
- Assisted on a tackle against Duquesne and a pair of tackles in the season opener at Penn State
2022 (So.)
- Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team
- Played in 12 games at defensive tackle
- Used on 242 defensive plays, including a season-high 38 plays at Texas Tech
- Finished with 10 tackles, including one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries
- Two solo tackles against Towson and two tackles against Texas
- Assisted on a sack at Texas and at Oklahoma State
- Had tackles for loss at Texas and against Towson
2021 (Fr.)
- Played in eight games at defensive tackle and started one
- Saw action on 125 players, including 112 defensive snaps
- Season-high 23 defensive plays against Iowa State
- Solo tackle at Kansas and assisted on one tackle against six other opponents.
- Finished with seven tackles for the season and assisted on a tackle for loss against Texas
- Enrolled at WVU in January 2021
High School
- Played defensive line for coach Mikko Koikkalainen with the Helsinki Roosters
- Can play on the edge or the interior
- Played for the Helsinki Roosters and Finnish Senior National Team
- raveled to the United States in 2019 with Brandon Collier of PPI Recruits during the DreamChasers Tour
- 2019 Finland Men’s National League Lineman of the Year and all-star (DL)
- 2019 MVP of Finland Men’s National Team game against Demark
- Attended camps in Germany in 2019
- Runs a 4.75 40-yard dash
- Helped lead the Finland National Team to three national championship tournament appearances
- In 2019 at the U19 European Championship, was the tournament statistic leader, finishing with 17.5 tackles, including 4.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss
- In 2018, helped lead Finland to a third-place finish at the men’s European championship
- Played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the International Bowl for Finland U19 Team Nordic against Team USA U-19 select
- Member of Helsinki Rooster Football team that was ranked No. 3 in Europe by AFI
- Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports
- No. 1 recruit from Finland
- No. 89 strong-side defensive end nationally by 247Sports
- Spent time serving Finland’s mandatory military service
- Participated in tennis and track & field (400m, shot put)
- Also offered by Coastal Carolina and Massachusetts
Personal
- Son of Seppo Vesterinen and Iveta Aaltonen
- One of four children (3 brothers)
- Graduated with a bachelor's degree in business in December 2024
- Pursuing a master's degree in sport management
- Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
- Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll
TV Highlights: Houston Game
Sunday, November 02
Scotty Fox Jr. | Nov. 1
Saturday, November 01
Diore Hubbard | Nov. 1
Saturday, November 01
Jordan Scruggs | Nov. 1
Saturday, November 01
