Armanti Edwards

On November 15, the Mountaineers clinched the Southern Conference championship, joining West Virginia (1953–56), Furman (1980–83) and Georgia Southern (1997–2002) as the only programs to win four straight titles, with a 24–16 victory over the Elon Phoenix.

Armanti Fredrico Edwards Sr. (born March 8, 1988) is a former American gridiron football wide receiver and quarterback who is a 2024 inductee of College Football Hall of Fame.

Edwards joined a select list as the fifth Division I player (Missouri's Brad Smith and Texas's Vince Young are among the others), and second freshman, to accomplish the feat of 2000 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards in one season.

Edwards was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year at the end of the season.

He was the starting quarterback for the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team from 2006 to 2009.

In addition to leading the Mountaineers to consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championships (FCS) in 2006 and 2007, Edwards became the first quarterback in Southern Conference history to lead his team to four straight conference championships.

In September 2006, his father, Freddie, was convicted of a 2005 murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The conviction however was overturned because jurors were not given the option of finding Edwards guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers to the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) National Championship in 2006 as a true freshman, beating the Minutemen of UMass 28–17.

He finished the 2006 season with 2,251 yards and 15 touchdowns passing, and 1,153 yards and 15 touchdowns rushing.

As quarterback in 2007, Edwards led Appalachian State to one of the biggest upsets in college football history, a 34–32 victory over then fifth-ranked Michigan.

Edwards started the 2007 season by guiding Appalachian State to a 34–32 upset victory over fifth-ranked Michigan of the Football Bowl Subdivision on September 1, in a game that was named the "Biggest Upset of 2007" by Sports Illustrated.

In the game, Edwards threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns while also totaling 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

On December 7, in a semifinal playoff game against Richmond, Edwards set the single game FCS rushing record for a quarterback, rushing for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns on 31 carries.

He also completed 14-of-16 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He is also the first back-to-back and two-time Walter Payton Award winner, given to the Football Championship Subdivision's most outstanding offensive player, receiving the award in 2008 and 2009.

Armanti is the son of Deborah Anderson and Freddie Edwards.

At birth, Edwards weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces and was delivered 10 days late.

Edwards had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Heisman Trophy in the 2008 season.

Edwards established himself as a threat through the air and along the ground, and garnered elite status within the division.

He and the Mountaineers won a third consecutive national championship, beating the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, 49–21, in the championship game on December 14.

He outplayed future Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in that game.

The Mountaineers began the 2008 campaign against the LSU Tigers, the first time defending FBS and FCS champions have met to open the season.

However, LSU prevailed 41–13, with Edwards accounting for 216 of Appalachian State's 472 total yards.

Edwards accounted for 440 yards of total offense, becoming the Southern Conference's all-time leader in yards with a 70–24 victory over the Wofford Terriers on October 31.

In his 36th career start, he became the 26th FCS player in history to surpass 10,000 yards of career total offense in Appalachian's win over South Carolina State in the First Round of the 2008 playoffs.

He was named the 2008 Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and was the winner of the 2008 Walter Payton Award, given to the top FCS offensive player.

Edwards threw a career-worst 5 interceptions in a quarterfinal loss to eventual tournament winner, Richmond, denying Appalachian State their 4th consecutive FCS championship.

Before the start of the season, Edwards was involved in a lawn mowing accident, resulting in a trip to the hospital where he was treated and released.

He became the first quarterback in NCAA Division I history to throw for 9,000 and rush for 4,000 yards in a career, accomplishing the feat against Furman on October 31, 2009.

Later in the season, he would become the first quarterback to pass for over 10,000 yards and rush for an additional 4,000 yards in a career.

He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

During a retrial that concluded in June 2011 he was again convicted of murder and again sentenced to 30 years.

At Greenwood High, under coach Shell Dula, he was named to the Greenwood Touchdown Club/Index-Journal All-Lakelands Team.

Edwards originally played wide receiver, but in his senior year, he moved under center.

The transition occurred late in the recruiting process, and he drew some interest from New Mexico State, Memphis, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.

After only receiving an offer from New Mexico State, he decided to honor his commitment to Appalachian State, in part because they would let him stay a quarterback.

Armanti Edwards graduated with a 3.3 GPA.

In 2017, Edwards won the Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts.

He last played for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).