ASU #14 Edwards, Armanti
QB
6-0 184
Jr.
Greenwood, S.C.
(Greenwood)
Considered by many to be the preseason favorite for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the nation’s top Division I FCS (Football Championship Series — formerly Division I-AA) player ... one of the nation’s top dual threats at any level as a runner and passer ... is the first two-time all-America quarterback in ASU history ... as a freshman (2006), became one of only six players in Division I history (FCS or Football Bowl Subdivision — formerly Division I-A) to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season ... despite missing four-and-a-half games due to a shoulder injury as a sophomore, fell just 52 passing yards shy of becoming the only player to reach the 2,000-passing, 1,000-rushing plateau twice ... is already ASU’s all-time record-holder for rushing yards by a quarterback with 2,741 career rushing yards, needing just 20 career games to obliterate the previous record of 1,621 racked up by current Mountaineer quarterbacks coach Scott Satterfield from 1992-95 ... broke ASU’s single-game rushing record twice and the school’s single-game rushing record by a QB three times a season ago ... comes into his junior season as ASU’s all-time leader in total offense (266.9 ypg) and rushing (106.1 ypg) per game ... the southpaw sports a 22-2 career record as a starter.
2007: Despite missing four-and-a-half games due to injury, hauled in a plethora of postseason honors, including first-team all-America (College Sporting News), second-team all-America (The Sports Network), National Star of the Year (Sports Media Entertainment Network) and second-team all-Southern Conference (coaches) ... in just 11 starts, amassed 1,948 passing yards (10th-most in school history) and 1,588 rushing yards (the most by a QB and third-highest total by any player in school history) ... 1,588 rushing yards were the third most by a quarterback in FCS history (behind only 1,844 by Georgia Southern’s Jayson Foster in 2007 and 1,602 by Southern Utah’s Matt Cannon in 2000) ... 3,536 yards of total offense was good for second in school history (behind only Richie Williams’ 3,745 in 2005) ... accounted for 38 touchdowns (21 rushing, 17 passing) ... ran for 100-plus yards seven times, and 200 or more on three occasions ... did not rank among the NCAA’s official statistical leaders because he fell one game shy of the minimum standard of playing in 75 percent of team’s games ... if he did qualify for the official national rankings, he would have finished fifth in total offense (321.5 ypg), fifth in points responsible for (20.8 ppg), sixth in rushing (144.4 ypg) and seventh in passing efficiency (159.34) ... made national headlines by accounting for 289 yards (227 passing, 62 rushing) and four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in ASU’s 34-32 season-opening victory at Michigan ... led ASU to a 28-17 halftime lead by completing 7-of-7 passes for 129 yards and rushing eight times for 41 yards in the first half alone ... closed out the impressive performance by calmly engineering a seven-play, 69 yard drive in 1:11 that set up the game-winning 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining ... opened the decisive drive by running for 18 yards, then completed five-straight passes for 51 yards to move the Apps inside the five yard line ... earned National Player of the Week recognition from SME Network and SoCon Player of the Week accolades for his efforts versus Michigan ... the performance in the Big House became even more legendary when it was discovered that he had aggravated a shoulder injury suffered during a preseason scrimmage during the victory and would miss the next two contests versus Lenoir-Rhyne and Northern Arizona due to the injury ... thanks to a last-minute decision by the ASU coaching staff, returned to the starting lineup versus Wofford and totaled 140 yards in just over one half of action before re-aggravating the shoulder injury on the second play of the second half ... sat out of wins over Elon and Gardner-Webb before returning to the lineup for good versus Georgia Southern ... in first full game since the win over Michigan, set an ASU quarterback record with 220 rushing yards on 29 carries and threw for 178 yards and a touchdown, but could not overcome a sub-par 10-for-21 passing effort and season-high-tying two interceptions in the 38-35 loss ... accounted for 337 yards (211 passing, 126 rushing) and two rushing touchdowns in 31-24 win at Furman ... shattered ASU’s all-time single-game rushing record and SoCon record for rushing yards by a QB with 291 yards on the ground in 45-21 win at The Citadel ... ran 21 times, including a pair of touchdown carries, in the record-breaking performance ... also threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns to total 439 yards of offense, a mark which ranked fourth in school history at the time (now fifth) ... earned SoCon Player of the Week recognition for second time of the season following performance vs. The Citadel ... threw for a season-high 295 yards and completed a career-best 26 passes on 31 attempts in less than three quarters of work in a 79-35 shellacking of archrival Western Carolina ... accounted for five of ASU’s 11 touchdowns in the win over WCU (three rushing, two passing) ... ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries in 37-17 win over Chattanooga in regular-season finale ... rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns and completed 12-of-17 passes for 126 yards in opening-round playoff win over James Madison ... like at Michigan, engineered a scoring drive in the waning minutes to grab the victory over JMU ... on fourth-and-three from the JMU 25 with less than two minutes to play and ASU trailing 27-22, Edwards completed a 20-yard pass to Devon Moore to give the Mountaineers first-and-goal on the five ... on the next play, Edwards capped the ASU comeback with his third touchdown run of the afternoon that gave the Apps the winning points with 1:10 remaining on the clock ... racked up 347 yards of offense (221 passing, 126 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in quarterfinal win over Eastern Washington ... turned in one of the top individual performances in college football history with 313 rushing yards, 182 passing yards, good for 495 yards of total offense and seven total touchdowns (four rushing, three passing) to earn ASU’s third-consecutive national championship game berth with a 55-35 win over Richmond in national semifinals ... 313 rushing yards set ASU and SoCon records for single-game rushing yards and NCAA Division I (FCS or FBS), SoCon and ASU records for single-game rushing yards by a quarterback ... also set ASU postseason records for total offense (495 yds.) and touchdowns responsible for and tied school postseason marks for rushing touchdowns and points (24) ... performance ranks second in NCAA Division I FCS/I-AA postseason history for both rushing (333 - Georgia Southern’s Adrian Peterson vs. UMass, 1999) and total offense (539 - Stephen F. Austin’s Todd Hammel vs. Grambling, 1989) ... followed up the record-breaking performance vs. Richmond by throwing for 198 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 89 yards in national title game triumph over Delaware ... in four postseason games, totaled 1,387 yards of total offense (727 passing, 660 rushing) and accounted for 16 touchdowns ... named Division I playoffs MVP by College Sporting News.
2006: Freshman phenom brought home National Freshman of the Year and all-America (College Sporting News) recognition as well as SoCon Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference plaudits ... played in all 15 games, starting the final 13 ... threw for 2,251 yards and ran for 1,153 more, becoming just the fifth player in NCAA Division I history (and only the second freshman) to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season ... joined Kevin Richardson to become the first duo in ASU history to each amass 1,000 rushing yards in the same season ... took just 10 starts to break every school record for a freshman quarterback, including passing yards (needed just six games to break previous record), total offense (6), completions (8), touchdown passes (9), rushing yards (5) and rushing touchdowns (10) ... shattered school records for rushing yards and touchdowns (15) by a quarterback of any age ... led all freshman nationally (true or redshirt) in pass efficiency, total offense and points responsible for and all true freshman in passing yardage ... joined Western Carolina’s Lamont Seward (2000) as the only five-time winners of the SoCon Freshman of the Week award ... had modest results in relief stints versus NC State (8 total yards) and James Madison (33 total yds., rushing TD) ... entered the starting lineup in week three versus Mars Hill and threw for 203 yards and a touchdown and ran for 49 more yards and another score to lead the 41-0 shutout ... had a coming out party a week later in front of a national-television audience (ESPNU) at Gardner-Webb ... ran 13 times for 101 yards and a score and completed 16-of-22 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions en route to SoCon Freshman of the Week recognition ... would go on to collect SoCon Freshman of the Week accolades each of the next two weeks (263 total yards, 2 TD vs. Elon; 12-of-14 passing for 311 yds. and 3 TD in just one half of work in 56-21 drubbing at Chattanooga) ... also earned SoCon Frosh of the Week honors for performance in double-overtime victory at Georgia Southern (350 yds. of total offense, 2 TD) ... highlight of the 350-yard effort at GSU came when the 165-pound Edwards bowled over a GSU defender at the goal line, jarring the Eagle’s helmet off his head while Edwards scored ... Edwards suffered a mild knee injury in the draining triumph in Statesboro, but showed no ill effects the following week when he led ASU to its biggest-ever win over Furman, a 40-7 rout at Kidd Brewer Stadium ... in the regular-season finale at Western Carolina, Edwards earned his fifth SoCon Freshman of the Week award by compiling 204 yards of offense and accounting for three scores in a driving rainstorm ... in his postseason debut, Edwards came up just five yards shy of a school record for total offense in a postseason game (Richie Williams, 403 vs. SIU, 2005), passing for 226 and rushing for 172 and two touchdowns to open up a 31-0 halftime lead en route to an easy 45-28 rout over No. 13 Coastal Carolina ... in the win, Edwards and Richardson became the first ASU duo in three years to rush for 100 yards apiece in the same game, a feat they accomplished again each of the following two weeks to advance to the national championship game ... Edwards ran for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 38-17 quarterfinal win over No. 18 Montana State and scored three times on 110 rushing yards in a 49-24 drubbing of fifth-ranked Youngstown State in the national semifinals ... for the first time in six games, Edwards failed to account for a TD in the national championship game, but his 227 yards of total offense were more than enough to help propel ASU to a 28-17 win over No. 3 UMass ... capped it all off by being named to ASU athletics’ academic honor roll.
High School: Multi-talented quarterback threw for over 2,000 yards and ran for over 1,100 as a senior ... accounted for 29 touchdowns (17 passing, 12 rushing) in ‘05 ... played in 2005 Shrine Bowl ... began playing quarterback midway through junior season in which he threw for nearly 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns and hauled in five passes for over 100 yards and a score at wide receiver.
Personal: Full name is Armanti Fredrico Edwards ... born March 8, 1988 (20 years old) ... son of Deborah A. Anderson ... cousin, Renaldo Gray, was the starting quarterback at Southern Conference-rival Furman the past two seasons ... majoring in graphic arts and imaging technology ... is a fixture in the community, spending time as a volunteer with Boone Celebrity Serve and reading at area schools and day-care centers.
