Armanti Fredrico Edwards Sr. (born March 8, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the Appalachian State Mountaineers from 2006 to 2009, and was named a 2024 inductee of

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

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

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the third round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. In 2017, Edwards won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He last played for the CFL's

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

. In addition to leading Appalachian State to consecutive

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

s (FCS) in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Edwards became the first quarterback in

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

history to lead his team to four straight conference championships. He became the first quarterback in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, 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 is also the first back-to-back and two-time Walter Payton Award winner, given to the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

's most outstanding offensive player, receiving the award in 2008 and 2009.

Early life

Armanti is the son of Deborah Anderson and Freddie Edwards. At birth, Edwards weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces and was delivered 10 days late. 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. During a retrial that concluded in June 2011 he was again convicted of murder and again sentenced to 30 years.

High school career

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 New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

, Memphis,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and Vanderbilt. After only receiving an offer from

, 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 Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

College career

2006 season

Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers to the FCS (formerly Division I-AA)

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

as a true freshman, beating the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

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. 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

Freshman of the Year at the end of the season.

2007 season

Edwards started the 2007 season by guiding Appalachian State to a 34–32 upset victory over fifth-ranked

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

of the Football Bowl Subdivision on September 1, in a game that was named the "Biggest Upset of 2007" by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. 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 Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, 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. Edwards had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

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 Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Fightin' Blue Hens, 49–21, in the championship game on December 14. He outplayed future

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

quarterback Joe Flacco in that game.

2008 season

The Mountaineers began the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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. On November 15, the Mountaineers clinched the Southern Conference championship, joining

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

(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. 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 The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. 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.

2009 season

Before the start of the

, Edwards was involved in a lawn mowing accident, resulting in a trip to the hospital where he was treated and released. The injury sidelined him for the season opener against the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the sport, athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA ...

, a game which the Mountaineers would lose 29–24. With a 27–10 victory over Elon on November 14, Edwards became the only quarterback in conference history to win four consecutive championships. Edwards's college football career ended on December 12 in a playoff semi-final game against the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...

. The 24–17 loss was the highest rated FCS postseason game ever broadcast according to Nielsen and the NCAA. The following day, Edwards graduated after just three and a half years with a degree in

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Walter Payton Award making him the first ever two-time recipient of the award. On August 24, 2023, Appalachian State announced it would be retiring Edwards No. 14 jersey number.

Statistics

Highlights and awards

Championships

– 2006, 2007 * Southern Conference Championship – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Awards

* Walter Payton Award – 2008, 2009 *

'' Bob Waters'' Male Athlete of the Year – 2010 * Southern Conference ''Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year'' (media) – 2008*, 2009* * Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year (coaches) – 2008, 2009 * Southern Conference Freshman of the Year (coaches and media) – 2006 * All-Southern Conference Football Team: ** 1st Team (media) – 2006, 2008, 2009 ** 1st Team (coaches) – 2006, 2008, 2009 ** 2nd Team (coaches) – 2007 * 5x Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Month – 11/2006, 11/2007, 10/2008, 11/2008, 10/2009 * 8x Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week * 5x Southern Conference Freshman of the Week * – Unanimous selection

Records

=Single game

= *ASU and Southern – Rushing: 313 vs.

, 2007 *ASU – Rushing Yards Per Attempts: 10.1 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU, Southern, and NCAA – Rushing Yards by a Quarterback: 313 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Passing Yards: 433 vs. South Carolina State, 2008 *ASU – Completion Percentage (min. 10 comp.): .895 (17–19) vs. Wofford, 2008 *ASU – Touchdown Passes: 5 vs. Wofford, 2008 *ASU – Touchdowns Responsible For: 7 vs. Richmond, 2007

=Single season

= *ASU – Rushing Yards by a Quarterback: 1,588, 2007 *ASU – Rushing Yards by a Freshman: 1,153, 2006 *ASU – Rushing Yards by a Sophomore: 1,588, 2007 *ASU – Passing Yards: 3,291, 2009 *ASU – Pass Attempts: 378, 2009 *ASU – Pass Completions: 257, 2009 *ASU – Completion Percentage (min. 100 comp.): .680 (257–378), 2009 *ASU – Passing Efficiency: 170.2, 2008 *ASU – Touchdown Passes: 30, 2008 *ASU – 200-Yard Passing Games: 10, 2009 *ASU – Consecutive 200-Yard Passing Games: 5, 2009 *ASU – Passing Yards by a Freshman: 2,251, 2006 *ASU – Passing Yards by a Sophomore: 1,948, 2007 *ASU – Passing Yards by a Senior: 3,291, 2009 *ASU and Southern – Total Offense: 3,970, 2009 *ASU and Southern – Touchdowns Responsible For: 41, 2008 *ASU and Southern – 250-Yard Total Offense Games: 10, 2008 *ASU – Consecutive 250-Yard Total Offense Games: 5 (four times) *ASU and Southern – 300-Yard Total Offense Games: 8, 2009 *ASU – 400-Yard Total Offense Games: 4, 2009 *ASU – Wins By a Starting Quarterback: 13, 2006

=Postseason

= *ASU – Single-Game Rushing Yards: 313 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Single-Game Rushing Touchdowns: 4 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Single-Game Pass Attempts: 54 vs.

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, 2009 *ASU – Career Pass Attempts: 342 *ASU – Single-Game Completions: 29 vs. South Carolina State, 2008 *ASU – Career Completions: 216 *ASU – Single-Game Passing Yards: 433 vs. South Carolina State, 2008 *ASU – Career Passing Yards: 2,885 *ASU – Single-Game Touchdown Passes: 4 vs. South Carolina State, 2008 *ASU – Career Touchdown Passes: 19 *ASU – Single-Game Total Offense Attempts: 69 vs. Montana, 2009 *ASU – Career Total Offense Attempts: 564 *ASU – Single-Game Total Offense Yards: 495 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Career Total Offense Yards: 4,186 *ASU – Single-Game Touchdowns Responsible For: 7 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Career Touchdowns Responsible For: 37 *ASU – Single-Game Touchdowns Scored: 4 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Single-Game Points Scored: 24 vs. Richmond, 2007 *ASU – Postseason Wins By a Starting Quarterback: 11

=Career

= *ASU and Southern – Rushing Yards by a Quarterback: 4,361 *ASU – Passing Yards: 10,392 *ASU – Pass Attempts: 1,180 *ASU – Pass Completions: 768 *ASU and Southern – Completion Percentage (min. 250 comp.): .651 *ASU – Passing Efficiency: 154.2 *ASU – Touchdown Passes: 74 *ASU – Passing Yards per Game: 203.8 *ASU – 200-Yard Passing Games: 24 *ASU and Southern – Total Offense Attempts: 1,935 *ASU and Southern – Total Offense: 14,753 *ASU – Total Offense Per Game: 289.3 *ASU and Southern – Touchdowns Responsible For: 139 *ASU and Southern – 250-Yard Total Offense Games: 35 *ASU and Southern – 300-Yard Total Offense Games: 24 *ASU – 400-Yard Total Offense Games: 8 *ASU – Wins By a Starting Quarterback: 42

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Edwards was selected in the third round, pick #89, of the 2010 draft by the

. Edwards could see the field at a variety of positions including

, kickoff returner, and quarterback in the

wildcat formation Wildcat formation is a formation for the offense in football in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a running back, but some ...

. He was first activated in the 2010 season for the October 10 game against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. After a 34–3 loss against New Orleans and the loss of Matt Moore to the injured reserve list, Coach John Fox hinted that Edwards would see more snaps at quarterback in practice. Edwards was named the emergency/third quarterback for the first time before the November 14 game at

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

, but did not see any game action. On December 12, Edwards featured at quarterback for one snap against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

completing a pass to fellow rookie David Gettis for no gain. He received very little playing time during the following season. The Panthers released Edwards on October 8, 2013.

Cleveland Browns

The

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

signed Edwards on October 31, 2013. He was placed on the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 20. On December 23, Edwards was released by the team with an injury settlement.

Chicago Bears

Edwards signed with the

on June 3, 2014. He was released by the team during final cuts on August 29, 2014.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 24, 2016, it was announced that Edwards had signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Toronto Argonauts

On May 27, 2017, Edwards was traded from the Roughriders to the

in exchange for offensive lineman, Peter Dyakowski. Edwards had a breakout season in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

for the Argos, playing in all but one regular season game, catching 83 passes for 962 yards with four touchdowns. In the playoffs he caught seven passes for 56 yards en route to winning the

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...

. In January 2018 Edwards and the Argos agreed to a new two-year contract. Edwards finished 2018 with a similar statistical line as 2017, with 4 receiving touchdowns and coming up just shy of 1,000 yards; however, the Argos went from first to worst, following up their 2017 championship with a league worst 4–14 record for 2018. 2019 saw the Argonauts with the same record, but Edwards eclipsed the 1,000 mark for the first time, and caught seven touchdowns. He became a free agent once his contract expired on February 11, 2020.

XFL

Edwards signed with the XFL's Team 9

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on February 19, 2020. He was signed off of Team 9 by the Dallas Renegades on February 25, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Edmonton Elks

On April 10, 2020, it was announced that Edwards had signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. He played in six games for the renamed

in 2021 and was released on December 28, 2021.

Career statistics

NFL statistics

CFL statistics

Regular season:

References

External links

*
Armanti Edwards at Chicago BearsArmanti Edwards at Carolina PanthersArmanti Edwards bio at GoASUCareer Recap at GoASU (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Armanti 1988 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from South Carolina Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Canadian football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Chicago Bears players Walter Payton Award winners Sportspeople from Greenwood, South Carolina Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players Team 9 players Dallas Renegades players Edmonton Elks players College Football Hall of Fame inductees