Stanley J. Edwards (born May 20, 1959) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. A native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, Edwards played college football at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1977 to 1981 and for six years in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

(1982-1986) and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

(1987). His son,

Braylon Edwards Braylon Jamel Edwards (born February 21, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Michigan, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recogniz ...

, also played football at Michigan and in the NFL.

Early years

Edwards was born in

, Michigan, in 1959. He attended

Kettering High School Kettering High School was a four-year high school within the Detroit Public Schools system. The school, located in the low-income Gratiot Town/Kettering neighborhood, was around 1,200 students under capacity at its closure in 2012. History Kett ...

in Detroit.

University of Michigan

Edwards enrolled at the

in 1977 and played college football as a tailback and fullback for Bo Schembechler's

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for it ...

teams in 1977 and from 1979 to 1981. While at Michigan, Edwards gained 2,206 rushing yards and scored 14 touchdowns on 468 carries (4.7 yards per carry). He also gained 380 receiving yards and scored four touchdowns on 33 carries. His best season was in 1980 when he gained 901 rushing yards and had three 100-yard games against

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

(127 yards),

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

(157 yards), and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

(164 yards). While at Michigan, Edwards played in the shadow of

Butch Woolfolk Harold E. "Butch" Woolfolk (born March 1, 1960) is a former American football running back and kick returner who played in college for the University of Michigan (1978–1981) and in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants ( ...

, who was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten running back in both 1980 and 1981. Edwards was selected by both the

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and

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as a second-team All-Big Ten back in 1981.

Professional football

Edwards was selected by the

in the third round (72nd overall pick) of the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York S ...

. He played five seasons for the Oilers from 1982 to 1986. He had only one season, 1984, in which he carried the ball more than 25 times, gaining 267 yards on 60 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per carry. Edwards was released by the Oilers in February 1987 and signed with the

. He appeared in three games for the Lions and rushed for 69 yards on 32 carries for an average of 2.2 yards per carry. Over the course of his NFL career, Edwards appeared in 56 games, nine as a starter, and gained 533 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns on 149 carries for an average of 3.6 yards per carry.

Family and later years

Edwards is the father of

who was a wide receiver for Michigan and the New York Jets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Stan 1960 births Living people American football running backs Detroit Lions players Houston Oilers players Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Detroit National Football League replacement players Kettering High School alumni