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 with ...

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. 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 th ...

, Edwards played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 ...

(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 as ...

(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 Ford ...

(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 recognize ...

, also played football at Michigan and in the NFL.

Early years

Edwards was born in

, Michigan, in 1959. He attended Kettering High School in Detroit.

University of Michigan

Edwards enrolled at the

in 1977 and played

as a tailback and fullback for

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

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 its ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(127 yards),

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

(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, 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 She ...

. 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 The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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