Armanti Fredrico Edwards Sr. (born March 8, 1988) is an American gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played for the

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 and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was drafted 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team from 2006–09. 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. In addition to leading the

Mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...

to consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championships (FCS) in 2006 and 2007, Edwards became the first quarterback in

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

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 student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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 tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, 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 The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

winner, given to the Football Championship Subdivision'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 land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, 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 process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

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 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 best team, indi ...

in 2006 as a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, 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. Edwards joined a select list as the fifth Division I player (Missouri's Brad Smith and Texas's

Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

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 circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

''. 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. 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 Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Fightin' Blue Hens, 49–21, in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

on December 14. He outplayed future

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

quarterback Joe Flacco in that game.

2008 season

The Mountaineers began the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

campaign against the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

, 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 Wofford College sponsors 18 sports for men's and women's programs, competing as the Terriers. The Terriers compete in the Southern Conference, and have been a part of the league since the 1997–98 academic year. Wofford and the other SoCon memb ...

on October 31. On November 15, the Mountaineers clinched the Southern Conference championship, joining

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

(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 The Elon Phoenix is the official mascot of Elon University, located in Elon, North Carolina. It is the name that each of the sports teams at the university are referred to. The university is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and comp ...

. 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 South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

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 eit ...

. He was named the 2008 Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and was the winner of the 2008

, 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, 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. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding six men's teams ( ...

. 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. On December 17, in a landslide victory, Edwards received the

making him the first ever two-time recipient of the award.

Statistics

Highlights and awards

Championships

* NCAA Division I Football Championship – 2006, 2007 * Southern Conference Championship – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Awards

– 2008, 2009 *

Bob Waters Robert Lee Waters (June 22, 1938 – May 29, 1989) was an American football player, coach, and administrator, best known for his contributions to athletics at Western Carolina University. Waters coached the Western Carolina Catamounts football tea ...

'' 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. Richmond, 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.

, 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 state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, 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 wide receiver,

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

, and quarterback in the

wildcat formation Wildcat formation describes 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, b ...

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

, but did not see any game action. On December 12, Edwards featured at quarterback for one snap against the Atlanta Falcons 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. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

signed Edwards on October 31, 2013. He was placed on the team's injured reserve on November 20. On December 23, Edwards was released by the team with an injury settlement.

Chicago Bears

Edwards signed with the Chicago Bears 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 ...

of the

Toronto Argonauts

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

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

in exchange for offensive lineman,

Peter Dyakowski Peter Stefan Dyakowski (born April 19, 1984) is a retired Canadian football offensive lineman, who was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2007 to ...

. Edwards had a breakout season in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

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 on February 19, 2020. He was signed off of Team 9 by the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayn ...

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. 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 American players of Canadian football Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Canadian football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Chicago Bears players Walter Payton Award winners People from Greenwood, South Carolina Sportspeople from Charlotte, North 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