Stanley J. Edwards (born May 20, 1959) 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

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)#Offense ...

for six years in the

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). A native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Edwards 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 ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from 1977 to 1981 and was selected in the third round 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 Sh ...

. Edwards played in the and NFL for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

(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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

(1987). His son,

Braylon Edwards Braylon Jamel Edwards (born February 21, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was a unanimous All-American playing college football for the Michigan Wolver ...

, also played football at Michigan and in the NFL.

Early life

Edwards was born in

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

University of Michigan

Edwards enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

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 college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

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 List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(127 yards),

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(157 yards), and

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

(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

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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

. 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 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 ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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 NFL replacement players Kettering High School alumni