■ Quarterback Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, who sat out last weekend's regular-season finale against Western Carolina while recovering from a sprained medial-collateral ligament in his right knee, returned to practice Monday.
Indications are that he will play Saturday against S.C. State in Boone in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
"He practiced well," Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said. "It wasn't very long, we don't work real long on Mondays -- about an hour and 15 minutes -- but today and tomorrow will be key practices. But he did fine. He held up fine."
-- Tommy Bowman
■ Appalachian dominated coaches' voting for All-Southern Conference honors yesterday, with Edwards (offensive player of the year), offensive tackle Mario Acitelli (Jacobs Blocking Trophy) and Jerry Moore (co-coach of the year) taking top individual awards. Appalachian had a league-high 15 All-SoCon players, and Devon Moore, Ben Jorden, Jabari Fletcher, D.J. Smith, Jacque Roman, Mark LeGree and Cortez Gilbert joined Edwards and Acitelli on the first team.
Also, The Sports Network announced yesterday that Edwards (Walter Payton Award), LeGree (Buck Buchanan Award) and Moore (Eddie Robinson Award) are among the finalists for top awards in the FCS. Edwards won the Payton Award as the top offensive player last season, and LeGree finished third in the Buchanan voting for top defensive player.
Recruiting
■ Alex Smith has changed his mind about where he will play his college football, leaving Ohio to play for North Carolina.
Smith is a 6-5, 225-pound tight end at Lakota West High School in West Chester, a Cincinnati suburb. He had committed to Cincinnati as a junior but had second thoughts after receiving over 20 other scholarship offers.
He considered Wisconsin in addition to North Carolina and Cincinnati when re-thinking his decision. A visit to Chapel Hill during which he watched a win over Miami at Kenan Stadium helped him decide.
"I was on the field at the Miami game and loved the atmosphere," Smith said. "It just clicked right then and there. That's where I wanted to be."
Smith was a preseason All-America choice by SuperPrep magazine. He was ranked No. 11 nationally among tight ends.
Smith had 23 catches for 411 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. He helped his team go 9-2 and reach the Division 1 playoffs for the state's big schools.
He has 4.7-second speed over 40 yards. He plays basketball at Lakota West also and is the center.
-- Bill Cole
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