OONE -- A vendor peddling game programs as fans filed into Kidd Brewer Stadium before an Appalachian State football game a few weeks ago discovered a sure way to move inventory.
The sales pitch wasn't a simple "Get your game program."
It was "Get your game program with Armanti Edwards on the cover."
Edwards has become an icon for ASU football. He beats Michigan. He wins national championships. His game jersey nets $1,200 in an auction. He sets records. He makes ESPN highlights. He helps draw crowds in excess of 30,000. He draws chatter from fixated fans for everything from lawn-mowing accidents to Heisman dreams to NFL potential. He sells game programs.
They're going to miss him at App State.
Edwards, who will soon play his final game for the Mountaineers, will finish his career as one of the most prolific players in NCAA history. He is the only Division I player to pass for 9,000 yards and rush for 4,000.
"I never dreamed it would come out to be this way," said Edwards, now 21, who arrived in Boone from Greenwood, S.C., in 2006 as an unheralded and spindly freshman.
He turned out to be a perfect fit for a burgeoning Spread offense. He could run with the best, and he evolved into a great passer.
"He's been every coach's nightmare," Coach Mike Ayers of Wofford said. "You hold your breath every time the ball is snapped to him. He can beat you with his arm. He can beat you with his feet. He's probably the coolest guy there is when the ball is in his hands.
"He's one of those special players that God has gifted with a great deal of physical talent, mental talent and the toughness that it takes to be a great player."
Record machine
Edwards, who has four Southern Conference and two NCAA Football Championship Subdivision titles under his belt, has a record of 40-6 as ASU's starting quarterback. He has taken tough hits to his 5-11, 185-pound frame and has endured injuries and knee surgery.
And he has set school, conference and national records along the way -- passing for a school-record 9,605 yards and rushing for 4,257. His 13,862-yard total ranks fourth in FCS history. His 72 touchdown passes are a SoCon record. His 63 touchdowns rushing are four shy of the ASU record.
"If you look at his numbers, it's pretty incredible what those numbers say," Coach Bobby Lamb of Furman said. "He's completing over 72, almost 73 percent of his passes, and he's doing that on the run, he's doing it sitting in the pocket, he's doing it in a bunch of different ways. He's the most versatile quarterback that's ever been in this league."
Pat Sullivan, a former Heisman Trophy winner now coaching at Samford, said: "I think the thing that sets Armanti or a Pat White apart is yes, they've got great running ability, and yes, they can throw the ball, but what they do is make their football team better. Armanti just puts them on his back. When there is a bad play, he escapes. The competitiveness with his athletic ability sets him apart. He has my utmost respect."
Driven to succeed
Edwards' memorable exploits include a 313-yard rushing performance against Richmond in 2007 -- which set a Division I record for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback -- and a school-record 433-yard passing performance against S.C. State last season.
"A lot of people would like for their records to be held a long time, but you'd also like somebody to come through your school and do just as good if not better than you," Edwards said. "I will definitely remember the championships…. And, just like all seniors, I'd definitely like to be remembered coming out on top and getting another national championship."
Edwards was recognized as the top player in the FCS last season, winning the Walter Payton Award, and he will graduate in December, completing his college degree in 3½ years.
Whether his impressive statistics will translate into a chance in the NFL isn't certain, and it's unclear if his 5-11 height will preclude him from being evaluated as a quarterback. Still, he will start training after the season with hopes of playing professionally.
Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said: "One player told me, ‘I don't know how he's done it, Coach. I don't know how he's handled all the media and all the great things that have happened to him and still be the kind of person he is.'
"He is a terrific person, an unbelievable student. He's a very, very competitive person. He's driven to do well at anything he does. He's certainly done a lot for us."
Program's new face
Charlie Cobb, ASU's athletics director, said: "Jerry has been the face of the program for so long, and there have been a number of great players that have come through here, but I don't think anyone would argue that Armanti has put himself up there as probably being the best that's come through here. So any time your best player graduates, you are going to miss him tremendously."
ASU has led all FCS programs in attendance for three straight years.
Certainly the success of the entire program, especially in the last few seasons with national championships and a landmark victory over Michigan, has been the prevalent factor in the attendance boom. Edwards has been a significant factor in the success. And his individual presence is an attraction, to an extent that can't be measured.
"The 2005 team kind of led (the attendance increase)," Cobb said. "Then for Armanti to come in and play at the level he did as quick as he did certainly kept our success rate strong, and the Michigan game threw things over the top.
"I think for him personally, if the Michigan game had occurred his senior year, you would be hearing more national publicity for him in terms of things like the Heisman Trophy for an FCS player.
"But the fact that it happened his sophomore year has certainly helped our program. It might have been better for him personally if the Michigan win had happened later in his career, but he'd be the first one to tell you that he's not in it for the individual awards. He's in it for the team awards."
tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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