BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University quarterback Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) is the lone NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS ? formerly Division I-AA) representative among the 21 players nominated for the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation announced on Thursday. The Unitas Golden Arm Award is presented annually to college football’s top senior quarterback.

Edwards racked up 2,902 passing yards, 941 rushing yards and a SoCon-record 41 touchdowns responsible for (30 passing, 11 rushing) as a junior last season. He ranked second nationally with a 170.19 pass-efficiency rating, seventh with 3,843 yards of total offense and 58th in rushing. He threw only two interceptions in 224 regular-season pass attempts, with a school-record string of 176 passes without an interception that spanned over two months ? eight full games and parts of two others.

Thanks to his outstanding junior season, Edwards was a consensus first-team FCS All-American and won the 2008 Walter Payton Award (nation’s top FCS player) in a landslide, becoming just the sixth underclassman in the 22-year history of the Payton Award to receive the honor.  He enters his final collegiate season as ASU’s all-time leader in total offense (10,783 yards), touchdown passes (62) and touchdowns responsible for (109).

The Unitas Golden Arm Award is named after the man that many refer to as the finest quarterback ever, former University of Louisville and Baltimore Colts great Johnny Unitas. The winner of the award is recognized not only for athletic accomplishments, but also for character, citizenship, scholastic achievement and leadership qualities. This year’s winner will be announced in November.

Twenty-one of the award’s previous 22 winners have come from the six conferences that comprise the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) or BCS member Notre Dame (the only exception being Fresno State’s David Carr in 2001). Seven of the 22 winners ? Gino Torretta (Miami (Fla.) ? 1992), Charlie Ward (Florida State ? 1993), Danny Wuerffel (Florida ? 1996), Chris Weinke (Florida State ? 2000), Carson Palmer (Southern California ? 2002), Jason White (Oklahoma ? 2004) and Matt Leinart (Southern California ? 2005) ? took home the Heisman in the same year. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell won the Golden Arm Award last season.

Other notable nominees for this year’s award include 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida and a trio of in-state contenders ? Duke's Thaddeus Lewis, East Carolina’s Patrick Pinkney and Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner.