BOONE, N.C. ? The biggest news in the world of Appalachian State University football came off the field on Monday and it all involved All-America quarterback Armanti Edwards.
First, Edwards had the stitches removed from his right foot on Monday morning, just 12 days after injuring the foot in a lawn-mowing accident at his off-campus residence. With the stitches removed, Edwards can begin rehabilitating the injury in earnest with the goal of being behind center for Appalachian’s Sept. 5 season opener at East Carolina. The senior is still on target to return to the field 2-4 weeks after the injury date, which occurred on Aug. 5.
Later in the day, Edwards learned that he is the first NCAA Division I FCS player ever included on the official watch list for the Manning Award, which has been presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback since the 2004 season.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. Ten finalists will be determined on Nov. 30 by a select panel of national media, as well as each of the Mannings, and the winner will be announced on Jan. 14, 2010.
The previous five winners of the award have been Southern California’s Matt Leinart, Texas’ Vince Young, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell, Boston College’s Matt Ryan and Florida’s Tim Tebow. Notable names that join Edwards among the 38 members on this year’s watch list include Tebow, 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) and four other signal-callers from North Carolina: Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis, Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner, NC State’s Russell Wilson and North Carolina’s T.J. Yates.
The honor is another in a long list of historic achievements for Edwards. The senior from Greenwood, S.C. won the 2008 Walter Payton Award, presented to the nation’s top FCS player, and is a three-time all-American. Earlier this summer, he was the only FCS representative among 22 official candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top senior signal-caller.
Edwards 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).