Courtesy of Appalchian Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Junior quarterback Armanti Edwards became the first Appalachian State University player to ever win the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision’s top honor when he was presented with the Walter Payton Award on Thursday evening at the Chattanooga Marriott. The Payton Award has been presented annually to the nation’s top FCS (formerly Division I-AA) player since 1987.
Edwards easily out-distanced James Madison quarterback Rodney Landers for the award with 398 total points and 53 first-place votes, compared to 290 points and 17 first-place nods for the JMU signal-caller. Western Illinois running back Herb Donaldson finished third with 209 points and 14 first-place votes. Edwards is only the sixth underclassman in the 22-year history of the Payton Award to receive the honor.
The consensus first-team All-American and Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year finished the season with 2,902 passing yards, 941 rushing yards and a SoCon-record 41 touchdowns responsible for (30 passing, 11 rushing). He ranks second nationally with a 170.19 pass-efficiency rating, seventh with 3,033 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.
In addition to the season-long accolades, Edwards earned national player of the week recognition twice, SoCon Offensive Player of the Week accolades four times — including a record-tying three-straight from Oct. 4-18 — and SoCon Offensive Player of the Month awards in October and November.
The previous best finish by a Mountaineer in Payton Award balloting came in 2004, when wide receiver DaVon Fowlkes placed third.In the other awards handed out on Thursday, Mark LeGree finished third in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, with 183 total points and seven first-place votes. Eastern Washington's Greg Peach won the award.
Head coach Jerry Moore placed fourth in voting for the Eddie Robinson Award. Moore received 11 first-place votes and 160 points. James Madison coach Mickey Matthews took home the honor.
