(courtesy ASU Sports Information)BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University quarterback Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) has received an invitation to participate in the 2010 National Football League Scouting Combine, which will be held Feb. 24-March 2 in Indianapolis.
The NFL Combine is the annual job fair for prospective new NFL players. For six days at Lucas Oil Stadium, players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews in front of more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts.
Edwards was the most decorated player in NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision — formerly Division I-AA) history as Appalachian’s record-setting signal-caller from 2006-09. The 6-0, 184-pound Edwards ranks second in FCS history with 14,753 yards of total offense (behind only Steve McNair, who amassed 16,823 at Alcorn State from 1991-94). With 10,392 passing yards and 4,361 rushing yards, Edwards is the only player in Division I history (FCS or FBS) with at least 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career and the only FCS player to reach the 8,000 passing/4,000 rushing plateau. He was responsible for 139 touchdowns in his career (74 passing, 65 rushing), highlighting his 64 ASU and 14 Southern Conference records.
Edwards is the only two-time winner of the Walter Payton Award — presented to the nation’s top FCS player — and the only four-time all-American in Appalachian history. He compiled a 42-7 record as a starter and led the Mountaineers to back-to-back national championships (2006 and ‘07) and four-straight SoCon titles.
He is the second Mountaineer in three years to earn an invitation to the NFL Combine. In 2008, wide receiver Dexter Jackson matched the fastest hand-timed 40-yard dash at the combine (4.27 seconds) to vault himself up most draft boards. He went on to be a second-round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in that April’s NFL Draft.
THREE APPS RECEIVE ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION FROM CSN: Headlined by Offensive Player of the Year Edwards, College Sporting News selected three Appalachian State University players to its 2009 Fabulous 50 All-America team. Joining Edwards on the CSN team are linebacker D.J. Smith (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) and safety Mark LeGree (Columbus, Ga./Pacelli Catholic).
In addition to the three Fab 50 selections, two Mountaineers — offensive lineman Mario Acitelli (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) and wide receiver Matt Cline (Thomasville, N.C./Glenn) — received honorable-mention status.
DT SIGNS WITH ASU, ENROLLS FOR SPRING SEMESTER: Defensive tackle Chris Aiken officially became the first member of Appalachian class of 2010 newcomers when he signed a National Letter of Intent to attend ASU on Monday. Aiken, a defensive tackle who spent the past two seasons at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, will begin classes at ASU when the new semester begins next Monday and will participate in spring practice drills with the Mountaineers beginning in late February or early March. He has two years of athletic eligibility remaining.
The 6-1, 300-pounder highlighted his two-year stint at Blinn by helping lead the Buccaneers to the 2009 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. Aiken registered 27 tackles and a sack in eight games as a sophomore in ‘09.
Prior to his arrival at Blinn, Aiken spent five years in the United States Army and served two tours of duty in Iraq. The 25-year-old graduated from Regan High School in Austin, Texas when he was 17 and enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday. He is the third Iraq war veteran to join the ASU football program following his military service, joining Marine Corps vets Wayne Norman (2005) and Brian Stokes (2005-06).
ELLIOTT LEAVES FOR SOUTH CAROLINA: Appalachian lost one of the longest-tenured and most valuable members of its coaching staff on Sunday when offensive line coach Shawn Elliott accepted a position as o-line coach and running game coordinator at the University of South Carolina.
Elliott, a Camden, S.C. native, spent 18 of the previous 19 years at ASU. He was a defensive end for the Mountaineers from 1991-95, earning all-conference recognition as a senior, and joined the coaching staff as a defensive assistant in 1997. After two years on the defensive side of the ball, he moved to offense as tight ends coach in 1999 and took over as offensive line coach in 2001.
ASU will begin a search for Elliott’s replacement immediately.
