Armanti Edwards, who led Appalachian State University to glory on the grid-iron, became a member of the Carolina Panthers Friday night.

Edwards, a two-time Walter Payton Award winner (the only repeat winner in the history of the award), was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the National Football League draft. The Panthers selected Edwards with the 89th selection overall.

The Panthers traded their second-round pick in 2011 to New England to select Edwards in the third round.
"The guy deserves a shot, " said the Voice of the Mountaineers David Jackson. "The guy can play, and if the right team picks him up, he could really turn into quite a choice. He just deserves a chance, and I hope he gets it."

Jackson made those statements on WATA 1450 AM during the 11 o'clock hour Friday morning.  The opportunity finally came with that third-round choice. Edwards, who is the only four-time All-America in ASU history, is also ranked second all-time in total yardage with 14,753. The late Steve McNair is the all-time leader with 16,853 (with Alcorn State from 1991-1994).
And Edwards is also the only Division I player (FBS or FCS) to roll up 10,000 passing yards and 4000 rushing yards in his career. He produced 139 touchdowns, he is the all-time offensive leader in Southern Conference history, he set 64 ASU records and 14 SoCon records, and he led ASU to a pair of national championships (2006 and 2007).
Edwards will be playing exactly 99.5 miles from the Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, and just 135 from his hometown in Greenwood, SC.
Edwards is also the 19th Mountaineer selected in the NFL draft. But he's the first Mountaineer chosen since wide receiver Dexter Jackson was picked by Tampa Bay (second round) and defensive back Corey Lynch was chosen by Cincinnati (sixth round) in 2008.