Toughness Edwards' biggest asset

There's no truth to the rumor that it was Citadel coach Kevin Higgins who paid Armanti Edwards to mow his lawn this summer.

But it would be hard to blame him. After all, Appalachian State's All-American quarterback has torched the Bulldogs for 406 rushing yards, 547 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in three games in his career.

Edwards, a senior from Greenwood, was cutting his own grass in Boone on Aug. 5 when the lawn mower blade sliced a gash in his right foot, requiring more than 30 stitches.

Edwards had the stitches removed on Aug. 17, but was still on crutches when the Mountaineers scrimmaged last week.

Edwards' health will be the X-factor in the Southern Conference race this season. With Edwards at 100 percent, App State -- ranked No. 1 in the nation in the preseason for the fourth straight year -- should be an FCS championship contender.

Without him, the Mountaineers might merely contend for the SoCon title, with a ridiculous 17 players on the preseason All-SoCon squad.

Even before his lawnmower accident, Edwards drew praise from SoCon coaches for the way he battled through ankle, knee and hip injuries to lead App State to an 11-3 overall record and 8-0 SoCon slate last season.

"Every coach in the league has the utmost respect for Armanti," Higgins said. "He's just so tough. I've never been around a guy who takes as many hits as he does and continues to get up.

"When we played them last season, he had an ankle he could not walk on, and everybody was saying he would not play against us. Before the game, he was gimping around, and I said, maybe we have a chance. But the first time it was third and long, he breaks containment and gets the first down. He was the same old Armanti, and he's the backbone of that team."

What sticks in Edwards' craw is the five interceptions he threw in a 33-13 loss to eventual champion Richmond in last year's FCS playoffs, a loss that prevented App State from gunning for a fourth straight title.

"It is just more motivation," Edwards said. "We still have that loss in our minds, so we will just take it on the field along with all our other motivations."

-- The league's only new coach is Chattanooga's Russ Huesman, former defensive coordinator at Richmond. He takes over a club that was 1-11 overall and 0-8 in the SoCon -- and is banned this season from the FCS playoffs due to academic shortcomings.

--Transfers from FBS schools will make an impact at Chattanooga, where ex-Tennessee Volunteer B.J. Coleman has won the starting QB job; at Furman, where receiver Tyler Maples of Tennessee and QB Chris Forcier of UCLA are on board; at Georgia Southern, where defensive linemen Neil Harrell (Western Kentucky) and Brandon Lampkin (Arkansas) have come in; and at The Citadel, with tight end B.J. Phillips (North Carolina), defensive tackle Kyle Anderson (Western Kentucky) and safety Joseph Boateng (Eastern Michigan).