Jerry Moore hasn't seen it all, even after 45 years of coaching football. That's because he has Armanti Edwards to watch.

"I think every day I'm still amazed with him," Moore said of Edwards, Appalachian State's record-setting quarterback. "I don't think you ever get used to seeing that type of talent."

Edwards is fast, and smart -- essential elements for a quarterback in the Mountaineers' quick-decision, fast-paced Spread offense that rewards a quarterback who has speed.

He isn't particularly big. He arrived at ASU two years ago barely 6-0 and 165 pounds and "all legs," said Moore. And he isn't a big talker.

But Edwards is a big-time playmaker. His statistics in two seasons speak volumes.

Edwards, who has led the Mountaineers to the last two of their three straight NCAA Football Championship Subdivision titles and to a nationally heralded upset of Michigan last season, is on pace to become the program's all-time leader in total offense this year, as a junior. He is averaging 267 yards a game.

His numbers and accomplishments have led to Heisman mention -- a rarity for a player from an FCS school.

As a freshman, Edwards became one of just five quarterbacks in Division I history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in the same season. Last season, he set a Division I record for single-game rushing yards by a quarterback with 313 against Richmond.

"If he stays healthy the next two years, his numbers are going to be crazy," said Scott Satterfield, the Mountaineers' quarterbacks coach.

Edwards grew up in Greenwood, S.C., and began playing football at age 6, and he excelled in school at the behest of his mother so he could keep playing.

"She told me if I didn't make As and Bs, I couldn't play sports," Edwards said.

"I'll tell you what, he's got a good mama," Satterfield said. "She's on top of things. She's kept tabs on him and made him do right. He's a smart kid. He's done great in school, and we haven't had one problem with him. It's ?Yes sir' and ?No sir' with him. You can tell he's been raised right."

Once in high school, Edwards planned to follow older cousin Renaldo Gray as a quarterback. Gray went on to play at Furman.

But Shell Dula, who has coached Greenwood High to three Class 4-A titles, had another idea.

"To show our intelligence, we were going to play Armanti at wide receiver his junior year," Dula said. "Armanti was willing to do that, and he would have been great at that. But the kid we were going to play at quarterback got hurt in the first game so Armanti became our quarterback."

He passed for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 his senior season, but drew interest from BCS programs as a receiver only.

"They said I was too small to play quarterback," Edwards said.

Moore and staff agreed to give him a chance at quarterback, and Edwards seized the opportunity to play in an offense similar to what he ran at Greenwood.

"I didn't know anything about Appalachian, but I liked it," Edwards said. "It was my first time being in the mountains. We don't have mountains in Greenwood."

Edwards came in with no guarantee and facing a battle with fellow freshman CoCo Hillary to be a backup to Trey Elder, the projected starter at quarterback.

"When Armanti and CoCo came in, we were thinking CoCo was going to be the guy," Satterfield said. "We liked Armanti and thought he was a very good player, but we had no idea that he was going to have the stuff that he has, the savvy and the poise and all that."

Edwards displaced Elder as the starter three games into his freshman season. In two seasons, he has thrown for 4,199 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 2,741 yards and 36 touchdowns.

"There's always hindsight, but I think history shows some people missed on him," Dula said. "But that miss was Appalachian's gain. It's been a great situation for him at Appalachian -- that offensive system really fits him -- and it's worked out the best for Armanti and for Appalachian, but maybe not the best for some of our state schools."

Edwards said: "It's been great. I never expected it coming in. They've let me play the game the way I know how to play it."

Moore said that Edwards is gifted, not only with physical skills, but also with a keen sense and grasp of the game. He said that he has a tremendously quick first step as a runner and an uncannily quick release as a passer. His ever-present option to tuck and run keeps defenses on edge.

"It's frustrating for our defensive guys who try to pressure him when we scrimmage," Moore said. "Just like this morning, he stepped up in the pocket and went underneath the defensive end and he has a guy open in the secondary and he didn't even break stride and just popped him with the ball. Every day I'm amazed with what the kid does."

Satterfield said: "He is as quick as anybody in the first 10 yards. After that, he's fast. He's not Dexter Jackson fast, and he might not be in our top two or three guys fast. But he's not far off. If he didn't start at quarterback, he could definitely start at wide receiver for us."

Perhaps as impressive as Edwards' elusiveness is his willingness to take hits and his ability to bounce back afterward. He runs with both flair and fearlessness.

The shell of his helmet was cracked from a blow by a Citadel defender last season. Edwards got a replacement and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. He took some ferocious hits his freshman season against Georgia Southern, and on one play knocked the helmet off a defender at the 1-yard line before hurtling across the goal line.

"Armanti is tremendously competitive, and that's what drives him to be fearless," Satterfield said. "It's not in his nature to avoid a hit, and we won't tell him to. That's the way he plays, and that's the way I want to see him play."

As a passer, Edwards has a quick left-handed release and deft touch.

"He puts it in spots I've never seen guys do," said Hillary, now a receiver and one of Edwards' top targets.

Satterfield said: "When he knows he's got to get rid of it, that ball is just right up by his ear, and it's gone. He doesn't have the strongest arm in the world, but he knows his limitations and he's very accurate."

But Edwards can't do everything.

"One thing he can't do is punt," Moore said. "He's awful at that."

Edwards isn't a vocal leader and comes off as a bit reserved, although he has grown more comfortable dealing with attention.

"You won't get him to brag on himself," Dula said.

Hillary said: "He's pretty much a laid-back kind of guy. Of course he's a little more comfortable around the team than he is to the media and grown folks."

On the field?

"He's cool, calm and collected," Hillary said. "We could be up by 20 or down by 20. He's the same no matter the situation. The other 10 guys can look at him and see how calm he is and not worry and know we're going to come out of the game with a victory."

Edwards is 22-2 as the Mountaineers' starting quarterback. It will be difficult to improve on that winning percentage, but Edwards said that the bar has been raised and expectations are higher.

A goal is to reduce turnovers -- he has thrown 17 interceptions in 496 passes -- and he feels that added strength and bulk (he's up to 186 pounds) will help his endurance. He carried the ball an average of 21 times a game last year but also missed four games with a shoulder injury.

"The thing he concentrates on every day is just making the right reads in the running game, and in the passing game taking care of the football," Satterfield said. "As far as his fundamental skills, he's where he needs to be. I don't know what he can do to get any better. Put on some weight, maybe, but he did that this year."

Edwards' size may preclude an NFL future at quarterback, but Satterfield said he thinks talent will merit a look at some position.

"He might wind up being 195, and he's strong now but he'll get stronger," Satterfield said. "I don't know if anyone will give him a shot at quarterback in the NFL, but maybe he'll wind up being a Randle El type and maybe fit in as a punt returner or receiver. He's athletic enough to do that."

Edwards said that he isn't thinking about that. And he said he isn't taking anything for granted and definitely not willing to rest on past accomplishments.

"No," Edwards said. "As long as there is another game to play, there's another game to try to win. That never gets old."