WEST LIBERTY – If he had not made the smartest move of his life, Zach Amedro’s college career likely would have amounted to nothing more than one year as a redshirt and four years as a reserve.
The sky was the limit for Amedro when he chose Appalachian State University over James Madison University after he graduated from John Marshall High School in 2005.
But the Mountaineers signed another quarterback the following year. His name is Armanti Edwards, the Carolina Panthers rookie who led Appalachian State to four consecutive Southern Conference titles and two consecutive Football Championship Subdivision crowns.
Amedro knew he had little chance of dethroning Edwards, who became the only player in Division I history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and run for more than 4,000 yards.
So, Amedro decided to transfer to Division II West Liberty University, where he has made a name for himself and his team nationally.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” Amedro said. “I was disappointed with the situation at first, but I went down there for two years, got to learn a lot, was around some good players and coaches, and was part of two national championships. It helped me in the long run.”
The 6-foot, 200-pound Amedro enters his senior season as a preseason All-American pick by the Sporting News and Lindy’s.
The Hilltoppers (11-2, 8-0 in 2009) are the defending West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions, and they are ranked as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 8 nationally in preseason polls.
“It means a lot to me,” Amedro said of the accolades he and his team have earned. “It’s great to receive those kinds of honors, but they are just preseason rankings and awards. They don’t mean anything once the season begins, so we don’t pay attention to them or worry about them. We still have to go out there and try to win from week to week.”
The 24-year-old Amedro has thrown for 10,675 yards in three seasons at West Liberty and needs only 1,209 more to break the league record for career passing yards held by former Glenville State quarterback Joey Conrad (2002-2005).
“It’s a good feeling to know I’m that close to it,” said Amedro, who broke a pair of conference marks last season, when he threw for 4,945 yards and 49 touchdowns. “It will be nice if I get it. If not, that will be fine, too.
“I’m happy with what I have done to this point in my career,” he added. “I just want to help my team win. I don’t care about the stats and records.”
The Hilltoppers return 16 starters from a team that advanced to the Division II quarterfinals, including seven from an offense that averaged a league-record 47.3 points per game.
None is more important than Amedro, however.
“He understands our offense and what we want to do,” said West Liberty Coach Roger Waialae, who enters his sixth season with a 39-18 record. “He understands we want to be 50-50 with the run and the pass. He reads the defense and puts us in the best position to make plays. People think all we do is throw the ball, but he checks to a run play as often as he checks to a pass play. He just wants to win, and he will do whatever it takes.
“Sometimes, we send him to the line with three plays and he picks the best one. Sometimes, we send him to the line with one play. If it’s bad, he will get us out of it. If it’s good, he will stick with it. That is just good preparation by him, our coaches and our offensive coordinator. We like to exploit mismatches. Our offense works a lot better when he is checking because he gets in a rhythm and then the rest of the team gets going. They trust what he sees.”
His touch is as impressive as his intelligence.
“He is unbelievably accurate with the football,” Waialae said of Amedro. “I have never seen a kid who puts the ball right there like he does. You don’t see a lot of circus catches with him. He makes it easy for our receivers.”
Amedro lost his favorite target this summer, when receiver Kashif Walls transferred to NAIA school and Mid-South Conference member West Virginia Tech because he was academically ineligible.
Like Amedro, Walls was a preseason All-American. He had 61 catches for 1,321 yards and 21 touchdowns last year.
“It was definitely disappointing to lose a guy like Kashif,” said Amedro, who is on course to graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology. “He is a big-time player, but we have other guys who can step up.”
Among them are running back Kevon Calhoun (218 carries for 1,529 yards and 22 touchdowns and 28 catches for 460 yards and four scores), tight end Ryan Travis (104 catches for 1,250 yards and 14 touchdowns) and receiver Willie Walker (51 catches for 809 yards and eight scores).
“I’m excited for the season to start,” Amedro said. “I feel real good about our team.”
So does Waialae, whose chief concern is improving a defense that allowed 32.6 points per game last year.
The Hilltoppers return nine starters from that unit, including nose guard Matt Betz, end Ryan Mirich, linebacker Clay Beeler, cornerback Josh Madrid, strong safety Jayson Keyser and free safety Lawrence Robinson.
“We play decent defense, but if you look at the stats, it doesn’t show that,” Waialae said. “Last year, I didn’t care if we won 101-100 or 3-0. Our defense knew we were scoring a lot of points and I think they relaxed. That is my fault.
“This year, I have to look at myself first because that was my philosophy and my kids were doing just enough to win games on that side of the ball. That starts with me. I have to change that mentality and put more of a focus on defense this year.”
The Hilltoppers received eight of nine first-place votes in a preseason poll of league coaches, who expect them to defend their conference crown.
The last time West Liberty won back-to-back titles was 1970-71.
“I like our chances,” Waialae said, “but you can’t overlook anybody in this league because they all can play, too.”
West Liberty will host Edinboro (Pa.) University on Sept. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Russek Field in the teams’ season opener.
The teams met twice in 2009, with the Fighting Scots winning the season opener 42-30 and the Hilltoppers winning the playoff rematch 84-63.