Brennan Armstrong
![]() Armstrong at the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born: | Shelby, Ohio, U.S. | October 18, 1999
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Shelby (Shelby, Ohio) |
College: | Virginia (2018–2022) NC State (2023) |
Position: | Quarterback |
Undrafted: | 2024 |
Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
CFL status: | American |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Brennan Armstrong (born October 18, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He was most recently a member of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for NC State. Armstrong attended and played football for Shelby High School in Ohio. He started his career with Virginia, where he won the starting job for the Cavaliers for his redshirt sophomore season and led them to a 5–5 record.
As a redshirt junior, Armstrong led Virginia to the Wasabi Fenway Bowl which was canceled due to COVID-19. He is the all-time leader in career passing yards, total offense, passing touchdowns, consecutive games with a passing touchdown, 200, 300, and 400-yard games, and career pass attempts. He is also Virginia's single season leader in passing yards in a season, total offense, passing touchdowns, and passing completions. He also owns three single-game records when he threw for 554 yards and had 538 yards against North Carolina in 2021. Against BYU he tied Virginia's record for single-game touchdowns responsible with six.
Early life
Armstrong attended Shelby High School in Shelby, Ohio, where he was a two-way football player and also played baseball and basketball.[1] In the three seasons prior to Armstrong's arrival, the high school had a 3–27 record, but by his senior year, Armstrong led Shelby to a program best 13-1 record.[2]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Brennan Armstrong QB |
Shelby, Ohio | Shelby High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | Nov 20, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 619 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Virginia
In Armstrong's true freshman season, he appeared in four games for the Cavaliers. He made his college football debut against Richmond in a game where he ran three times for eleven yards while also throwing twice, completing once, and throwing for six yards.[3] He also played sparingly against Louisville in the team's ACC opener.[4] In that game he ran for fifty yards including a 34 yard run in the second quarter.[5] In a game against Georgia Tech he led the offense after starting quarterback Bryce Perkins went down with an injury.[6] He completed one of his two pass attempts going for a 56 yard touchdown for the first of his career to wide receiver Joe Reed.[7] He also made an appearance in the team's bowl game against South Carolina in the 2018 Belk Bowl.[8] Due to the new NCAA rules, he retained his redshirt for the season.[9]
In Armstrong's redshirt freshman season, he appeared in seven games. He missed five games against Florida State, Old Dominion, Notre Dame, and Miami due to an injury.[5] In a game against Pittsburgh he appeared on punt coverage.[10] In a game against FCS opponent William & Mary he went nine of ten for 103 yards.[11] He completed one pass against North Carolina on a fake field goal to Tanner Cowley for five yards that led to a touchdown.[12] He also threw his second career touchdown in a win against Liberty where he went three of four for 73 yards.[13]
2020
In Armstrong's redshirt sophomore season, he was named as one of Virginia's four team captains along with Richard Burney, Terrell Jana, and Charles Snowden.[14] He had an FBS leading six games with 200+ passing yard and 45+ rushing yard games, he also had an FBS leading four games with both those stat lines and also including both a rushing and passing touchdown.[5] He finished the year third in the ACC and eighteenth in the nation with 296.6 yards of total offense per game and was eighth among non-option quarterbacks with 552 rushing yards.[5] He started nine of ten games for Virginia. He became just the second left-handed quarterback since Jameel Sewell to start a game for the Cavaliers.[15] Armstrong made his first start against Duke in a game where he threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 38–20 win,[16] his 269 yards would be good enough for second all-time for a quarterback making their first start with the team.[5] In the fourth quarter the team was down by three, he would then go eight of nine for 144 yards and two touchdowns to secure the win and the fourth quarter comeback.[17] He then made history again joining Matt Blundin when he threw for 270 passing yards against No. 1 Clemson where he became the second UVA quarterback to throw for 200+ yards in their first two career starts.[18] In that game he also threw for three touchdowns and ran for a team-best 89 yards which made him the only player since 2000 to pass for 225+ yards, rush for 70+ yards, and throw for 3+ touchdowns against Clemson despite Virginia losing 23–41.[19] Armstrong was knocked out of the game in the second quarter against NC State with a concussion.[20] Prior to his injury he went six of nine for 57 yards, the team ended up losing 21–38 in his absence.[21] He would also miss their next game against Wake Forest due to the injury.[22] Against No. 11 Miami, he threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 91 yards in a narrow 14–19 loss.[23] The next week against No. 15 North Carolina, Armstrong led the team to an upset win in which he threw for 208 yards and an additional three touchdowns in the 44–41 victory.[24][25] He led the team to five straight wins including their win over Miami and North Carolina along with Louisville 31–17,[26] Abilene Christian 55–15,[27] and Boston College 43–32.[28][29] In the games against Abilene Christian and Boston College he became the first Virginia quarterback to have 400+ yards of total offense in back-to-back games.[5] The team's game against Florida State was postponed following positive COVID-19 tests at FSU.[30] The team would finish of the year with a 15–33 loss to Virginia Tech,[31] in that game Armstrong threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns.[32]
2021
In Armstrong's redshirt junior season, he was once again voted as team captain alongside Mandy Alonso, Nick Jackson, and Wayne Taulapapa.[33] He became the first two-time team captain since Micah Kiser and the second under Bronco Mendenhall. In the season-opener against William & Mary he passed for the most yards in UVA history in a season-opener with 339 yards.[34] In a game against Illinois he threw for a career-high five touchdown passes alongside 405 passing yards,[35] becoming the fourth Virginia quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game and the second to reach that feat and also throw for five touchdowns.[36] Against North Carolina, Armstrong set another Virginia record when he threw for 554 yards against the Tar Heels,[37] which at the time was also the highest of the season up to that point.[38] In three-straight games against Illinois, North Carolina, and Wake Forest he became the first Virginia quarterback to throw for 400 yards in three-straight games.[5] Following a 30–28 win over Miami,[39] Armstrong threw for 487 passing yards while erasing a seventeen-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 34–33 win over Louisville.[40] In a game against BYU he suffered an injury after accounting for a total of six touchdowns in the team's 49–66 loss.[41][42] In that game he broke the school's record for passing yards with an eight-yard completion to tight end Jelani Woods.[43] He also broke the record for 300-yard passing games with his ninth of his career, passing Matt Schaub's eight games.[5] The team would lose the final four games of the season, as Armstrong was injured,[44] to Notre Dame 3–28,[45] Armstrong returned for the team's game against Pittsburgh 38–48,[46] and Virginia Tech 24–29 to finish at an even 6–6.[47][48] Virginia was scheduled to play SMU in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl but was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19 within Virginia.[49] After the season he won the Dudley Award.[50][51]
2022
In Armstrong's redshirt senior season, he started all ten games for the Cavaliers. He finished the year fifth in both total offense per game (258.1) and passing yards per game (221.0).[5] In the team's season-opener against Richmond, him and teammate Perris Jones became just the second Cavalier duo to reach 100 yards in a season-opener.[52] On a 64-yard touchdown run he broke the school's all-time career total offense record,[53] it was also the sixth-longest run by a UVA quarterback. His school-record eighteen-straight games with a touchdown came to an end against Illinois where the team could only score three points.[54][55] The next week he broke the school's career passing yards record with a seventeen yard completion to Lavel Davis Jr.[53] Two weeks later he broke another one of Schaub's records as he threw for his 21st 200-yard game against Duke despite the team's loss.[53] The next week the team lost again to Louisville, but Armstrong had 12th 300-yard game of his career and tied Virginia's career touchdown record on a 40-yard passing touchdown to Dontayvion Wicks.[53] The next week against Georgia Tech he broke the record, this time on a 44-yard pass to Wicks again,[56] he also became the ACC's leader in passing yards by a left-handed quarterback with 9,034 and was good enough for twelfth most all-time in FBS history.[57] Following the 2022 University of Virginia shooting that resulted in the death of three students and players, Virginia did not play their final two games against Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.[58][59]
NC State
On January 7, 2023, Armstrong transferred to NC State.[60]
Virginia records
Held the following Virginia records:[5]
Career records
- Career passing yards: 9,034
- Career total offense: 10,301
- Career passing touchdowns: 58
- Consecutive games with a passing touchdown: 18 (2021-2022)
- 200-yard career passing games: 25
- 300-yard career passing games: 12
- 400-yard career passing games: 6
- Career pass attempts: 1,131
Season records
- Passing yards in a season: 4,449 (2021)
- Total offense in a season: 4,700 (2021)
- Passing touchdowns in a season: 31 (2021)
- Passing completions in a season: 326 (2021)
- 2nd passing attempts in a season: 500 (2021)
Single-game records
- Passing yards in a game: 554 (vs. UNC 2021)
- Total offense in a game: 538 (vs. UNC 2021)
- T-2nd passing touchdowns in a game: 5 (vs. Illinois)
- T-1st touchdowns responsible for: 6 (vs. BYU 2021)
Statistics
Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
Virginia Cavaliers | ||||||||||||||||
2018 | 4 | 0 | 0–0 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 62 | 12.4 | 1 | 0 | 210.2 | 9 | 74 | 8.2 | 0 | |
2019 | 7 | 0 | 0–0 | 15 | 20 | 75.0 | 196 | 9.8 | 1 | 2 | 153.8 | 7 | 19 | 2.7 | 0 | |
2020 | 9 | 9 | 5–4 | 157 | 268 | 58.6 | 2,117 | 7.9 | 18 | 11 | 138.9 | 126 | 552 | 4.4 | 5 | |
2021 | 11 | 11 | 6–5 | 326 | 500 | 65.2 | 4,449 | 8.9 | 31 | 10 | 156.4 | 98 | 251 | 2.6 | 9 | |
2022 | 10 | 10 | 3–7 | 185 | 338 | 54.7 | 2,210 | 6.5 | 7 | 12 | 109.4 | 123 | 371 | 3.0 | 6 | |
NC State Wolfpack | ||||||||||||||||
2023 | 6 | 5 | 3–2 | 94 | 160 | 58.8 | 971 | 6.1 | 5 | 6 | 112.5 | 70 | 281 | 4.0 | 3 | |
Career[61] | 47 | 35 | 17−18 | 779 | 1,291 | 60.3 | 10,005 | 7.7 | 63 | 41 | 135.2 | 433 | 1,548 | 3.6 | 23 |
Professional career
In 2024, Armstrong participated in the Kansas City Chiefs rookie minicamp as a tryout player. On May 10, 2024, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced Armstrong would participate in their rookie camp as a tryout player.[62]
Armstrong was signed to the practice roster of the BC Lions on August 8, 2024.[63] Following the signing of Nathan Rourke, Armstrong was released on August 14, 2024.[64]
References
- ^ Conlin, Bennett (September 25, 2020). "Brennan Armstrong: The pride of Shelby, Ohio". The Daily Progress.
- ^ Tomaiuolo, Max (September 22, 2022). "Before he broke records at UVA, Brennan Armstrong went on a 4-year reign in Ohio". The Daily Orange. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Darney, Caroline (September 1, 2018). "Perkins, Ellis dominate on the ground as Virginia dominates Richmond 42-13 to open the season". Streaking The Lawn. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Lourim, Jake. "Louisville football self-destructs in ugly loss Saturday at Virginia". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Brennan Armstrong". Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. April 28, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Darney, Caroline (November 17, 2018). "Virginia falls in overtime to Georgia Tech, 30-27". Streaking The Lawn. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Virginia falls short to Georgia Tech in overtime 30-27". News 3 WTKR Norfolk. November 18, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Chiari, Mike. "UVA Defense Shuts Out South Carolina in 2018 Belk Bowl Rout". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ West, Jenna (June 13, 2018). "NCAA changes redshirt rule eligibility". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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- ^ "Virginia holds on to top North Carolina in key ACC victory". The Virginian-Pilot. November 3, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Liberty vs. Virginia Full Game | 2019 ACC Football, December 13, 2019, retrieved January 18, 2023
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- ^ Ratcliffe, Jerry (September 19, 2020). "Lefty Armstrong braces for challenge of leading Virginia at quarterback". Jerry Ratcliffe. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Duke vs. Virginia - College Football Game Summary - September 26, 2020". ESPN. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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- ^ Athletic, The. "Illinois Fighting Illini vs Virginia Cavaliers Box Score - September 11, 2021". The Athletic. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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- ^ "Virginia Cavaliers vs. BYU Cougars Live Score and Stats - October 30, 2021 Gametracker". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Fortuna, Jillian Thaw and Matt. "UVA QB Brennan Armstrong exits high-scoring loss at BYU with apparent injury". The Athletic. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt (October 31, 2021). "UVA Defense Exposed by BYU in 66-49 Shootout Loss, Armstrong Exits with Rib Injury". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt. "Brennan Armstrong OUT for Virginia's Game Against Notre Dame". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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- ^ "2021 Fenway Bowl canceled due to COVID". MLB.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Armstrong wins 2021 Dudley Award for state's top player". www.cbs19news.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt (December 11, 2021). "Brennan Armstrong Wins 2021 Dudley Award". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt (September 3, 2022). "Quick Recap: Virginia Beats Richmond 34-17 in Season-Opener". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Newton, Matt (January 4, 2022). "Every Record Brennan Armstrong Broke this Season". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Virginia". Writing Illini. September 11, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Virginia Drops Road Contest at Illinois". Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. September 10, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "UVA's Brennan Armstrong sets school career passing TD record as Cavaliers snap losing streak with win at Georgia Tech". The Virginian-Pilot. October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Virginia Takes on Pitt at Scott Stadium on Saturday". Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. November 8, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt (November 16, 2022). "Virginia Football Game vs. Coastal Carolina Canceled". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Newton, Matt (November 21, 2022). "Virginia-Virginia Tech Football Game Canceled". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Cobb, David (January 7, 2023). "Brennan Armstrong transfers to NC State: Virginia's all-time leading passer reunites with ex-Hoos play-caller". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Brennan Armstrong College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ^ "See below for the @Jaguars rookie minicamp roster, featuring 13 undrafted free agents, nine draft picks, four tryout participants, four veteran players and one International Pathway Program player". X.com. Jacksonville Jaguars PR. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ "Lions add quarterback Brennan Armstrong". cfl.ca. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ^ "Lions release QB's Dolegala, Armstrong". TSN. August 14, 2024.