One thing is certain about the status of Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong: He won’t be on the field this weekend.
With UVa on its bye this week, the school hasn’t provided an update on the apparent rib injury its record-setting quarterback suffered in last Saturday’s loss at BYU. As Bronco Mendenhall told host Ahmad Hawkins earlier this week on the head coach’s weekly radio show, “Even if I did, I wouldn’t share it right now.”
Mendenhall will meet with reporters on Monday as the 6-3 Wahoos return from their weekend off to begin preparing for next Saturday’s game at home against Notre Dame. Armstrong’s availability will surely be a popular topic during that virtual news conference.
But that looming injury question did not derail the quarterback’s rising national profile. Earlier this week, Armstrong was included among 15 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, given to the best player in the country. He is also one of 10 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes to the top quarterback in college.
Armstrong enters this first weekend in November leading the nation with 3,557 passing yards and 3,828 yards of total offense. His 27 passing touchdowns are third in the country, with another seven on the ground. On the same fourth-quarter drive at BYU where he apparently injured his ribs, he surpassed the UVa record for passing yards in a season, set by Bryce Perkins two years ago. He’s thrown for 300 yards in eight of the Hoos’ nine games this year, including four 400-yard games and a school-record 554 at North Carolina in September.
Those are all statistics never before seen from a Virginia quarterback. Teammates have called them ‘Madden numbers.’ Mendenhall said last month that Armstrong has all the traits NFL teams look for at the QB position.
“He can make every single throw, he's tough, competitive, smart, durable,” the head coach explained when asked if he thinks Armstrong could play in the NFL. “Anyone that doesn't think that I guess they'll find out the hard way, right? All you have to do is watch him play and the production speaks for itself.”
Both Perkins and his predecessor at QB for the Hoos, Kurt Benkert, are currently on NFL rosters. But Virginia hasn’t had a quarterback drafted since Matt Schaub went in the third round in 2004. Could the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Armstrong, who could still have up to two more seasons of college eligibility after this season, change that?
