Armstrong expected to commit to NC State and reunite with OC Anae

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Brennan Armstrong, who led Virginia’s offense for the past three seasons, is expected to commit to NC State as early as this weekend, according to sources familiar with both programs.

Should Armstrong make the move, he will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, who recently accepted the same position with the Wolfpack after spending the 2022 season as OC at Syracuse. It was under Anae where Armstrong flourished, passing for 6,971 yards and 49 touchdowns for the Cavaliers in 2020 and 2021.

Armstrong has also reportedly considered Auburn and Oklahoma State, although that is unconfirmed. He has visited NC State, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin.

The left-handed, dual-threat QB, who led UVA to a third-place finish nationally in total offense in 2021, broke most of the Cavaliers’ passing and total-offense marks during his three seasons as Virginia’s starter.

Armstrong entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season, his first under new head coach Tony Elliott and new OC Des Kitchings, when he threw for 2,210 yards (less than half of his passing yardage in 2021), and only seven TD passes, and was intercepted 12 times. Elliott changed UVA’s offense and both Armstrong and his receiving corps never clicked in the new scheme, which Elliott refused to change as Virginia struggled to a 3-7 season with wins against only Richmond, ODU and Georgia Tech.

Armstrong expressed continued frustration with the new offense as he became only the 15th player in ACC history to reach 10,000 yards of total offense for his career. He finished as UVA’s career leader in both passing yards and total offense. He was also the ACC’s all-time leader in passing yards by a left-handed quarterback.

In other UVA football news, former Cavalier wide receiver Billy Kemp IV, who entered the transfer portal, is visiting Nebraska this weekend. Another former UVA receiving star, Dontayvion Wicks, has received an invitation to next month’s NFL Combine.

UVA also received a commitment from former North Carolina defensive back Cam’Ron Kelly on Friday (see related story).