Armstrong yet to be cleared as of Monday, as Wahoos prep for Miami

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Miami game week arrived Monday with Bronco Mendenhall unsure if quarterback Brennan Armstrong will be available.

Mired in a three-game losing streak, Virginia heads to Miami as a 10-point underdog. Armstrong, who missed the last game and a half after suffering a concussion late in the second quarter of the NC State game on Oct. 10, remains up in the air.

“Yeah, still deciding, and we don’t know on Brennan yet,” Mendenhall said about his quarterback situation during Monday’s weekly presser. “He’s still in the concussion protocol. I don’t know when he’ll be released.”

Mendenhall doesn’t get involved with such matters in terms of attempting to influence when an injured player is cleared. He leaves that to the team physicians and training staff.

“So we prepare as if they won’t ever be back and then when they are, that’s great,” the coach said.

Several defensive backs were banged up at Wake Forest last Saturday but there was no update on their status either. Also, running back Ronnie Walker Jr., who was cleared to play by the NCAA late last week and was scheduled to accompany the team to Wake, became ill and didn’t make the trip. There was no update on his status for Miami.

If Armstrong is unable to play, Mendenhall said that UVA fans could see a repeat in the quarterback rotation the Cavaliers used at Wake.

Backup Lindell Stone alternated with Keytaon Thompson and Iraken Armstead throughout the game, but much less in the second half when things fell apart for the Cavaliers. Stone is a dropback passer and limited as a runner. Thompson is a strong runner and limited as a passer, due to a shoulder injury during training camp. Armstead can do both, but is a true freshman and lacks experience.

In the loss to the Demon Deacons, Stone was 24 for 42 for 193 yards with touchdowns, and threw two interceptions. Armstead was 1 for 3 for nine yards. Thompson did not attempt a pass.

Still, the combination of the three — sometimes with more than one of them in the game at the same time — seemed to confuse Wake’s defense and kept the Deacs off balance. However, later in the second half, UVA went away from that strategem and seemed to rely on Stone’s throwing ability to move the team.

The shuffling of QBs was a good idea and had Wake on its heels at times.

“That was the intent,” Mendenhall said. “Being a defensive coach, matching up and adjusting to different tempos, different styles even within the same drive, it’s a challenge.

“I thought we did a very strong job of rotating the different players we had within drives and within the game to use the skill sets that they have to help move the football and keep the opponent off balance. I love the run-game results. I love the time-of-possession results. I love the different kind of approaches that we used. Yes, it was chaotic, but it was by design. I actually endorsed that because of being on the other side.”

Mendenhall said that once that rotation becomes rhythmical and once it becomes predictable, it becomes easier to defend, which might explain why UVA backed off of that system later in the game.

Still, it seemed perhaps a better option than the previous status quo.

The coach said that Thompson, who had moved to wide receiver a few weeks ago in order to play, handled the extra workload with ease.

“[Thompson] told me he’s a little bit beat up and sore, but just wants to win, so he’s so glad he’s here at UVA. But man, he certainly looked right at home carrying the ball and making decisions. So, from the tackles and hits he took at about seven yards a carry, [he’s] a little bit sore, but still ready to go for this week.”

Should Armstrong return to practice this week, injecting Thompson and Armstead into the game for different looks could add to an offense that has struggled to keep pace with opponents the last two weeks.

Mendenhall also liked what he saw from Armstead, a true freshman from South Bend, Ind.

“Really, really like Ira,” the coach said. “Not only how he’s playing, but I like his future. He’s fast, he’s long, he has a really strong arm. He’s smart and driven and motivated, and he’s just young. Just really encouraged by not only how he handled the week of preparation, the role he was given, but then how he performed during the game.”