Greg McElroy tabs Brennan Armstrong as NC State's breakout star

With the college football season fast approaching, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is picking his breakout star for each team and he’s got an interesting one for NC State: quarterback Brennan Armstrong.

For many, Armstrong might not qualify as a breakout candidate. He’s already played a ton of football. But given how he finished last season, perhaps that pick has merit.

“Shouldn’t require a whole lot of explanation,” McElroy said. “Quarterback two years ago at Virginia, All-ACC player. All-ACC player. Quarterback last year at Virginia, one of the worst in the ACC as far as decision-making, as far as accuracy, just never felt like him and Tony Elliott were on the same page.”

Armstrong went from throwing for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2021 to throwing for less than half of those totals in 2022.

When the year ended at Virginia, Armstrong had a line that read: 185-of-338 passing for 2,210 yards, with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It was by far the worst completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio of his three seasons as a starter.

“Felt like Tony Elliott was trying to put a square peg in a round hole,” McElroy said. “Brennan Armstrong was doing things and was more comfortable doing things a certain way, just never seemed to mix. So he gets a fresh start.”

That fresh start could make all the difference. If for no other reason than because it’s also a familiar start.

“The good news is he gets a fresh start with a guy he’s already had a ton of success with, and that’s Robert Anae, who was at Syracuse last year, was at Virginia the year before,” McElroy said. “Now they are reunited at NC State. And if there’s one thing we know about Brennan Armstrong… there’s a couple things. One, he can throw the ball very accurately on some of the intermediates. He’s throwing the ball very accurately on some of the underneaths. And he’s going to get the ball out quick.

“But, if nothing’s there, do not sleep on this guy’s athleticism. I think people have kind of forgotten just how athletic Brennan Armstrong is. You listen to some reports out of Raleigh, guy’s hit 20 miles an hour on the GPS, at quarterback, and big quarterback too, I might add. So he is a factor with his legs as well.”

For all those reasons, McElroy is banking on Armstrong being quite the difference-maker for NC State and returning to the form he showed in 2021, when he was one of the ACC’s best.

“I think he’s going to get back to looking a lot more like the 2021 version of himself as opposed to the 2022 version of himself,” McElroy said. “But I think he’s poised to spring, and I think he could be, at season’s end, one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC.”