Brennan Armstrong addresses the 'huge' chip on his shoulder to be among ACC elites

Quarterback Brennan Armstrong‘s college football journey was not an easy one, spending five seasons at Virginia where his individual success was clouded by the team’s shortcomings. His name sits at the top of 15 stat categories in the Cavaliers’ record books, but he only has two winning seasons in his first two years with the program to show for it.

He’s now moved on, transferring to an NC State team this offseason that’s been knocking on the door of an ACC title game appearance the last few seasons under head coach Dave Doeren. And at ACC Media Days, he spoke about the chip he’s carrying on his shoulder this season as he now has the chance to showcase his skills on a proven winner.

“100 percent, the highs and lows of life,” Armstrong said. “That’s how I was from one season to the next, highs and lows. So like I said, it kind of puts a chip on my shoulder. It was frustrating, I’m not gonna lie about it, it was very frustrating because you want to be successful.”

After back-to-back seasons finishing with a .500 record, Virginia took a step back last season with a 3-7 finish to the season. There’s no question that the quarterback position is the most important in the game of football, and as a result, receives it the most criticism and scrutiny when things don’t go the way of any given team.

“When you’re the quarterback of the team you want to be successful, you want to be productive and so a lot of it falls on your shoulders, you feel the weight of it on your shoulders,” Armstrong admitted. “It’s done, it’s over with, I learned from it, I think I’m pretty grateful just from the entirety of maybe not the performance but the entirety of the season of what happened.”

Armstrong still managed to rank fifth in the ACC in total yards of total offense per game and fifth in passing yards per game despite the Cavaliers’ shortcomings. But now he’ll look to prove that he can do that and more for an NC State team looking to jump from good to great in 2023.

“I’ve been very thankful for just the opportunity to play again. You don’t get many chances, they can be taken away from you instantly. Just looking into this season, super grateful, excited for the opportunity, and like you said a chip on my shoulder to prove something,” Armstrong concluded.