Brennan Armstrong is ready to show more offensively
NC State football starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong will have a showdown with his Notre Dame counterpart Sam Hartman on Saturday. The two have played each other previously, when Hartman was at Wake Forest and Armstrong played for Virginia.
Armstrong posted better numbers, but Hartman’s team emerged victorious that day.
Both Armstrong and Hartman were coveted in the transfer portal because of their successes at their prior schools, but according to Armstrong the two did not trade notes in those hectic transfer portal days.
“I’ve said this before, the transfer portal process was so fast,” Armstrong noted. “… There was not much talk. Really, it was just kind of everyone for themselves, figure it out.”
However, the lack of communications between Armstrong and Hartman is not reflective of the friendship the two have developed. That bond was built when the two went to the Manning Passing Academy together.
“We became pretty good buddies,” Armstrong stated. “He’s just a normal dude outside of football, easy to get along with. I have his number, and we’ve texted back and forth here and there.
“Not this week, obviously, just because we’re fighting each other.”
Armstrong’s focus is on trying to find ways to score against No. 10 Notre Dame’s defense, and that can start with the typical Week One to Week Two improvements. For Armstrong, he felt that NC State missed a chance to show more in the opener against UConn.
“We just need to hit some of our layups,” Armstrong observed. “We had some easy conversions on third down that we didn’t get, and I think that sustains drives. I think your score [at UConn] looks a little bit different. I think we’re probably going over 31 [points].”
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NC State offensive coordinator Robert Anae expressed a desire to improve on explosiveness offensively after the opener at UConn. Armstrong confirmed that the Pack was focused on managing the offense against the Huskies.
“Last game I just tried to take care of the ball … keep the chains moving,” Armstrong, who completed 17 of 26 passes for 155 yards and ran 19 times for 96 yards and two scores, noted.
Armstrong added that Notre Dame likes to play man coverage on defense, which may create different looks for the NC State offense than they saw at UConn.
“A lot of cover one stuff, so guys on the outside are going to have to make plays,” Brennan Armstrong said. “I think [Notre Dame] kind of saw what I could with my feet, so they’ll probably get some guys spying on me, not trying to let me get out of the pocket too much.
“They’re all around a good defense.”
