Breaking: NC State is expected to land Brennan Armstrong

NC State football is expected to add a major addition to the offense. According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, former Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong is expected to commit to the Wolfpack. Armstrong just completed an official visit this week to Raleigh, per multiple sources.

Armstrong was also courted by Auburn, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin, among other programs.

Armstrong reunites with the offensive coordinator that led him to his best success at Virginia. With Robert Anae calling plays in 2021, Armstrong completed 326 of 500 passes in 2021 for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns with 10 interceptions despite missing a game. He also rushed for 251 yards and 9 more scores.

Anae was hired by NC State in December to replace Tim Beck as offensive coordinator

Anae had left Virginia for Syracuse after Cavaliers head coach Bronco Mendenhall resigned following that 2021 campaign. Under new head coach Tony Elliott, Armstrong’s numbers dipped in 2022. He completed 185 of 338 passes (54.7%) for 2,210 yards and 7 touchdowns with 12 picks and rushed for 371 yards and 6 scores.

Nevertheless, Armstrong’s pass success made him a coveted signal caller when he entered the transfer portal. On3’s transfer portal rankings has Armstrong the second-rated quarterback available, ironically behind the QB who left NC State, Devin Leary. Leary will suit up for Kentucky next fall.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Armstrong, a native of Shelby, Ohio, will have one season of eligibility remaining for the Wolfpack.

Should Armstrong commit, he would become the sixth transfer to commit to pick NC State, joining Clemson receiver Dacari Collins, Oregon offensive lineman Dawson Jaramillo, Old Dominion defensive back Robert Kennedy III, Western Kentucky kicker Brayden Narveson and Cincinnati defensive lineman Noah Potter.

NC State also hosted one of Armstrong’s teammates at Virginia. Cavaliers redshirt freshman and starting left tackle Logan Taylor is considering a transfer to NC State.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal starts with the school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to cover their scholarship.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask for a “do not contact” tag on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want contact from schools unless they initiate the communication.