- Joined
- Nov 3, 2008
- Messages
- 5,106
- Reaction score
- 1,259
- Points
- 113
Q&A: QB Brennan Armstrong on U Commit: I want to get there early and fulfill dreams
Q&A: QB Brennan Armstrong on U Commitment: "I want to get there early and fulfill those dreams."
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/778206?referrer_id=331171
Brennan Armstrong, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior quarterback from Shelby (OH) High, committed to Minnesota in February.
Armstrong has been Shelby's starting quarterback since his freshman year. He led the Whippets to an 11-2 record and a Division IV, Region 15 runner-up finish, losing to eventual state runner-up Steubenville 29-15. Armstrong threw for 2,321 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,065 yards and 18 scores last year.
Gopher Hole caught up with Armstrong to learn more about his decision and upcoming season.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota recently. What was the main reason that you decided Minnesota was where you wanted to be?
Brennan Armstrong: I would say the coaching staff and with what Coach Fleck is doing and what he has proven that he can do. Western Michigan is different level than the Big Ten Conference, but with his style and culture, I feel like that he can turn Minnesota around quickly, fast and efficiently. I want to be a part of that and the stuff that he was saying to me, he told me that he wants me to come in as an early enrollee and play spring ball. I just want to get there early and he said that I will have a chance to start. I want to get there early and fulfill those dreams.
Gopher Hole: You were familiar with the coaching staff at Western Michigan. When did you first start hearing from them when they got to Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: I remember talking to Coach Roc (Kirk Ciarrocca; Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback coach) at Western Michigan and he said "I don't know if we are going to leave or not." They offered me at Western Michigan and when they left for Minnesota, he contacted me and thought that they had a better shot with me and offered me at Minnesota. They thought that they had a better shot of getting me at Minnesota and they started talking to me then. Not really sure of the exact date or anything like that, but once they got to Minnesota, they for sure, started talking to me and offered me before I even visited.
Gopher Hole: Did you know much about Minnesota or had you even been to Minnesota before you had committed?
Brennan Armstrong: No, that was my first time. It was crazy. It has been a quick decision. Not quick, but just the feel of it. I just thought it was perfect and I just wanted to get there. It was just one visit, one thing. People thought that they pressured me, but it was just how I felt. I felt that it was the right place, so that is why I made that decision basically after I had just visited.
Gopher Hole: I think a lot of kids who were looking at Western Michigan before because of Coach Fleck and the staff could view Minnesota as a chance to play for the same staff, but playing at a higher level, the Big Ten vs. the MAC. Is that what you thought?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have gone to Western Michigan, because I had my other options. The one thing with Minnesota, I checked out the place and this and that and I thought it was bigger and I could compete at their level. That was why I didn't think I would go to Western Michigan. Once I got to Minnesota, the coaching staff was there and I had a great visit and it was a great place. I loved it.
Gopher Hole: What all did you get a chance to see and do on your visit to Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: It was kind of a quick visit, but we got to see the major things. I had one motive to see the Business school. I want to go into Business and there are some top-notch opportunities with the business part of it. I got to see that. Got to talk to Coach Fleck. Coach Fleck sat down for a long time with me and my family. Got to see the facilities. Got to do a lot of stuff there for the short amount of time that we experienced there.
Gopher Hole: What were your parents' impressions of Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: They loved it a lot. Coach Fleck told them that he wouldn't let them down. That's him, personally. He wants the best for everyone in his program and my mom and dad feel really comfortable with me going there. My mom and dad were going to support me. They thought that I couldn't go wrong no matter where I went. They were going to supporting me wherever I thought was the best for me. When I told them that Minnesota and Coach Fleck was the best decision for me, they totally supported that. They loved the place and they love what they are probably going to do there.
Gopher Hole: I think that you had 11 offers. Does that sound about right?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. I haven't been counting or keeping track any more.
Gopher Hole: I think I saw you had Buffalo, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kent State, North Carolina, Ohio University, Rutgers, Toledo, Virginia, Western Michigan and Minnesota. Had you committing as early as you did? Or did even surprise you?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. For sure, a little surprised. It was getting to the point where I knew that I was committing earlier. That what I was thinking before I even committed to Minnesota. I was like "This process is coming to me now. I can just feel that my decision was coming soon," so I knew it was coming. It wasn't what I was really expecting. I had no clue what I was going to do. I just knew that it was coming quicker than I thought it was going to be and after visiting Minnesota and talking to my parents, that was it.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that part of the reason that you wanted to commit earlier than the normal kid is because you are going in enroll in January? Some kids might wait until February signing period to decide on a school. Was that part of it because you want to know where you are going to go since you are going to start school earlier than other kids?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. I knew that I wanted to know where I was going to go before my senior season. Being that I am a quarterback, you kind of need to early enroll. I felt that was the best opportunity with me starting whenever I want to start. Getting there in their system quicker, knowing the plays quicker and becoming a better athlete.
Gopher Hole: How about your high school team? I know that a really good season this past year, making it to the playoffs. What are the expectations for the upcoming season?
Brennan Armstrong: We got to the regional finals. We want to get back to the regional finals and win that and move on to the Final Four. We went 11-2 last year. We are trying to go undefeated this year. We are in a new conference (leaving the Northern Ohio League for the new Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference). We were in a conference that was around for 70 plus years (from 1944-2017). It was a nice tradition, but some of the teams couldn't compete and had to leave. We thought it was best to leave to get to a better conference that they could compete in and our conferences kind of went to shambles, We want to win the conference and go to the playoffs and hopefully, state. We want to go undefeated. That is our goal.
Gopher Hole: You went 2-8 as a freshman, 5-5 as a sophomore and 11-2 this past year. What has been the main reason that you guys have shown so much improvement?
Brennan Armstrong: When I came in as a freshman, obviously, we weren't where we needed to be. The class has always been good. Middle schools doesn't matter anymore, but in middle school, my class never lost in basketball and football. Just one game. I think that my class brought a lot of winning mentality to it and you can see my junior year, my class went 11-2. 5-5 my sophomore year, my class wasn't really there yet. I think that my class brought a winning mentality to the class above us. The class that is graduating this year had some great pieces that fit my class, too. I think the winning mentality came from my class, because that was all we would did, was win and never lost. Just the winning mentality and culture that needed to be changed, changed a lot with my class.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a quarterback?
Brennan Armstrong: First, about my weaknesses, Coach Fleck wants me to work on my pocket presence, which I am totally getting at. He is going to try to put me in the NFL and things like that and wants me to be that guy. That stud that he recruited. He wants me to work on my pocket presence, which I totally agree with him. I feel that my big thing is making big plays when something happen, like scrambling. Making something out of nothing and I feel like I am pretty good at reading defenses with the zone option. They said that they will try and incorporate that a little bit. Obviously, I am not going to run as much as I do in high school because it is in college. I feel like I am really good at playmaking. I can run if the play breaks down. I can throw. I can throw. I don't know how I throw, but I can throw from weird angles sometimes. I feel that helps a lot. I can throw off balance, if I have to. Just playmaking ability, basically.
Gopher Hole: What have they said about the expectations that they have for you coming in early. Obviously, that is going to be a big help being able to go through spring practice.
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. Coach Fleck wants to hand everything to me. He really does. He wants me to be his quarterback. He recruited me to be the guy who comes in there and changes this whole thing around. This 2018 Class that he is recruiting, he wants this class to be the class that wakes the sleeping giant up. He wants 2018 class to do some big changes for the program. He is handing everything over to me. He said he wants me to have every opportunity to go in there and prove myself. That was a big thing for me to decide, too. Enrolling early. Giving me every opportunity to start, so that helped with the decision, too.
Gopher Hole: What has been your relationship with Coach Fleck so far?
Brennan Armstrong: It's great. We talk every day. Every single day. Texts me. We talk about everything and he sends me messages, like motivating messages to keep me in their culture even though I'm not there yet. Coach (Ed) Warinner (offensive line coach and run game coordinator). He is from Ohio. He has been texting me, too. It has been great, overall. Coach Roc has been in touch, too. We have all been in touch. It is great to be, I'm not really there yet, but Coach Fleck keeps giving me his culture.
Gopher Hole: Have you made any plans, I know it is so far away, about coming up during the season for a game or would you wait for your official visit? Or have you thought about that yet?
Brennan Armstrong: Oh, yeah. I'll for sure be up there again. Hopefully, more than one. Probably more than once. I have baseball right now, It's Ohio. Baseball can be crazy with the rain and delays. My schedule can change like quick. Like today, we had a game and literally at the last second, it got cancelled. Once I figure it out, we'll for sure get there again. Probably more than once. Hopefully, I get to a game, like you said. It is going to be great. I can't wait to get up there and meet some of the '18 guys that sometimes go up there, too, so we can all go up there together and meet each other.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota has gotten off to a good start recruiting-wise with the Class of 2018. They have gotten eight commits, including another kid from Ohio, Austin Beier. Do you know him at all?
Brennan Armstrong: I don't. I've actually been texting Austin. I have been texting Austin a lot, actually since he committed. I know another guy. Hopefully, we can get him. Jornell Manns. He is from Mansfield, which is probably 15 minutes from me, We talk a ton. I feel like he will come in with us. He is a slot receiver. He runs a 4.3 40 already. He is crazy fast. The coaches want me to stay in touch with Jornell, so I have always been in touch with him for a long time. We have been friends. I feel like we'll get him. I think that we'll get another recruit from Ohio, too. A wide receiver.
Q&A: QB Brennan Armstrong on U Commitment: "I want to get there early and fulfill those dreams."
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/778206?referrer_id=331171
Brennan Armstrong, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior quarterback from Shelby (OH) High, committed to Minnesota in February.
Armstrong has been Shelby's starting quarterback since his freshman year. He led the Whippets to an 11-2 record and a Division IV, Region 15 runner-up finish, losing to eventual state runner-up Steubenville 29-15. Armstrong threw for 2,321 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,065 yards and 18 scores last year.
Gopher Hole caught up with Armstrong to learn more about his decision and upcoming season.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota recently. What was the main reason that you decided Minnesota was where you wanted to be?
Brennan Armstrong: I would say the coaching staff and with what Coach Fleck is doing and what he has proven that he can do. Western Michigan is different level than the Big Ten Conference, but with his style and culture, I feel like that he can turn Minnesota around quickly, fast and efficiently. I want to be a part of that and the stuff that he was saying to me, he told me that he wants me to come in as an early enrollee and play spring ball. I just want to get there early and he said that I will have a chance to start. I want to get there early and fulfill those dreams.
Gopher Hole: You were familiar with the coaching staff at Western Michigan. When did you first start hearing from them when they got to Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: I remember talking to Coach Roc (Kirk Ciarrocca; Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback coach) at Western Michigan and he said "I don't know if we are going to leave or not." They offered me at Western Michigan and when they left for Minnesota, he contacted me and thought that they had a better shot with me and offered me at Minnesota. They thought that they had a better shot of getting me at Minnesota and they started talking to me then. Not really sure of the exact date or anything like that, but once they got to Minnesota, they for sure, started talking to me and offered me before I even visited.
Gopher Hole: Did you know much about Minnesota or had you even been to Minnesota before you had committed?
Brennan Armstrong: No, that was my first time. It was crazy. It has been a quick decision. Not quick, but just the feel of it. I just thought it was perfect and I just wanted to get there. It was just one visit, one thing. People thought that they pressured me, but it was just how I felt. I felt that it was the right place, so that is why I made that decision basically after I had just visited.
Gopher Hole: I think a lot of kids who were looking at Western Michigan before because of Coach Fleck and the staff could view Minnesota as a chance to play for the same staff, but playing at a higher level, the Big Ten vs. the MAC. Is that what you thought?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have gone to Western Michigan, because I had my other options. The one thing with Minnesota, I checked out the place and this and that and I thought it was bigger and I could compete at their level. That was why I didn't think I would go to Western Michigan. Once I got to Minnesota, the coaching staff was there and I had a great visit and it was a great place. I loved it.
Gopher Hole: What all did you get a chance to see and do on your visit to Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: It was kind of a quick visit, but we got to see the major things. I had one motive to see the Business school. I want to go into Business and there are some top-notch opportunities with the business part of it. I got to see that. Got to talk to Coach Fleck. Coach Fleck sat down for a long time with me and my family. Got to see the facilities. Got to do a lot of stuff there for the short amount of time that we experienced there.
Gopher Hole: What were your parents' impressions of Minnesota?
Brennan Armstrong: They loved it a lot. Coach Fleck told them that he wouldn't let them down. That's him, personally. He wants the best for everyone in his program and my mom and dad feel really comfortable with me going there. My mom and dad were going to support me. They thought that I couldn't go wrong no matter where I went. They were going to supporting me wherever I thought was the best for me. When I told them that Minnesota and Coach Fleck was the best decision for me, they totally supported that. They loved the place and they love what they are probably going to do there.
Gopher Hole: I think that you had 11 offers. Does that sound about right?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. I haven't been counting or keeping track any more.
Gopher Hole: I think I saw you had Buffalo, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kent State, North Carolina, Ohio University, Rutgers, Toledo, Virginia, Western Michigan and Minnesota. Had you committing as early as you did? Or did even surprise you?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. For sure, a little surprised. It was getting to the point where I knew that I was committing earlier. That what I was thinking before I even committed to Minnesota. I was like "This process is coming to me now. I can just feel that my decision was coming soon," so I knew it was coming. It wasn't what I was really expecting. I had no clue what I was going to do. I just knew that it was coming quicker than I thought it was going to be and after visiting Minnesota and talking to my parents, that was it.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that part of the reason that you wanted to commit earlier than the normal kid is because you are going in enroll in January? Some kids might wait until February signing period to decide on a school. Was that part of it because you want to know where you are going to go since you are going to start school earlier than other kids?
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. I knew that I wanted to know where I was going to go before my senior season. Being that I am a quarterback, you kind of need to early enroll. I felt that was the best opportunity with me starting whenever I want to start. Getting there in their system quicker, knowing the plays quicker and becoming a better athlete.
Gopher Hole: How about your high school team? I know that a really good season this past year, making it to the playoffs. What are the expectations for the upcoming season?
Brennan Armstrong: We got to the regional finals. We want to get back to the regional finals and win that and move on to the Final Four. We went 11-2 last year. We are trying to go undefeated this year. We are in a new conference (leaving the Northern Ohio League for the new Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference). We were in a conference that was around for 70 plus years (from 1944-2017). It was a nice tradition, but some of the teams couldn't compete and had to leave. We thought it was best to leave to get to a better conference that they could compete in and our conferences kind of went to shambles, We want to win the conference and go to the playoffs and hopefully, state. We want to go undefeated. That is our goal.
Gopher Hole: You went 2-8 as a freshman, 5-5 as a sophomore and 11-2 this past year. What has been the main reason that you guys have shown so much improvement?
Brennan Armstrong: When I came in as a freshman, obviously, we weren't where we needed to be. The class has always been good. Middle schools doesn't matter anymore, but in middle school, my class never lost in basketball and football. Just one game. I think that my class brought a lot of winning mentality to it and you can see my junior year, my class went 11-2. 5-5 my sophomore year, my class wasn't really there yet. I think that my class brought a winning mentality to the class above us. The class that is graduating this year had some great pieces that fit my class, too. I think the winning mentality came from my class, because that was all we would did, was win and never lost. Just the winning mentality and culture that needed to be changed, changed a lot with my class.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a quarterback?
Brennan Armstrong: First, about my weaknesses, Coach Fleck wants me to work on my pocket presence, which I am totally getting at. He is going to try to put me in the NFL and things like that and wants me to be that guy. That stud that he recruited. He wants me to work on my pocket presence, which I totally agree with him. I feel that my big thing is making big plays when something happen, like scrambling. Making something out of nothing and I feel like I am pretty good at reading defenses with the zone option. They said that they will try and incorporate that a little bit. Obviously, I am not going to run as much as I do in high school because it is in college. I feel like I am really good at playmaking. I can run if the play breaks down. I can throw. I can throw. I don't know how I throw, but I can throw from weird angles sometimes. I feel that helps a lot. I can throw off balance, if I have to. Just playmaking ability, basically.
Gopher Hole: What have they said about the expectations that they have for you coming in early. Obviously, that is going to be a big help being able to go through spring practice.
Brennan Armstrong: Yes. Coach Fleck wants to hand everything to me. He really does. He wants me to be his quarterback. He recruited me to be the guy who comes in there and changes this whole thing around. This 2018 Class that he is recruiting, he wants this class to be the class that wakes the sleeping giant up. He wants 2018 class to do some big changes for the program. He is handing everything over to me. He said he wants me to have every opportunity to go in there and prove myself. That was a big thing for me to decide, too. Enrolling early. Giving me every opportunity to start, so that helped with the decision, too.
Gopher Hole: What has been your relationship with Coach Fleck so far?
Brennan Armstrong: It's great. We talk every day. Every single day. Texts me. We talk about everything and he sends me messages, like motivating messages to keep me in their culture even though I'm not there yet. Coach (Ed) Warinner (offensive line coach and run game coordinator). He is from Ohio. He has been texting me, too. It has been great, overall. Coach Roc has been in touch, too. We have all been in touch. It is great to be, I'm not really there yet, but Coach Fleck keeps giving me his culture.
Gopher Hole: Have you made any plans, I know it is so far away, about coming up during the season for a game or would you wait for your official visit? Or have you thought about that yet?
Brennan Armstrong: Oh, yeah. I'll for sure be up there again. Hopefully, more than one. Probably more than once. I have baseball right now, It's Ohio. Baseball can be crazy with the rain and delays. My schedule can change like quick. Like today, we had a game and literally at the last second, it got cancelled. Once I figure it out, we'll for sure get there again. Probably more than once. Hopefully, I get to a game, like you said. It is going to be great. I can't wait to get up there and meet some of the '18 guys that sometimes go up there, too, so we can all go up there together and meet each other.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota has gotten off to a good start recruiting-wise with the Class of 2018. They have gotten eight commits, including another kid from Ohio, Austin Beier. Do you know him at all?
Brennan Armstrong: I don't. I've actually been texting Austin. I have been texting Austin a lot, actually since he committed. I know another guy. Hopefully, we can get him. Jornell Manns. He is from Mansfield, which is probably 15 minutes from me, We talk a ton. I feel like he will come in with us. He is a slot receiver. He runs a 4.3 40 already. He is crazy fast. The coaches want me to stay in touch with Jornell, so I have always been in touch with him for a long time. We have been friends. I feel like we'll get him. I think that we'll get another recruit from Ohio, too. A wide receiver.
Is this like one of those word problems in Algebra? I hated those.