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Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Brennan Armstrong has put up ridiculous numbers this season, and his success is starting to break records as his historic year is further evidence of how Bronco Mendenhall and his staff are establishing a quarterback factory of sorts in Charlottesville. In fact, with four games still remaining this season, Armstrong is just 319 yards away from breaking the program’s single season passing record.
When addressing the historic success Armstrong is having, Mendenhall points to the guys that came before the current Wahoo quarterback. He mentions Kurt Benkert who “was the quarterback that we started with here at UVA as a transfer,” and notes how the now Green Bay Packer “set all kinds of passing records and helped us” and is “still in the NFL.”
The head Wahoo progresses to look back at Bryce Perkins who “we chose… that not many other people wanted,” and the success that Virginia had with him as “we [won] the Coastal championship [and] he breaks Kurt’s records and [is] still in the NFL [with the Los Angeles Rams].”
All this along with how Armstrong has been performing, Mendenhall says, is thanks to his assistants Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae and Quarterbacks’ Coach Jason Beck who have done a “masterful job with this offense and with quarterback development.”
He continues, noting “this is six years’ worth of work,” and that “Brennan is just the next [in line]” who has “worked really hard. But this is now the third quarterback in a row, and there’s a strong string of quarterbacks prior to us arriving here, so I’m really lucky with what Robert [Anae] and Jason [Beck] are doing, and our players are lucky, and Brennan is doing an amazing job.”
He adds that “I don’t think there’s a better quarterback in our league, and I can’t speak to the country because I don’t see everybody play, but man, I’m impressed with him.”
Mendenhall points to Armstrong’s performance against Georgia Tech when the Ohio native threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 99 yards and another pair of scores as yet more evidence of his progression. He notes how the Georgia Tech defense “gave us a lot,” but that “Brennan was poised,” and “made great decisions, and as you know, he can make every throw.”
As Virginia heads into its toughest stretch of the year with contests with three ranked opponents and a game at home against Virginia Tech, the ‘Hoos will need Armstrong to keep up this level of play and keep breaking records as the team chases the Coastal division title and the opportunity to capitalize on four straight wins in late September and October.