In Season Of Chaos, Armstrong Only Constant Offensively

Out of room of transfers, Andrew Armstrong closest Sam Pittman came to striking gold

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Nov 19, 2023 5:05 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' offense has been an abject disaster this year, albeit a few glimpses of competency ... and transfer wide receiver Andrew Armstrong. The Razorbacks rank outside the top 10 in the SEC in points, rushing yards, passing yards and total first downs. They are also fourth highest in turnovers per game on offense.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek informed the team following the Hogs' 44-20 win over FIU that Sam Pittman would be returning as head coach in 2024. While one can speculate what the off-the-field reasons to keep Pittman around (buyout, helping recruiting), the on-field reasons have been few and far between, but finding Armstrong in the portal might be one of the select few.

Lost in the fold of the offensive regression as a unit is the quiet consistency of Armstrong. There were lots of preseason questions of a receiver group that was made almost exclusively of transfers and new faces, without the leadership of a returner. Armstrong has more than double the receiving yards of the next-highest on the team with 724.

Fellow transfers Issac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden have vastly underperformed with just 317 (just 137 coming against SEC opponents in seven games) and 109 yards respectively. Freshman tight end Luke Hasz is still the third leading receiver despite only playing four games plus one drive.

Armstrong has at least one catch in each of his previous 27 games dating back to his time at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he put up 62 catches for 1,020 yards in his junior campaign. He was the leading receiver in seven of the 11 games this year. Armstrong has become a safety blanket for quarterback KJ Jefferson in times of duress throughout the season.

"I can always trust Andrew to make the right decision," Jefferson said. "He’s always in the right spot at the right time and he’s just got a great sense of football IQ. He knows he can change the depth of his route depending on if we need a first down or not. He understands football."

Armstrong still has eligibility left beyond this season. Pittman has made it a goal to try and keep the Dallas native at Arkansas beyond this season.

"He’s a hard-working kid and I think if we can talk him into coming back I think he’ll be even better next year for us," Pittman said. "But I’m proud of what he’s done for us all year. You’re right, he is kind of KJ’s go-to guy."

The redshirt senior receiver still carries a chip on his shoulder from his days at a smaller school that carries him even though he is now at an SEC school.

"I just know for a fact when I was at Commerce I wanted to play Alabama," Armstrong said. "I knew for a fact, we weren’t going to win. But I wanted to play all the SEC teams. It’s you going out there and playing against those teams you probably watched when you were younger."

Armstrong and the rest of the Hogs will look to play spoiler against Missouri 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24. The game will be broadcast on CBS and FuboTV .