Minnesota lands Ohio QB Brennan Armstrong

One of the first priorities for a new coach is recruiting quarterbacks to run your system. P.J. Fleck immediately addressed the quarterback position in the 2017 class when he took over at Minnesota earlier this winter, and now he has his quarterback in the 2018 class after Shelby, Ohio three-star Brennan Armstrong announced his commitment on Sunday.

WHAT HAPPENED

The top-ranked quarterback prospect in the state of Ohio’s 2018 class, Armstrong had built a solid offer list that also included Power Five programs Iowa State, North Carolina, Rutgers and Virginia as well as several mid-major programs. His most recent offer just came nine days ago and several more schools were showing strong interest with additional offers likely headed his way had he remained open. Armstrong, however, decided now was the time to end his process after a week after he made back-to-back visits to Iowa State and Minnesota.

IN HIS WORDS

"I wasn't technically really knowing where I wanted to go after I came back from Minnesota. There was a lot of information, I had to process, talk with my family and just compare the other schools to it. The opportunities I have at Minnesota with Minneapolis being right there and the things Coach Fleck's doing right now and has done in the past, that got a lot of consideration. I talked to him last night about it and it feels great to actually be committed to someplace after this whole process. I feel like I made the right choice and I'm looking forward to it.

"Coach Fleck said he is going to train me to be an NFL quarterback. I am able to run and they wouldn't have recruited me if they didn't have a little bit of running in there. They're not going to run me like they do in high school, but they'll have plays designed for me to make plays."

RIVALS’ REACTION

This was a big win for Minnesota because the quarterback position is not particularly deep in the Midwest for the 2017 class and Armstrong is definitely one of the better prospects in that small group. A dual-threat, Armstrong has the arm to sit in the pocket and distribute the football around the field, but he also has the athleticism to make plays on the ground if the pocket breaks down. The other benefit here is by having your quarterback committed early, it is easier to recruit the rest of your class and Armstrong has the charisma that should attract other top prospects to Minneapolis.