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Kansas Football: Is Dorance Armstrong Jr. the real deal?

By Phil Poling

LAWRENCE, KS - SEPTEMBER 12: The Kansas Jayhawks run onto the field prior to the game against the Memphis Tigers at Memorial Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - SEPTEMBER 12: The Kansas Jayhawks run onto the field prior to the game against the Memphis Tigers at Memorial Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Kansas football’s Dorance Armstrong Jr. may not play for a powerhouse, but he’s a breakout star for the Jayhawks. Is he as good as advertised?

Kansas football isn’t known for its storied history (only seven former Jayhawks are currently on a NFL roster), but defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. is busting through the noise and piling up the media coverage.

The All-Big 12 preseason team announced three unanimous selections to its team this week, with Kansas’ Dorance Armstrong being one of them. The 6-foot-4 junior from Houston was also named the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. When did he become such a household name?

As a sophomore in 2016, Armstrong shined brightest for a struggling defensive unit at Kansas. His 10 sacks ranked 2nd in the Big 12 (18th nationally) and were the most by a Jayhawk player since 2008. He didn’t just feast on quarterbacks, though.

Armstrong’s 20.0 tackles-for-loss (TFL) ranked fifth in college football, but also fifth in Jayhawk history. It’s safe to say he’ll be re-writing a few other records before his career is over.

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After being dubbed Athlon Sports Breakout Player of the Year for his 2016 performance, all signs are pointing up for this Jayhawk. In just 24 career games for the Kansas football program, Armstrong’s already tallied 79 total tackles, 13.5 sacks, four pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. His on-field production has generated handfuls of accolades, including:

  • Ranked No. 20 on ESPN’s Top 25 players of the Big 12 list (2016)
  • Unanimous All-Big 12 First team by the AP, Athlon, coaches, ESPN.com, Kansas City Star, Phil Steele and the Waco Herald Tribune (2016)
  • (Big 12, Kansas) Defensive Player of the Week versus Texas; 11 total tackles (3.0 TFL), 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery
  • (Kansas) Defensive Player of the Week versus Memphis: 3 total tackles (3 TFL), 2.0 sacks, one QB hurry
  • (Kansas) Defensive Player of the Week versus West Virginia: 7 total tackles (2.0 TFL), one forced fumble

One thing that’s inspiring about Kansas’ Armstrong is that it doesn’t matter who the opposition is — he always produces. Unlike Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett from a year ago who only seemed record sack numbers against the lesser teams on his schedule, Armstrong embraces those big moments.

Of the 12 games Kansas football played last year, Armstrong recorded a sack in seven of them, reaching the QB twice on three occasions. Here’s the stretch of games he recorded a sack in: Memphis (2), Texas Tech (2), TCU (1), Baylor (1), Oklahoma State (1) and Oklahoma (1). The team to stop his impeccable six-game streak of sacks? None other than the West Virginia Mountaineers in early November.

Can Armstrong elevate his game to yet another level this fall and impact the win-loss column for Kansas in a bigger way?

Next: Big 12 Football: 5 teams that can dethrone Oklahoma in 2017

In the Jayhawks’ two victories a year ago, Armstrong combined for 13 total tackles (4.0 TFL), 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. These numbers will certainly garner more attention from blocking schemes in 2017, leaving his teammates to pick up the slack and make more plays. If Armstrong continues on his sky-rocketing potential though, there’s no telling what sort of impact he’ll display.

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