3. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
Say hello to the southpaw from Charlottesville. Brennan Armstrong was perfectly fine in 2020, his first year as a starter, replacing Bryce Perkins: 2,117 passing yards (7.9 yards per attempt) and 23 total touchdowns. However, Armstrong made huge strides in 2021, becoming one of the ultimate big-play quarterbacks in the country.
Armstrong rewrote the Virginia record book, throwing for 4,449 yards (No. 4 FBS) and 31 touchdowns, both single-season records for the program. Along with Bailey Zappe from Western Kentucky, Armstrong was one of two FBS passers to average over 400 passing yards per game last season. He also ranked second in the ACC with an average of 8.9 yards per pass attempt, just behind Tyler Van Dyke.
The situational numbers were excellent, too. Armstrong was dynamic in fourth quarters, completing 57.8 percent of his pass attempts and averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. In all quarters, when Virginia’s offense was faced with 3rd-and-10 (or longer), Armstrong completed 20-of-28 pass attempts (71.4 percent) for 294 yards (10.5 yards per attempt) and 13 first downs.
Assuming all goes well, Armstrong will usurp Matt Schaub as Virginia’s all-time leader in both passing yards and touchdown passes in 2022.