Boston College Athletics
Duel Threatening The Dual Threat
December 03, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
It's one final showdown between the BC defense and a running quarterback.
Dual threat quarterbacks blend cannon arm strength with electric and fast speed. They are the future era and a new wave of signal caller, the kind of player who can destroy a defense with pinpoint accuracy and an uncanny ability to take off when plays break down. They conduct electricity in the open field, but engineer the short plays to wear down linebackers and defensive backs, and their maturation and matriculation into the professional ranks is revolutionizing the on-field product in the game itself.
This year's 10-game ACC schedule threw a plethora of mobile quarterbacks at the Boston College Eagles, and three particular dual threats stood out for their success. This week, Virginia's Brennan Armstrong is the fourth as the Cavaliers' team leader in both passing and rushing.
"I think their quarterback is playing really well," head coach Jeff Hafley said of Armstrong. "He's a really good athlete, a southpaw, (and) he's throwing the ball pretty well. He seems to have really good command in the huddle."
Armstrong is an interesting case study because he didn't gradually grow into the starting role in Charlottesville. He played sparingly over the last two years and made a solid appearance when he completed 3-of-4 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown against Liberty, but his cameo against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game came well after the Tigers romped to a victory.Â
The primary backup to Bryce Perkins wasn't given the starting role after the incumbent graduated to the NFL, and he fought throughout the preseason with Mississippi State graduate transfer Keytaon Thompson. The former Bulldog lacked experience before arriving at Virginia, but his 2017 two-game stretch in relief of Nick Fitzgerald established his physical credentials. Thompson narrowly lost the Egg Bowl after throwing for 195 yards and rushing for 121 against Ole Miss, and he outdueled Lamar Jackson with 147 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in his only start, against Louisville in the Taxslayer Bowl.
Thompson pushed Armstrong in Bronco Mendenhall's system, but the head coach named his returning sophomore the starter prior in August. He debuted with 269 yards passing and 47 yards rushing against Duke in a 38-20 victory, but his 270 yards passing and 89 yards rushing against Clemson one week later cemented his starter status.
Armstrong's season now reflects those two games. He has big play ability with both his feet and his arm, and his 15 touchdowns include multiple scores in almost every game. He completed over 65 percent of his passes each of the last two games and went 16-for-23 for 383 yards and four touchdowns against Abilene Christian. He battled interception woes early in the year, but his evening out included only one pick in each game against UNC and against Louisville with two of his last four games, including one against MIami, without a turnover.
He is the rare quarterback leading his team in both passing and rushing, and his 399 yards average over four yards per carry. He gashed MIami for 91 yards and he scored rushing touchdowns against both the Tar Heels and the Cardinals with 60 yards on the ground. The Abilene Christian game didn't require him to do much of that, but he rushed for almost nine yards per carry with a 33-yard rush as part of his six carries.
"Their last three games, I thought they've done really well on offense," Hafley said. "(Billy Kemp IV), the wideout, is a dynamic player. They'll line him up in the slot, they'll put him out at wideout (and) they'll put him in the backfield. Then (Thompson) comes in to play some quarterback, play some wide receiver. They do a lot on offense (with) a lot of different personnel groups, two tight ends, no backs, three wide receivers plus a quarterback or two quarterbacks in the game. We've got to really prepare and make sure we're on top of everything."
The deception opens options for Armstrong, and it's enough to make supporters and observers wary of BC's defense. Mobile quarterbacks feasted on the Eagles earlier this year and left a sour taste in both the Virginia Tech and Notre Dame games, but last week's explosion by Malik Cunningham left a larger impression by the quarterback more than the actual defensive play.
"He did a good job of making our (defensive line) miss," Hafley said, "but they did a great job on the pass rush. They did a good job of caging him in, and that was probably the best they've played all year. You could see when we tipped the pass and on a couple of sacks, the fumble forced by Jahmin Muse, but it's hard to defend (a mobile quarterback). He's a good player."
Each of the three prior dual threat quarterbacks all caught the Eagles inside a window of opportunity. Hooker was the first to catch Jeff Hafley's defense off-guard, and he benefited from BC's nine penalties for 70 yards. He only threw for 111 yards but rushed for 164 with a Run-Pass Option offense bookended by running back Khalil Herbert.
Book led No. 2 Notre Dame in the final game of a grueling nine-week stretch of football and further represented the second top-ranked team in three weeks against BC. He was better with his arm than Hooker and threw for 283 yards on 20-of-27 passing, but his 85 yards led the Fighting Irish as part of their balanced production.
BC's defense failed to do something against both of those quarterbacks, but Malik Cunningham faced a unit executing a game plan. The defense knifed through the Louisville offensive line and battered running backs and wide receivers into mistakes, but Cunningham still created plays when everything broke down. He was a Houdini and rushed for 133 yards with 296 yards passing, and he built out touchdowns from his explosive foundation.
"At halftime and even before halftime, we put in some adjustments to get an extra hat to the ball based on what they were doing," Hafley said. "There were certain players we could cheat down or cheat out, but ultimately we had a guy at the point of attack, for the most part. With a guy like (Cunningham), you have to get multiple guys to the point of attack, especially when they were so one-sided.
"We could've done a little bit more," Hafley said, "and I could've done a little bit more. I felt we were in control of the game until that last screen that they took for what felt like 500 yards. I didn't want to be over-aggressive because I felt we were in control, and I wanted to make them drive the length of the field because we went up 14 points. We had discussions about getting too aggressive."
Saturday is the last game of the season and a chance to finish a winning season in a longer ACC play. In an unknown year with unknown postseason possibilities, it's very possibly the last time many football players pull on the Boston College jersey.
It's also an opportunity to prove a mobile, dual-threat quarterback can't defeat the Eagles. BC withstood the pressure last week but now has one more chance to ruin a team's day. It's a living classroom to apply the lessons learned in the meeting room and in practice, the last game for those hours spent studying film.
"We need to get him down in the open field," Hafley said. "We're still missing tackles. Schematically, we've gotten better. We're getting more hats to the ball when it involves a quarterback run game. I think we've adjusted. I think (defensive coordinator) Tem (Lukabu) and his staff have adjusted really well. It's definitely how people are trying to attack us now.Â
"Clearly, we've been really good against the regular normal run game community back to the Notre Dame game," he continued. "You may look back to the Clemson game, we've stopped the normal run game. We will do a better job of stopping the quarterback run game. Just the ability to get the guy down in open space and helping our players more by getting multiple hats to the football. We'll do a better job of that."
Boston College and Virginia kick off at 3:30 p.m. on the ACC's Regional Sports Network coverage, locally on NESN and broadcast on nationwide affiliates of the conference's productions. For a full list of providers, visit TheACC.com or click here.
This year's 10-game ACC schedule threw a plethora of mobile quarterbacks at the Boston College Eagles, and three particular dual threats stood out for their success. This week, Virginia's Brennan Armstrong is the fourth as the Cavaliers' team leader in both passing and rushing.
"I think their quarterback is playing really well," head coach Jeff Hafley said of Armstrong. "He's a really good athlete, a southpaw, (and) he's throwing the ball pretty well. He seems to have really good command in the huddle."
Armstrong is an interesting case study because he didn't gradually grow into the starting role in Charlottesville. He played sparingly over the last two years and made a solid appearance when he completed 3-of-4 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown against Liberty, but his cameo against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game came well after the Tigers romped to a victory.Â
The primary backup to Bryce Perkins wasn't given the starting role after the incumbent graduated to the NFL, and he fought throughout the preseason with Mississippi State graduate transfer Keytaon Thompson. The former Bulldog lacked experience before arriving at Virginia, but his 2017 two-game stretch in relief of Nick Fitzgerald established his physical credentials. Thompson narrowly lost the Egg Bowl after throwing for 195 yards and rushing for 121 against Ole Miss, and he outdueled Lamar Jackson with 147 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in his only start, against Louisville in the Taxslayer Bowl.
Thompson pushed Armstrong in Bronco Mendenhall's system, but the head coach named his returning sophomore the starter prior in August. He debuted with 269 yards passing and 47 yards rushing against Duke in a 38-20 victory, but his 270 yards passing and 89 yards rushing against Clemson one week later cemented his starter status.
Armstrong's season now reflects those two games. He has big play ability with both his feet and his arm, and his 15 touchdowns include multiple scores in almost every game. He completed over 65 percent of his passes each of the last two games and went 16-for-23 for 383 yards and four touchdowns against Abilene Christian. He battled interception woes early in the year, but his evening out included only one pick in each game against UNC and against Louisville with two of his last four games, including one against MIami, without a turnover.
He is the rare quarterback leading his team in both passing and rushing, and his 399 yards average over four yards per carry. He gashed MIami for 91 yards and he scored rushing touchdowns against both the Tar Heels and the Cardinals with 60 yards on the ground. The Abilene Christian game didn't require him to do much of that, but he rushed for almost nine yards per carry with a 33-yard rush as part of his six carries.
"Their last three games, I thought they've done really well on offense," Hafley said. "(Billy Kemp IV), the wideout, is a dynamic player. They'll line him up in the slot, they'll put him out at wideout (and) they'll put him in the backfield. Then (Thompson) comes in to play some quarterback, play some wide receiver. They do a lot on offense (with) a lot of different personnel groups, two tight ends, no backs, three wide receivers plus a quarterback or two quarterbacks in the game. We've got to really prepare and make sure we're on top of everything."
The deception opens options for Armstrong, and it's enough to make supporters and observers wary of BC's defense. Mobile quarterbacks feasted on the Eagles earlier this year and left a sour taste in both the Virginia Tech and Notre Dame games, but last week's explosion by Malik Cunningham left a larger impression by the quarterback more than the actual defensive play.
"He did a good job of making our (defensive line) miss," Hafley said, "but they did a great job on the pass rush. They did a good job of caging him in, and that was probably the best they've played all year. You could see when we tipped the pass and on a couple of sacks, the fumble forced by Jahmin Muse, but it's hard to defend (a mobile quarterback). He's a good player."
Each of the three prior dual threat quarterbacks all caught the Eagles inside a window of opportunity. Hooker was the first to catch Jeff Hafley's defense off-guard, and he benefited from BC's nine penalties for 70 yards. He only threw for 111 yards but rushed for 164 with a Run-Pass Option offense bookended by running back Khalil Herbert.
Book led No. 2 Notre Dame in the final game of a grueling nine-week stretch of football and further represented the second top-ranked team in three weeks against BC. He was better with his arm than Hooker and threw for 283 yards on 20-of-27 passing, but his 85 yards led the Fighting Irish as part of their balanced production.
BC's defense failed to do something against both of those quarterbacks, but Malik Cunningham faced a unit executing a game plan. The defense knifed through the Louisville offensive line and battered running backs and wide receivers into mistakes, but Cunningham still created plays when everything broke down. He was a Houdini and rushed for 133 yards with 296 yards passing, and he built out touchdowns from his explosive foundation.
"At halftime and even before halftime, we put in some adjustments to get an extra hat to the ball based on what they were doing," Hafley said. "There were certain players we could cheat down or cheat out, but ultimately we had a guy at the point of attack, for the most part. With a guy like (Cunningham), you have to get multiple guys to the point of attack, especially when they were so one-sided.
"We could've done a little bit more," Hafley said, "and I could've done a little bit more. I felt we were in control of the game until that last screen that they took for what felt like 500 yards. I didn't want to be over-aggressive because I felt we were in control, and I wanted to make them drive the length of the field because we went up 14 points. We had discussions about getting too aggressive."
Saturday is the last game of the season and a chance to finish a winning season in a longer ACC play. In an unknown year with unknown postseason possibilities, it's very possibly the last time many football players pull on the Boston College jersey.
It's also an opportunity to prove a mobile, dual-threat quarterback can't defeat the Eagles. BC withstood the pressure last week but now has one more chance to ruin a team's day. It's a living classroom to apply the lessons learned in the meeting room and in practice, the last game for those hours spent studying film.
"We need to get him down in the open field," Hafley said. "We're still missing tackles. Schematically, we've gotten better. We're getting more hats to the ball when it involves a quarterback run game. I think we've adjusted. I think (defensive coordinator) Tem (Lukabu) and his staff have adjusted really well. It's definitely how people are trying to attack us now.Â
"Clearly, we've been really good against the regular normal run game community back to the Notre Dame game," he continued. "You may look back to the Clemson game, we've stopped the normal run game. We will do a better job of stopping the quarterback run game. Just the ability to get the guy down in open space and helping our players more by getting multiple hats to the football. We'll do a better job of that."
Boston College and Virginia kick off at 3:30 p.m. on the ACC's Regional Sports Network coverage, locally on NESN and broadcast on nationwide affiliates of the conference's productions. For a full list of providers, visit TheACC.com or click here.
Players Mentioned
DB
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