Biography
As a Senior (Spring 2021)
» Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year
» All-Big South Conference First-Team
» AFCA FCS Coaches All-America First Team
» STATS FCS All-American Second Team
» Associated Press All-America Second Team
» Phil Steele Spring All-America First Team
» Buck Buchanan Award Finalist
» Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week (March 15, March 22, April 5)
Named Big South Player of the Year and a consensus All-American after starting all five games and finishing the season leading the team with 36 tackles, collecting 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception … Named Big South Defensive Player of the Week three times … collected eight tackles vs Charleston Southern (March 13) and six tackles vs Robert Morris (April 3) and at Monmouth (April 10) … recorded 11 tackles and a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown against Dixie State (March 20).
As a Junior (2019)
» Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year
» All-Big South Conference First-Team
» AFCA FCS Coaches All-America Second Team
» STATS FCS All-American Second Team
» Associated Press All-America Second Team
» HERO Sports All-America Second Team
» Phil Steele All-America Third Team
» Buck Buchanan Award Finalist
» Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 28)
Named a consensus All-American after playing and starting in 13 games to lead the No. 3 total defense in the country … named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year after leading the team with 95 tackles and adding 12.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles … earned All-America second team honors from AFCA, STATS, AP and HERO Sports, while earning a third team nod from Phil Steele … named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top FCS defensive player in the country … registered double-digit tackles in five games, including both FCS Playoff contests at No. 11 Wofford (Nov. 30) and No. 3 Weber State (Dec. 7) … had the game-changing play at Wofford in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs, forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter to setup a score to give KSU a lead they would never relinquish … posted a season-high 2.5 tackles for loss against North Alabama (Oct. 26) and pulled down his only interception of the year in a 38-35 victory at Campbell (Nov. 9) … registered a season-high 13 tackles at Missouri State (Sept. 21) and added a blocked an extra point in the comeback victory … recorded two pass break-ups and recovered one fumble of the year.
As a Sophomore (2018)
» All-Big South First Team
Started all 13 games for the Owls … second on the team with 75 total tackles, 56 solo … logged a season-high nine tackles against Georgia State (Aug. 30) and Samford (Sept. 29) … recorded 10 tackles for loss, tying his career-high with two against Wofford (Dec. 1) … finished the season with 2.5 sacks, logging one each against Charleston Southern (Oct. 27) and South Dakota State (Dec. 8) … pulled down an interception against Charleston Southern (Oct. 27) … tallied three QB hurries and two pass breakups.
As a Freshman (2017)
» Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year (2017)
» AFCA FCS Coaches' All-America First Team
» STATS FCS All-American
» Phil Steele FCS Freshman of the Year
» Phil Steele FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year
» Big South Co-Freshman of the Year (2017)
» All-Big South First Team
» Big South Freshman of the Week (Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Nov. 13)
» Big South Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18)
» STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week (Sept. 18)
» STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week Honorable Mention (Sept. 4, Dec. 19)
Won the Jerry Rice Award as the National Freshman of the Year … co-led the nation in fumbles recovered (four) … committed 11 solo sacks (79 yards) to set a Big South record … worked alone on 85 solo tackles to tie a conference record … topped all conference linebackers with a school-record 114 total tackles … quick off the snap, he finished third in the league in tackles-for-loss (12.5) – half a tackle from the program record … averaged 8.6 tackles per game to rank fourth in the conference … shared a lead in the Big South by forcing three fumbles … recorded a school-record 16 tackles, including a record 11 solo takedowns, against Samford (Nov. 25) … recorded 15 tackles (13 solo, 2 assisted) against Alabama State (Sept. 16) … reached double-digit tackle numbers in five games, including three straight from Nov. 18-Dec. 2 (Monmouth, Samford, Jacksonville State) … sacked the quarterback twice in a game three times (Charleston Southern - Nov. 11; Alabama State – Sept. 16; North Greenville – Sept. 30).
High School
A four-year standout at Kell High School in Marietta, Ga. ... Kell went 33-6 in his three years, winning two region championships and posted two undefeated regular seasons ... concluded prep career with 1,408 yards and eight touchdowns as a receiver and tallied 431 tackles, four interceptions, 17 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and seven sacks ... 2015: Named First Team Class 5A All-State linebacker by Georgia Sports Writers Association ... first-team all-County by Marietta Daily Journal ... region 7B Class 5A All-Region Team and Defensive Player of the Year ... served as team captain and helped the Longhorns to a 7-3 regular season as a senior ... Kell went 2-1 in the Class 5A state playoffs, advancing to the final eight ... named All-Cobb County by Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Marietta Daily Journal ... saw action on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver, linebacker and kick returner ... totaled 916 yards and scored five touchdowns ... caught 32 passes for 427 yards and two touchdowns ... totaled 120 tackles and had three sacks ... 2014: First-team All-State by Georgia Sportswriters Association and Atlanta Journal-Constitution ... led Kell to a 10-0 regular season and Class 5A Region 7B championship ... Kell went 1-1 in the Class 5A playoffs ... caught 50 passes for 725 yards and three touchdowns ... had 113 tackles, three sacks and one interception ... 2013: Second-team All-State by Georgia Sportswriters Association ... led Kell to a 10-0 regular season and a Class 5A Region 7B championship…Longhorns went 3-1 in the Class 5A playoffs and advanced to the semifinals ... tallied 144 tackles, including 88 solo, had one sack and three interceptions as a sophomore ... 2012: Collected one tackle as a freshman.
Personal
Born Nov. 28, 1997 in Marietta, Ga ... a resident of Marietta ... prepped at Kell High School in Marietta ... son of Bryan and Valerie Armstrong ... has two sisters named Avery and Jessica ... high school teammate of Owls safety Taylor Henkle for two seasons at Kell ... coached by Derek Cook…Rated two-star recruit by Rivals.com ... majoring in sport management.
