FSU, Miami, Gators, UCF, USF all earn victories in Week 1 | 2MD
Florida State upset Alabama and Miami won a big battle against Notre Dame on the opening weekend of the 2025 college football season.
The Jaguars’ new coaching staff made the decision to move Armstead back to his more effective interior position.In his previous season with the Jaguars, Armstead started only one game and played his lowest snap percentage since 2015.The team is counting on Armstead to improve a defense that ranked near the bottom of the league last year.
Arik Armstead’s year-by-year games/games started (including playoffs) mirrored each other during his final seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
6 games/6 starts.
16/16.
19/19.
16/16.
20/20.
12/12.
15/15.
If healthy, he started and, from 2021-23, he found a home at defensive tackle.
But last year, Armstead’s first with the Jacksonville Jaguars, featured three sub-optimal changes.
Armstead started only one of 17 games (his fewest starts since 2015), played 48% of the defensive snaps (his lowest rate since 2015) and was moved back outside to defensive end (more on that in a minute).
It was an all-around dud.
But this offseason, new coach Liam Coen and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile made the decision to shift Armstead back to tackle, a practical call.
Now it’s up to Armstead to show it was the right decision/call, beginning Sunday against Carolina. He is expected to start alongside nose tackle DaVon Hamilton.
“I’m a versatile player, but I’ve had a lot of success playing inside, especially rushing against guards,” Armstead said last week. “I feel like I have an advantage there.”
Armstead, 31, didn’t play in the preseason because of a back injury, but returned to practice in late August, more than enough time for a veteran to tune up for Week 1.
The Jaguars need Armstead to be impactful inside. Last year, they finished 31st in yards allowed, 25th in rushing defense and tied for 29th in most points allowed. They stunk. And at the defensive tackle spot, they got six sacks. Total.
“We need a lot out of him,” Coen said of Armstead.
Moved on from 2024
Ask Armstead about moving back to defensive tackle (pumped up), his Walter Payton Man of the Year award (trophy is at his house) and his longevity (starting Year 11) and you will get an insightful answer.
But about last year’s defensive staff led by coordinator Ryan Nielsen?
Um …
“That was a long, long time ago,” Armstead said. “Excited for what this season is going to look like.”
Uh …
“I wish last year’s staff success in their careers,” he said. “I’m excited to be playing for this staff and what we’re trying to build.”
By saying little, Armstead said volumes, right? Very little effort is required to read between No. 91’s words, correct? He wants to forget about last year.
Understandable, though. Players don’t make it to a second decade — especially in the NFL — without finding and maintaining a best-practices approach and positional home and believe they should be allowed to stick to it.
Armstead’s 2023 49ers tape makes it even more head-scratching that the Jaguars’ 2024 staff was trying to reinvent the wheel and take him out of his most effective spot.
As a run defender for the 49ers two years ago, he shoved aside a center for a stop of no gain, thudded a pulling tight end in a tackle for lost yardage and showed awareness for a clean-up stop of no gain.
As a pass rusher, he looped inside on a five-man pressure for a sack, pushed back right guards for two sacks and looped inside for a clean-up sack.
Armstead lined up at left defensive tackle on all of those plays.
’Extremely high standard’
The Jaguars’ new administration knew the status quo with Armstead was equal parts untenable, foolish and wouldn’t contribute to winning.
They saw what we see: An interior player.
“Just his length alone (6-foot-7 and 33-inch arms) is a hard thing to deal with as a guard, especially in the pass rush,” Coen said. “And then in the run game, (it’s beneficial) when you’ve got a three-technique (lined up outside the guard’s shoulder) that can play with length and kind of shut blockers out.”
Armstead has a 10-sack season on his resume (2019), his only year with more than six. If he can finish with 4-5 sacks and 30-35 tackles, his impact will be noticeable. There will be games, though, when the stat sheet will have goose-eggs, but the video will grade him highly.
“I have an extremely high standard for my game,” Armstead said. “You can definitely dominate a game freeing other people up, putting pressure on the quarterback and doing your job at a high level. A lot about playing in the NFL is not only the highlight plays, but consistency down in and down out.”
Consistency is how a player makes it to 133 regular-season and 12 playoff games, including two Super Bowls. He is ready to kick-start the next chapter of his career and as Coen said, the Jaguars need him to.
“Trying to keep it going,” Armstead said. “I have a lot more to do.”
O’Halloran can be reached at rohalloran@gannett.com