Welcome to college football in May. To modify Andy Williams, it’s the most awful-est time of the year.
This last week’s supposed saga between former Arkansas wide receiver Andrew Armstrong (the player) and his school’s relationship with the NFL created a modest kerfuffle around the Arkansas football program. But only because it’s May.
You see, in case you didn’t know – and, buddy, if you spend any time on the internet in Hogs circles whatsoever, you did know – Armstrong’s fall out of the NFL Draft was a moderate surprise to most in the Natural State. Very few around these parts expected Armstrong to be completely snubbed, especially after fellow Hogs wideout Isaac TeSlaa, who put up far inferior numbers in Fayetteville, was taken in the middle rounds. Armstrong became the first SEC player to lead the league in receiving and not be taken in the draft since Ole Miss’ Shay Hodge in 2009.
Opinions sprang from every which direction, including from agent Chris Turnage, as to why Armstrong wasn’t picked. Turnage’s remarks on the Buzz 103.7 FM raised plenty of eyebrows. Never mind that before TeSlaa was taken, general consensus showed Armstrong was unlikely to be selected. Turnage talked to several NFL teams before the season began, when he was considering recruiting Armstrong to his agency. The teams advised against it.
Smoke, But No Fire
Andrew Armstrong carries baggage. He has character issues. He’s a problem.
So Turnage had been told, anyway. Whether you believe or disbelieve Turnage or what he was told is irrelevant. Such points have been tackled for at least a week. The aftermath of ‘why’ Armstrong wasn’t selected has, accordingly, made for offseason fodder.
“Long-limbed, tight-hipped wideout with average feet and a lack of separation talent,” Zierlein wrote. “Armstrong put together solid catch production during his two seasons at Arkansas but will need to prove it is translatable in the pros. He doesn’t get in and out of breaks quickly enough to separate and lacks the pure gas to be a field-stretching option, but he has good size and ball skills.”
Turnage’s remarks stuck afterward more. The Hot Springs-based agent said one NFL team remarked that Armstrong was the worst interview they had in the lead up to the draft. Concerns were raised about his maturity. That doesn’t jibe with at least one account from a former teammate.
Conflicting Evidence
One Arkansas player told Best of Arkansas Sports in the fall that Armstrong gave the team a fiery speech in a players-only meeting ahead of the team’s upset of Tennessee. The stuff of leadership, not character problems. Same goes for how Pig Trail Nation’s Courtney Mims, among plenty of other media folks, sees it:
Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman, too, had, publicly, provided support, including as recently as April 22.
“I think if you just go back and look at the tape, what you saw of him is he made contested catches,” Pittman said. “He got the hell knocked out of him and got up and kept playing. He did everything he could for us on every snap. I think he’s in chapter six of a book that’s got a whole lot more chapters in it.”
Armstrong may yet get to write those pages as the Miami Dolphins signed him to a rookie free-agent deal shortly they, and every other team, passed on selecting him in the draft. That lack of selection wasn’t exactly unexpected. Lance Zierlein at NFL.com projected him as a sixth-round selection, but that’s so late in the draft that it was easy to envision Armstrong going unselected.
Off-field Issues, Apparently, But No One Says What
Why the mud in the waters? Why did Andrew Armstrong appear, to some teammates and his coach’s public comments, to be a commendable leader and dedicated player yet NFL teams shy away?
Unfortunately, we get only one side of the conversation. But that’s what happens when no one goes on the record. Personally, I find it difficult to believe coach Sam Pittman and his staff would bad-mouth Armstrong to NFL teams. Everyone in the sport goes to bat for the head coach’s human decency. It’s also possible teams were off-put by Armstrong’s personal life. Armstrong’s brother was killed by police in DeSoto, Texas, in December:
Yall did my brother like that knowing he had mental health issues he is in yall system as one and yall came to my granny house and shot him close range with an AR15 💔IN FRONT OF OUR MOMMA https://t.co/6vmGmlrZnZ
— Andrew Armstrong (@DrewBandz3) December 14, 2024
It’s wholly unfair to ascribe family matters to Armstrong, but you see people do it every day. “Don’t run around with so-and-so. Their family are bad people” and the like. It’s complete and utter nonsense. But we also just saw a draft in which Shadeur Sanders, expected to be a first-round pick, fall to the fifth round, in part because of similar apparent baggage.
NFL personnel won’t go on the record. Agents, like Turnage, would prefer not to divulge details, as well, lest their sully their relationships with teams. And we know Arkansas will stay mum about its players. All the tight lips make sense. But it leaves everyone with questions.
Still Getting an Opportunity
At least Armstrong is still getting something of a chance. Some fans who pay closer attention to the NFL than I do believe the Miami Dolphins, the team that signed Armstrong to a rookie free-agent deal, can truly use the SEC’s reigning receiving yardage leader. You’ll see some fantasy football geeks getting on board with Armstrong as a sleeper, too. At least someone is taking up for Armstrong, at least.
Armstrong is far from the only player a school’s fan base expected to be drafted and wasn’t. Most teams sign between 12 and 20 undrafted players to deals that serve ostensibly as training camp invitations, yielding about 450 players on summer rosters who didn’t hear their name called in the draft. Generally, only about 15 to 20 of those players will make an NFL season-opening roster. The odds Armstrong becomes one of that initial number are long. That part didn’t change before or after the alleged disparagement.
Hopefully Pittman and Co. went to bat for their best offensive player this past season. In the meantime, we’re all left guessing, watching Armstrong’s social media accounts, hearing Arkansas’ public comments and listening to sports-talk radio.
Please, season, hurry up and get here.
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Fan-fueled hype!
The Dolphins have signed 6’4” 200lbs WR Andrew Armstrong. This is such a steal.
2024 season:
– 78 catches (1st in the SEC)
– 1,140 yds (1st in the SEC)
– Only WR in CFB to have an 80+ PFF grade vs man & zone coverage
He is a baller and my early favorite UDFA to make the roster. pic.twitter.com/j23dYtOhk5
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) April 26, 2025
Fan-talking content creation!
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