Kansas football insider Jon Kirby provides some insight into Dorance Armstrong’s pro potential and more.
The Kansas City Chiefs face significant questions surrounding their short-term and long-term depth at outside linebacker. Dorance Armstrong, an edge rusher from the University of Kansas, could fit the bill as a long-term starter who could help in the immediate with the pass rush for the Chiefs, and K.C. has shown interest in the player heading into the 2018 NFL Draft.
We recently reached out to Jon Kirby from Jayhawk Slant to tell us more about Armstrong’s performance on and off the field.
What kind of player is Dorance Armstrong?
The talk has been what kind of system does he fit in and what can he do depending on scheme. He’s an edge rusher that learned to play the run better as his career progressed. Any team would be getting a player who can still develop and is a quality person.
What do you believe to be Armstrong’s strengths?
His ability to come off the edge is his biggest strength. He has a good motor and made several plays where he came from the back side after initially being blocked.
Conversely, what does Armstrong need to work on?
One of the areas he improved a lot was adding weight. I don’t know how much bigger he can get but getting the extra strength to handle NFL tackles will help. Early in his career one of the weaknesses was playing the run but that improved over the last two years. He will have to get in a system that plays to his strengths out on the perimeter.
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What kind of person was Armstrong in the locker room and off the field?
Having interviewed him since he was a high school recruit coming out of Houston, he always came across as a high-character person. He was always polite and handled the interview process well.
What do you point to as an explanation for diminished production junior season compared to sophomore season?
He kind of caught the Big 12 by storm as a sophomore. While some teams put their focus into the game plan in slowing him down as a sophomore they made it a priority in his junior year. He was the Big 12 preseason DPOY going into the season, so he had everyone’s full attention.
Teams started using double-teams, chipping him with a TE or running back. Last year the Jayhawks didn’t have a lot of help on the opposite side helping with a pass rush so opposing teams could put a lot of effort into slowing him down.
What point did the Kansas program realize they had something special in Dorance?
The coaching staff knew in his freshman year. He played in all 12 games and by the end of the season he started five. They knew early on he had the potential to turn into something special.
To that point, how did Kansas land the Houston native in recruiting?
Armstrong didn’t pick a school until late in the recruiting process. Former DL coach Calvin Thibodeaux (now at Oklahoma) was the lead recruiter for him. He took his official visit late and committed a week or two before signing day. There were several schools who tried to come in late, but Armstrong stayed with Kansas.
What has changed about Dorance from the football recruit to the draft prospect?
The biggest thing is the weight he gained. When he first reported to KU he was in the 215-220 range. Nobody questioned his ability to rush the passer and disrupt in the backfield. But the biggest question was how much strength could he add to help assist in other parts of his game.
What has impressed you the most about Dorance in the time you have known him, from a recruit to a Jayhawk and now a draft prospect.
Always a good person to be around and talk to. Always respectful and polite. The thing I heard from the coaches over the last three years was how high of a motor he played with.
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Jon Kirby covers Kansas Football for JayhawkSlant.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow their coverage of KU Football on Twitter at @JayhawkSlant