Virginia preparing new QB with starter Brennan Armstrong in the concussion protocol
Armstrong has entered the concussion protocol. Mendenhall did not rule out the left-hander for Saturday’s game at Wake Forest (1-2), but the plan during practice this week is to have Stone work with the first team.
“Yeah, Lindell’s our quarterback,” Mendenhall said during a Zoom call with reporters Monday afternoon, adding that it’s his understanding Armstrong has not had a concussion previously. “If Brennan can’t go, then Lindell is next, and so we’ll be going day by day with Brennan but in the meantime preparing Lindell.”
Armstrong frequently was under duress against North Carolina State and finished 6 for 9 with 57 yards. He also threw two interceptions for a third consecutive game since Mendenhall named him the starter on the heels of a training camp competition.
Stone made just his fifth appearance since coming to Virginia in 2017 after a decorated high school career at Woodberry Forest School, which is about 35 miles north of Charlottesville. The junior also played the most snaps of his college career, completing 30 of 54 passes for 240 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Listed behind Stone and Armstrong on the depth chart Virginia released Monday afternoon are freshman Iraken Armstead and Keytaon Thompson, a graduate transfer from Mississippi State who also has lined up at wide receiver this year, catching a three-yard touchdown pass against Clemson.
“Coming off of losing a starting quarterback, as an offensive lineman, that gets to us because we feel like we should protect him better,” Virginia left tackle Ryan Nelson said. “Watching the play and watching it happen, it’s infuriating to see how he got hit and how he got it late and targeted.”
During his second series of the game, Stone directed a 75-yard scoring drive on nine plays, ending with a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Billy Kemp IV. The first touchdown of Stone’s college career produced the Cavaliers’ first points of the game, trimming their deficit to 24-7.
Stone’s second touchdown pass, a one-yarder to tight end Tony Poljan, drew Virginia within 24-14 late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, North Carolina State defensive tackle Alim McNeill tipped Stone’s pass attempt and caught the deflection. The NFL prospect ran the interception back 18 yards for a touchdown, and the Cavaliers were unable to recover.
“It suits his style best, but really we were playing from behind,” Mendenhall said of Virginia leaning pass-heavy with Stone in the game. “It suits his style, but it doesn’t mean that’s all we’re going to do. However, the nature of the game kind of just led to that’s what [we] had to do.”
At 6-foot and 240 pounds, Stone resembles more of a traditional drop-back passer than Virginia’s past two starting quarterbacks, who were more capable of beating the defense by running.
Armstrong has rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries this season. He ran for 89 yards, the most in his career, on 22 carries during a 41-23 loss at top-ranked Clemson on Oct. 3.
“Having Lindell step in, and I’ve been with Lindell the entire time we’ve been here, it was great to see Lindell out there playing,” said Nelson, a junior who met Stone during a recruiting trip to Charlottesville. “I promised him when I first met him: ‘I’ll protect you no matter what. Any time you come in, I got you.’
“So he walks in the huddle the first time, [and] I was like, ‘I told you four years ago, and I told you now: I’ll protect you, and I got you.’ And then he went out there and played really well.”
