Top Gophers QB recruit, Brennan Armstrong, decides to reopen recruiting process

Brennan Armstrong, a three-star quarterback from Shelby, Ohio, who gave the Gophers a verbal commitment in February, said Monday night that he has reopened his recruiting.

Armstrong, a 6-1½, 210-pound senior, is the only quarterback commitment on the Gophers' recruiting Class of 2018. He said he decided to look at other schools, too, because he wants to be sure about his college decision.

"It's like a marriage. You want to be 100 percent certain,'' said Armstrong, rated by recruiting website 247Sports as the 20th-best dual-threat quarterback nationally.

Among the schools recruiting Armstrong have been Virginia, a team that he said he is considering, along with Cincinnati, Iowa State, North Carolina and Rutgers. Armstrong said he doesn't yet have a visit scheduled for Virginia and that he would like to play in a larger conference than the American Athletic, in which Cincinnati plays.

Armstrong said he has a Dec. 8 visit to Minnesota planned, and he and Gophers coach P.J. Fleck have remained in contact often. He plans to graduate high school in December and enroll early at whichever school he selects, which he said still could be Minnesota.

Armstrong said he has been watching the Gophers this season and sees potential despite four close losses in Big Ten play.

"Some little things to fix,'' he said. "They've been in every game to the end.''

Armstrong has led Shelby to a 10-0 record heading into Ohio's Division IV playoffs on Friday. The Whippets won their first conference title since 2000 and have outscored opponents 504-54. Armstrong has passed for more than 20 touchdowns with two interceptions and has rushed for more than 700 yards with 15 touchdowns. He is the school's career passing leader with nearly 7,000 yards and second-leading rusher with nearly 3,500 yards, according to his coach, Erik Will.

"His competitive fire, his leadership and attention to detail is off the charts,'' Will said. "I really believe he's going to be an all-conference performer [in college], and I'm not saying three or four years down the road.''

Armstrong was suspended for the season's first three games because of a code of conduct violation resulting from attending a party last spring in which alcohol was present. Armstrong has denied drinking alcohol at the party. "He took a situation that was a negative and made it a growing experience,'' Will said.

Armstrong took an unofficial visit to Minnesota in early February and committed a week later, complete with an #RTB tweet, for "Row the boat." Armstrong retweeted pro-Gophers tweets as recently as two weeks ago.

If Armstrong doesn't enroll at Minnesota, the Gophers QB group next season likely would include current starter Demry Croft (junior next season), Tanner Morgan (redshirt freshman) and Seth Green (sophomore).

For the Class of 2019, the Gophers' top QB target is Hank Bachmeier of Murrieta (Calif.) Valley. The 6-3, 185-pound Bachmeier is a four-star recruit and the No. 4-ranked prostyle passer in his class. He visited Minnesota for the Sept. 30 game against Maryland and also is being recruited by Boise State, California, Colorado and UCLA.

Also Monday, Vic Viramontes, a freshman QB at Riverside (Calif.) City College, tweeted that he has been offered a Gophers scholarship. The 6-1, 230-pounder from Norco, Calif., transferred from Cal in June and has passed for 1,116 yards and 16 touchdowns in eight games.