Former Latrobe QB Jason Armstrong finds home as TE at Mercyhurst

When the third round came along in his fantasy football draft this year, Mercyhurst senior Jason Armstrong couldn’t resist picking his favorite player, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.

The two play the same position, and Armstrong said he loves Kittle’s “attitude.”

The injury-riddled Kittle, though, has struggled through a disappointing season.

The opposite is true of Armstrong, a former quarterback at Latrobe who already has set career bests with a team-high 32 catches to go with 298 yards. He also has a team-leading three touchdowns, including one in a six-catch, 74-yard performance in an overtime victory against Edinboro on Oct. 16.

“He’s a very good athlete,” Mercyhurst coach Marty Schaetzle said. “He’s really developed into a smart football player in terms of knowing the defenses, getting a feel for coverages, taking the route and adjusting accordingly to work himself open.

“As far as a run blocker, he’s not the biggest tight end that we’ve had, but he’s very productive. He’s like a light heavyweight boxer going up against some heavyweights, and he uses his quickness and strength to get the job done blocking-wise.”

Armstrong spent time as a wing back and slot receiver as a sophomore and junior at Latrobe, so catching the ball is nothing new. He took over at quarterback as a senior, throwing for 1,484 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder agreed his current position fits him better.

“I love quarterback — more running the football as a quarterback — but as of right now, tight end (is my favorite),” said Armstrong, who has gained about 10 pounds since freshman season. “It’s a great position. You get to do everything. You get to block. You get to catch passes. And it’s a very important position on our team.”

The QB background played a crucial part in his development as a tight end, too.

“Once you play quarterback, it’s easier to move to another position because you know what everyone is doing,” Armstrong said. “It makes you understand defenses better and where people are going and coverages in general.”

Added Schaetzle: “The view is a little different from tight end than quarterback, but when you’re watching film and going through the reps at practice, things make a little more sense to him than if there was somebody that had never played quarterback.”

It wasn’t even Armstrong’s exploits as a QB that convinced Schaetzle he could make the transition. It was Armstrong’s efforts in another sport.

“I had a chance to watch him play basketball, which always gives a coach a chance to see a player compete,” Schaetzle said. “You see what he’s doing not with the ball in his hands but defensively, going after loose balls, those things that don’t get measured on tape or in the weight room or when you do test with jumping and verticals.”

Armstrong was recruited by other PSAC schools as a tight end, and he also received a Division I offer from Virginia Military Institute to play middle linebacker. But he said Mercyhurst “felt like home,” and the school was one of the few to offer his major of intelligence studies.

“My dream job is to become a special agent,” Armstrong said.

First things first, though. Mercyhurst (2-6) has three games left this season, and Armstrong said he’ll return next year as he pursues a master’s in data science.

“He’s emerging as a leader without having to say anything because of how hard he works,” Schaetzle said. “He fits the bill of a guy who in my 20 years here just excels on the field, off the field, in the classroom, on campus. He’s able to manage all those parts of his life and be a model student-athlete for our young kids to follow.”