The prestige that accompanies being designated a First Team All-American isn't lost on Luke Armstrong.
Armstrong, Kansas Wesleyan's multi-talented tailback, was recognized as an all-purpose player by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) following his sensational 2024 season.
Armstrong ended his junior year with 1,453 yards rushing - the second highest total in the country - and averaged 121.1 yards per game, 8.0 per carry. He also had 118 receiving yards, 156 yards in punt returns and 474 kickoff return yards. His 183.3 yards total per game ranked second nationally.
Offensive lineman Jarren Hightower was the last KWU player to earn First Team honors in 2021. Quarterback Johnny Feauto was a First Team choice in 2019 and running back Demarco Prewitt in 2018.
While grateful for the recognition it's the context of the accolade that Armstrong values most.
"Honestly, I just think about three years ago," he said. "I had severe patellar tendonitis and a rupture in my patella and there was scarring in the ACL. Hurt it in the first game of the 2021 season and it took me out for the whole season.
"I had been out of high school for two and a half years. My success plummeted in football and my lifestyle was nowhere near what it is now. I wasn't living healthy and I honestly had no respect for myself. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my career and my life was at rock bottom."
Football provided the path forward.
"I changed everything in my life," he said. "I got emotional talking to my mom the other day because we've come a long way and I'm just grateful to God and everyone that's got me in this position."
Armstrong led the Kansas Conference in rushing and was a primary factor in the Coyotes winning the Gene Bissell Division with a 5-0 record after starting the season 2-4. KWU lost to 14th-ranked Dickinson State 27-20 in the first round of the Football Championship Series - the game-winning touchdown coming with 29 seconds left on the frozen turf in Dickinson, N.D.
Armstrong, who transferred to KWU from Palomar College (Calif.) prior the 2023 season, credits the guys who cleared the paths so he could do his thing.
"I think it's a testament to the blocking because it's much harder to have a well-blocked play whether that's kick return, punt return or rush," he said. "That's much harder to achieve than just running through a hole."
Keeping the defense guessing is an essential part of Armstrong's strategy.
"I think you run harder early you make them commit later on because they're counting on you to going to certain different holes," he said. "My juco coach always used say that defenders aren't stupid but they're dumb.
"In the third, fourth quarter you switch it up and make them look silly, but they don't realize they're messing up because you've been conditioning them the first and second quarter to do it a different way. You've got to always have the next move."
Armstrong said a rigorous summer training regime back home in Carlsbad, Calif. paid big dividends.
"Four times a week, 6 a.m. I'm with Brett Swain," he said. "He's a wide receiver coach at my high school and he's a Super Bowl champion, played for the Packers, the 49ers.
"Every morning for three months straight I'm the worst player on the field with NFL guys and D1 guys. I'm always being pushed. There's a way I can move my feet, the way I can drop my hips, the way I can have my hips up in different ways. ... He knows what it's supposed to look like, whether or not you're overdoing it or underdoing it."
Armstrong said KWU's midseason coaching change gave him and his teammates cause for pause but they pushed forward.
"I think we were all nervous and curious to see how it would play out but I was really happy to see that there was a renewed spirit and a good energy about it," he said. "When that happened everyone kind of just said 'alright on to the next.' We didn't dwell on it; we chose to build on it and you could see it with the games."
Armstrong said he's eager to play for new coach Matt Middleton.
"I haven't had a coach like that since high school with the energy that he has and the attention to detail and the dedication that he has," he said. "I can't wait to start spring ball now because of how he's talking and what he plans to do. I'm just really excited to lead the resurgence of this program and I'm honored for the role that I have in that."
KING-BRADLEY, LEWIS HONORED
Defensive lineman Josh-King Bradley and offensive lineman Easton Lewis were chosen Third Team All-Americans.
King-Bradley was second in the NAIA with 13 sacks and had 56 tackles, 17.5 for loss. He also forced three fumbles and had a pass breakup.