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LB Arndt's Long Road to Success
December 24, 2016 05:00 PM | Football
ORLANDO - Justin Arndt has certainly come a long way since his first bowl game in 2012 when he was a freshman walk-on player hoping to return for another year to wear a West Virginia football uniform.
Arndt grinned earlier today when recalling his first bowl trip to New York City when the Mountaineers played Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl.
“It was different,” he said. “You don’t really know what to expect as a freshman. You don’t really do much and you don’t take everything in - see the sights and being able to experience the bowl - you just didn’t know what to do.”
Well, hit the fast forward button to the present and Justin Arndt is one of the key players in West Virginia’s defense tasked with slowing down a formidable Miami offense in this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, to be played at Camping World Stadium Wednesday evening.
With the exception of those who followed Arndt’s career in the state’s Eastern Panhandle where he played at Martinsburg High, no one in their right mind would have written his name in the starting lineup at outside linebacker when the regular season began.
But Arndt proved throughout fall camp that he deserved to start because the defense usually seemed to work better whenever he was out there.
Then, in the opener against Missouri, he made eight tackles (two for losses) and had a sack to earn team defensive MVP honors.
From there, he has only gotten better.
He was in on a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage in West Virginia’s come-from-behind victory over Kansas State, he made a career-best 12 tackles with a sack in the Mountaineers’ tough road win at Texas, and he had a team-high nine tackles in the regular season finale against Baylor.
Overall, Arndt finished the regular season ranked 11th in total tackles and 14th in solo tackles in the Big 12, his 80 total stops leading the team this year on a defense that finished second to Kansas State in the Big 12 in points allowed surrendering just 23.4 points per game.
The question is where would West Virginia’s defense be today without the 5-foot-11-inch, 214-pound senior out there?
He is the epitome of what West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is looking for in the type of player he wants playing in his unorthodox, 3-3 stack scheme - tough, aggressive, smart and relentless.
Underestimate him at your own peril.
“When you label a West Virginia football player and say what do you want? You put everything he’s got in there - maybe not his size - but everything else he has,” admitted Gibson. “If we keep recruiting those type guys at linebacker, safety, corner or wherever it may be, we’ll be fine.”
Think back to September 2, a day before the Missouri game. Who could have imagined just how valuable Justin Arndt would become in this year’s defense?
On Wednesday, Arndt and others will be tasked with defending Miami’s talented tight end David Njoku, a 6-foot-4, 245-pounder who caught 38 passes for 654 yards and seven touchdowns - one of several offensive weapons Miami has at its disposal.
Where Njoku lines up and how the Hurricanes will utilize him is cause for concern.
“You just want to slow him down, bang him and get him off his routes,” Arndt explained. “He’s probably the best tight end we’ve seen so far. He’s really talented.”
So talented, in fact, that Gibson will have to devote special attention to how they choose to defend him throughout the game because Njoku presents unique matchup problems because of his size and tremendous athleticism.
“If Justin is on him in man coverage we’ll make sure he has some kind of help,” Gibson explained. “He’ll be pesky and he’ll be all over him trying his best. We have to have a plan, whether it’s a safety or another linebacker we’ll have to give him some help.”
“They use him as a wide receiver a lot, too,” added Arndt. “Just knowing where he’s at and keeping an eye on him and where he’s at in their formations, that’s the key to trying to stop him.”
The Russell Athletic Bowl will be the final time Justin Arndt puts on a West Virginia uniform - and most likely the last time he’ll ever play a football game.
It’s been a long journey getting to where he’s at right now, a trip he can certainly point to with great pride.
“It’s something where you look back now and say, ‘wow, I did it. I made it to this point.’ Looking back and seeing the success I’ve been able to accomplish in my career is amazing and really gratifying to me,” noted Arndt.
“The big thing is to try and make it better for other walk-ons - give them hope and give them the idea they can make it as well - that’s the big thing for me,” said Arndt.
“He’s definitely my kind of guy. He’s a great kid; a smart kid,” said Gibson. “The great effort he brings, and just his toughness, that’s what you want.
“A lot of people say he’s a throwback guy and he is. He could have played in any generation and for any team he would be used somewhere, somehow,” Gibson concluded.
Briefly:
* West Virginia’s second practice at First Academy School concluded earlier today. The Mountaineer players are scheduled to visit Universal Studios later this evening. West Virginia’s final “heavy practice” will take place on Christmas Day and then the team will begin tapering off in preparation for Wednesday’s game.
Our first Russell Athletic Bowl Report, presented by West Virginia Tourism, will be posted tomorrow morning and will include the team’s trip to Universal Studios.
* Several key injured defensive players who missed the season are making considerable progress in their rehabilitation, according to head athletic trainer Dave Kerns. All of the defensive players out for the season, including free safety Dravon Askew-Henry, sophomore defensive lineman Jaleel Fields and freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns, are expected to be available for spring football drills in some capacity if they continue to progress.
* And finally, across town in Miami’s camp, Hurricane defensive coordinator Manny Diaz had this to say about West Virginia’s offense: “There are a couple teams in our league that have some of the same principles. Dana (Holgorsen) has done a great job of continuing to evolve his offense through the years.
“Certainly the number one element that stands out is how well they run the football, how physical they are up front and how hard their backs run,” he said. “Obviously, everyone wants to think about the spread and think about passing the ball and all the great pass concepts they have, and there’s no doubt they can hurt you in the throwing game, but it’s like any offense, whether you’re pro style or spread, if they can run it, they can do whatever they want. So it’s a great challenge stopping their running game.”
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