Wake Forest Player Countdown: No. 44 Wideout Johnny Armstrong

Coming in at number 44 on our player countdown is wide receiver Johnny Armstrong, who is a sophomore out of Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida. Armstrong was rated as a 3-star all-purpose back in the 2013 recruiting class by Rivals and chose the Deacs over Buffalo, Duke, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Illinois, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, South Alabama and Temple.

Armstrong promises to bring some flash and athleticism to an offense who will be desperate to find playmakers throughout the 2014 season. Although most indications are that Armstrong will be a backup to transfer E.J. Scott at the flanker position, he will certainly see a good amount of playing time as the season progresses including on kickoff returns.

He had a decent freshman year with 14 carries for 70 yards as well as seven catches for 47 yards. In eight games over the season, Armstrong recorded a catch in seven of them with the lone game where he did not record a catch being his college opener against Presbyterian. Armstrong also has excellent speed and put it to use returning kicks last year taking eight kicks back for a total of 150 yards.

There is no reason to believe that Armstrong won't be a main feature on return teams and it's likely that he will be prominent on kickoffs, hoping to improve upon a unit which finished 119th in the nation in average kickoff return distance at a meager 17.43 yards. FSU led the nation last year with an average of 28.16 yards per return.

Check back in later this afternoon to see who comes in at number 43. We're just a little over a month away from kickoff. As always, go Deacs!