Mike Vukovcan Life has changed quite a bit over the last calendar year for Hopewell High School freshman James Armstrong.|
One year ago, Armstrong was playing with the Hopewell Pony League team that was on their way towards winning the Beaver County Pony League Championship. He was also working out with the Hopewell High School football team preparing for his first season of varsity football. Little did he know that he would become the full-time starter at quarterback due to the season-ending injury in training camp to junior Kingston Krotec.
Fast forward to 2025 and Armstrong is still busy but the focus has changed in certain areas.
‘Boo Boo’ is working out with the Vikings HS basketball team in their Summer League sessions as he’ll be a focal point of next years squad.
However, the biggest change is how Armstrong is viewed as a football player. The difference is that James is now a known commodity to people outside of Beaver County and has turned into a D-1 football recruit after landing an offer from the Pitt Panthers.
Armstrong is now finding out that being a D-1 football recruit brings with it pressure and attention from coaches.
College coaches know Armstrong has talent but because he’s only a freshman, they are attempting to get him to come to their campus and attend football camps in order to watch him workout and to evaluate him themselves. Unlike college official visits which are paid for by the football program, attending these prospect camps aren’t free.
Currently, Armstrong has been invited to attend camps at Toledo, Virginia, Towson, Rutgers, Alabama, Michigan State, Robert Morris, Indiana, Northwestern and Michigan.
Thank you @GGocella for the invite to @AlabamaFTBL camps this summer @PghSportsNow @210ths @jarma72 @HopewellSport @HopewellVikesFB @CraigB57 pic.twitter.com/t1zSiqwmLY
— James “Booboo” Armstrong (@Armstrong_Qb) May 17, 2025
Due to a number of different reasons, Armstrong has decided to attend upcoming prospects camp at Rutgers, Robert Morris and has accepted an invitation to participate in the prestigious 2 Tenths Top 150 Camp in Pittsburgh. This is run by legendary Dee Brown and is attended by all the top players in the WPIAL.
“Right now, that’s what I have planned,” Armstrong tells VSN. “I really wanted to go to like six camps but I had schedule conflicts and our team is participating in 7-on-7’s coming up. My reason for going to these is to just keep my name out there and keep playing football in order to improve. I’m not really worried about attending camps this offseason, my main focus is to personally improve for the upcoming season.”
“I’m going to Rutgers because I’ll be in Philadelphia next week with family and it’s only an hour or so away from where my family is at. The coaches from Rutgers have been contacting me and wanted me to visit them in the spring but I wasn’t able to get there.”
Before working out with the Vikings basketball team this afternoon, Vikings Sports Now sat down with Armstrong to talk about this past year, how things have changed and what’s ahead.
“Last season at this time, I was a lot more timid,” said Armstrong. “I’m always a confident player but I was nervous a lot last year. I’m completely different this year and have way more confidence. When I attend these camps, I won’t be nervous and will be out there just playing my game.”
In terms of goals for this football season, Armstrong priority number one is winning and getting Hopewell to the playoffs. As far as personal goals, he has some areas that he wants to improve in.
“I need to really just get better at really just being a quarterback. I’m focused on making better decisions on the field, I want to stay in the pocket more and not just run around. Last year, I got caught running around a lot and if I would’ve stayed in the pocket, I would’ve had someone open. I need to get better at reading the defenses and finding the open routes. It’s all about making the right decisions.”
Full freshmen season highlights
2131 total yard
25 total tds
Went from 1-9 to 4-6 being competitive in each game
Can wait for next season@210ths @PA_TodaySports @wpialsportsnews @jarma72 @CoachTerryPSU @CoachDuzzPittFB @TheWPIALEdition @Zachrosa5 https://t.co/l8i4YPnJVX pic.twitter.com/jvrtLembPF— James “Booboo” Armstrong (@Armstrong_Qb) November 2, 2024
Personally, I’ve talked with Armstrong numerous times over the past couple of years and today he seemed different, more mature and with a focus. If things stay that way, the 2025-26 sports season could be a special one for Hopewell and for Armstrong individually.
