RENO, Nevada — Brian Armstrong is reuniting with new Nevada head coach Jeff Choate on the Wolf Pack's coaching staff.
Armstrong will serve as Nevada's offensive line coach and run game coordinator, the school announced Friday.
Armstrong, who served on Montana State's staff from 2016-22, including all four seasons of Choate's tenure as head coach there, comes to Reno after a year at Fresno State, where he oversaw the offensive line.
Prior to joining the Fresno State staff, Armstrong spent four seasons as Montana State's offensive line coach and run game coordinator, after serving as tight ends coach and offensive coordinator for the Bobcats.
In his final season in Bozeman, Montana State went 12-2, captured the Big Sky title, and made its third-straight FCS semifinal appearance. The Bobcat offense ranked second in the FCS and led the Big Sky in rushing offense, churning out 311.9 rushing yards per game. The Bobcats ranked third in the FCS in scoring offense (42.9 points per game) and fourth in total offense (495.1 yards per game).
Individually, Armstrong coached an FCS All-America offensive lineman in each of his four seasons overseeing the Bobcat offensive line. Lewis Kidd earned first-team All-America honors in 2021, then signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints, appearing in 13 games during the 2022 campaign.
In 2021, Montana State reached the FCS Championship Game. The Bobcats finished seventh in the FCS with 220.9 rushing yards per game. Montana State was 21st in the FCS in sacks allowed (1.33 per game) under Armstrong's leadership.
Armstrong's success as an offensive line coach showed in each of his years with Montana State, taking the 2019 team to the FCS semifinals and finishing seventh in the FCS in fewest sacks allowed, 8th in rushing offense, 27th in scoring offense. In 2016, he coached offensive line for team that finished 17th in the FCS in rushing offense, and 14th in red zone offense.
With Rocky Mountain, he was named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2013. He is second on Rocky Mountain's all-time win-loss record as head coach. His 2013 team appeared in the NAIA Playoffs.
He has coached 10 total All-Americans: offensive linemen Rush Reimer (2022, Third Team), Lewis Kidd (2021, First Team), Mitch Brott (2019, Second Team), JP Flynn (2016, Third Team), Sonny Ah Kui (2010), and Dima Vasilevskiy, wide receiver Andre McCulloch (2013-15), and quarterback Kasey Peters (2010).
Choate also plucked James Price from Montana State to serve on Nevada's staff full time, starting as the interim wide receivers coach, after serving the 2023 season as director of player personnel at MSU.
Prior to his season in Bozeman, Price, a standout wide receiver for Wyoming from 2015-18, worked with wide receivers at IMG Academy in Florida from 2019-21, then served as an offensive graduate assistant at Kansas in 2022.
