photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong works out with the team at Memorial Stadium, early Friday, July 29, 2016.

In writing about Kansas defensive end Dorance Armstrong after the potentially program-turning upset of Texas, I left off the final sentence of a string of superlatives that safety Fish Smithson said about Armstrong until I could research it.

“Statistically,” Smithson said, “I think his stats will match up with any defensive end in the country.”

Smithson not only knows his stuff on the field in making the calls for the defense, he knows his national statistics. Since All-Americans need numbers to back them up and Armstrong has them, that makes him a bona fide All-American candidate.

Take a look at how Armstrong stacks up in two key statistical categories for defensive ends, sacks and tackles for loss:

PLAYER (POS.) School G Sacks;

1 – Hunter Dimick (DE) Utah 11 14.0;
2 – DeMarcus Walker (DE) FSU 11 13.0;
3 – Harold Landry (DE) BC 11 12.0;
3 – Jaylon Ferguson (DE) LaTech 11 12.0;
5 – Ejuan Price (DE) Pitt 11 11.0;
5 – Derek Barnett (DE) Tenn 11 11.0;
5 – Shaquem Griffin (LB) UCF 11 11.0;
8 – Arden Key (DE) LSU 10 10.0;
8 – Dorance Armstrong(DE) KU 11 10.0;

8 – Takkarist McKinley(DE) UCLA 11 10.0;
8 – Jimmie Gilbert (LB) Col. 11 10.0;

PLAYER (POS.) SCHOOL G TFL;

1 – Haason Reddick(DE) Temple 11 20.0;
2 – Hunter Dimick (DE) Utah 11 19.5;
2 – Bradley Chubb (DE) NC State 11 19.5;
4 – Ejuan Price (DE) Pitt 11 19.0;
4 – Ed Oliver (DT) Houston 11 19.0;
6 – McKinley (DE) UCLA 10 18.0;
7 – Armstrong (DE) KU 11 17.0;

7 – Barnett (DE) Tenn 11 17.0;
7 – Carroll Phillips (DE) Ill. 11 17.0;
7 – Tanzel Smart (DT) Tulane 11 17.0;
7 – Woody Baron (DT) Va. Tech 11 17.0;

Armstrong ranks tied for seventh in the FBS in sacks and, as you can see, only four other players, all defensive ends, are listed in the top 10 in the nation in both sacks and tackles for loss: Utah’s Dimick, Pitt’s Price, UCLA’s McKinley and Tennessee’s Barnett.

That doesn’t mean Armstrong will be named All-American. KU’s 2-9 record, which could fall to 2-10 Saturday in Manhattan, won’t help his cause. His stats do mean he’s a bona fide All-American candidate.