247 sports broke the story, as they tend to do with Bearcats recruiting, but the other services quickly followed suit. So what kind of player are the Bearcats getting in Armagost? Take a look for yourself.
It goes without saying that Armagost is a bit of a project. He is currently listed at 6'6" 235* on the recruiting services and has played some offensive line and some tight end. I sense that the weight room will play a big role in his future. If he contributes before his redshirt sophomore season something will have either gone exceptionally well in his development, or very wrong with the Bearcats depth due to injuries or some other unforeseen circumstance.
* Rounding up the average
The two things to keep in mind before jumping to conclusions and labelling Armagost a reach, as some certainly will. One is that the Bearcats have had a ton of luck projecting undersized kids from different positions into pretty great offensive linemen. Jason Kelce was a walk on linebacker who developed into a manimal with a mean streak, a berzerker beard and a fat contract in the NFL.
Eric Lefeld is probably a more ampt example. He was similarly proportioned to Armagost, Lefeld walked on campus an inch taller and roughly the same weight. And Lefeld will probably walk off it as the most decorated offensive lineman in Bearcats history with a long and profitable NFL career ahead of him. Here's the thing about that, both Kelce and Lefeld were recruited and developed under staffs who's recruiting evaluations I trust less than I do Tubs and his staff. If they think that Reed can help down the road I am all for it.
The second key point is that the Bearcats are going to be active in the market for JUCO offensive lineman who can help next year as Lefeld and his cohort move on. Brandon Pertile is a name that has come up in conversations with friends who follow UC recruiting. But he won't be the only one. I fully expect UC to grab a couple of JUCO linemen, probably tackles and continue recruiting the high school ranks for some interior players like Evan Mallory.