Coming Attractions: Ray-Ray Armstrong defines Miami's rebound, baggage and all

• Typecasting. If NFL scouts commissioned a statue of the perfect strong safety, and that statue was subsequently brought to life in the middle of the night by the animating touch of Ronnie Lott's severed pinky finger, the figure striding from the pedestal would be Ray-Ray Armstrong.

That's always been the case: At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Armstrong was a versatile, two-way prep star in Sanford, Fla., and a no-brainer pick for five-star status by every major recruiting site in 2009, regardless of his eventual position in college; after three seasons in the Miami secondary, he's a no-brainer to emerge as one of the most coveted safeties in next year's draft. For the rare physical specimen who can coax safety speed from a would-be linebacker's frame, such is life.

Just don't expect anyone in Miami to join the hosannas to Armstrong's future. They still have too much invested in the present: Three-fourths of the way through his college career, Armstrong has been suspended for as many games (5) as he's started, and just spent his entire junior season as a glorified backup after being benched by the NCAA for his role in the sprawling Nevin Shapiro scandal. It's tempting to cast Armstrong as a microcosm of 'The U' in general: For every flash of potential, there are two red flags. And now, heading into his senior campaign, there are only a dozen games left to either shed the "potential" tag for good or be forced to drag it along to the next level.

• At His Best. In the long run, it's still entirely possible that Armstrong's detour through various doghouses in 2011 will turn out to be a brief blip in an otherwise straightforward success story. Before the Shapiro grenade exploded last August, Armstrong's name was all over preseason All-ACC (and even a few All-America) teams, based largely on the strength of a sophomore campaign in which he'd finished third on the team in tackles, returned one of his three interceptions for a touchdown and picked up a second-team all-conference nod. Miami's secondary as a whole led the ACC against the pass that year in terms of both yards and efficiency, and Armstrong still looked every bit the rising star.

Armstrong's size makes him ideal for run support – he has no trouble taking on a 230-pound tailback at the point of attack, or in the open field – and allows him to cover a lot of ground in coverage despite a lack of blazing, Taylor Mays-caliber speed. It may not make him a headliner on a team that's not in the headlines much for anything it does on the field anymore, but if Armstrong merely returns to his sophomore form this fall, he'll be impossible for teams to ignore next April. If he looks anything like he was once expected to look as an upperclassman, first-round money is still very much on the table.

• Curb Your Enthusiasm. Speaking strictly from an on-field perspective, it's also impossible to ignore the fact that Armstrong a) Was immediately demoted by the new coaching staff last spring, long before any hints of a pending suspension, and b) Failed to regain his starting job during the season, despite a consistently uninspiring effort by the Miami secondary. As a tackler, he's somewhat prone to taking bad angles to the ball; in coverage, he's susceptible to the occasional mental breakdown. Sometimes, he just gets beat:

But last year's giant leap backwards seemed to begin off the field – and not only with the four-game suspension that resulted from Armstrong's role in the Shapiro Affair. Prior to that, there was the spring demotion in favor of younger players the coaches thought had worked harder during winter conditioning. Even after that, there was a second suspension following an expensive dinner with a potential agent; the team left Armstrong at home during a 23-19 loss at Florida State, and he came off the bench in the 'Canes' last two games. Forget accolades and draft position: Right now, it's a meaningful sign of progress that he was actually listed as a starter coming out of the spring, and that's not guaranteed to last.

• One other thing you should probably know… While Armstrong always seemed destined for defense in college, a few recruiting sites listed him as an "Athlete" out of high school as a nod to his success as a prep quarterback: As a senior at Seminole High he accounted for more than 2,500 total yards and 36 touchdowns, 14 of them through the air, including the most dramatic play in one of the most dramatic high school games of the last decade. Trailing powerhouse Miami Northwestern 21-20 with less than a minute to play in the 6A state championship game, and facing fourth-and-long from his own 40-yard line, Armstrong uncorked a prayerto fellow five-star/future Florida Gator Andre Debose…

…thus capping a 28-0 Seminole rally and ending Northwestern's two-year run as champs in the state's largest classification. Between both schools, that game alone featured 17 future FBS signees – and that was one year after the bumper senior crop from Northwestern that made Miami's 2008 recruiting class arguably the most hyped in the country.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: Armstrong's given name is "Aravious."

• What to expect in the fall. There are very few scenarios in which "return to sophomore form" qualifies as a positive outlook, but 2011 was such a low point for Armstrong that merely showing up as a healthy, reliable presence for a full season is probably the best thing he can do for his team and his stock. From that standpoint, his head coach sounded convincedat the end of spring practice:

Q: [Safety] Vaughn Telemaque and [cornerback] Brandon McGee are down the depth chart after starting last year. Is that a message for them?

[Al] Golden: There's no message. We all coached a 6-6 team. We all played for a 6-6 team. That's not good enough for anybody. […] All of our performance has to change. Clearly Ray Ray Armstrong got the message. Ray Ray you can argue had the best offseason of anybody. [He] made a lot of sacrifices on his time. He gave up his winter vacation and made a lot of progress. There's not a lot of guys got a black shirt, had the best rating you can in each of their eight UTough segments, and he did. He's leading by example right now.

That's not exactly anointing Armstrong as the next Sean Taylor or Ed Reed. But it is a promise that he still has a chance to make good on some of that hype, and more importantly, to help set a stable course for a program in desperate need of a rudder.

- - -
Previously on Coming Attractions: Christine Michael, Texas A&M.