On Friday afternoon Drew Armbrister got to realize a childhood dream. The Greeneville senior signed his paperwork to join the football program at East Tennessee State University in a ceremony in front of his friends, family and coaches.
“It’s exciting. There was a lot of pressure that went into it, but now I’m ready to get everything in motion,” Armbrister said. “It means the world to be able to play college football. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid, and to be able to fulfill this dream means the world to me.”
Armbrister looked at several schools for his football future, but the right academic path ultimately made his decision. He was accepted into the prestigious Roan Scholars Leadership Program, and with that opportunity in front of him joining the Buccaneers football team as a preferred walk on was the path that made the most sense.
“Knowing that all my hard work paid off is really rewarding. Not just on the field, but all of those hours studying. It led to a dream come true,” Armbrister said. “Receiving that scholarship put everything in motion. I had opportunities to play football elsewhere, but the culture at ETSU is pretty similar to what we have at Greeneville, and that made me really want to go there.”
Armbrister was an All-State linebacker for the Greene Devils this past season. He led Greeneville with 96 tackles to go with eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He was named the Region 1-4A co-defensive player of the year. With ETSU he plans to stay at the middle linebacker spot and is already working on getting bigger, faster and stronger.
“I’ll be playing middle linebacker, just like I did here. I love the leadership part of the position. You tell everybody what they need to do, where they need to go, and how to get there. That’s what I love about the position,” Armbrister said.
ETSU is coming off a 7-5 season in 2024 and went 5-3 in the SoCon. The Bucs are entering their first season under head coach Will Healy who previously led Austin-Peay and Charlotte before spending two years as an assistant at the FCS level. Armbrister is excited about the culture that the new coach is establishing in Johnson City.
“Culture is everything in football and that is what I’m going to take away from Greeneville,” Armbrister said. “The family aspect of it, the work ethic of it, there is a standard here, and I hope to set the same type of standard at ETSU.”
Armbrister plans to study finance with aspirations to one day work on Wall Street.
