LAWRENCE — The first time Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen saw his star pass rusher, it wasn’t on a football field.

Sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong is in the midst of a monstrous season. He leads the Jayhawks with 14 solo tackles for loss (third most in the nation) and eight sacks (tied for eighth). Entering last week’s contest against West Virginia, he had recorded a sack in six straight games and Armstrong hopes to add to those totals this week as KU (1-8, 0-6 in the Big 12) hosts Iowa State (1-8, 0-6) at 11 a.m. Saturday.

While his football skill appears obvious, his ability on the basketball court — where Bowen and the KU staff first saw him in person — isn’t quite so obvious.

"(Former KU defensive line coach) Calvin Thibodeaux was recruiting him and we went and watched (a basketball practice)," Bowen said. "He was that long, lean guy. It reminded me of the Aldon Smith kid at Raytown that ended up going to Missouri. Dorance kind of looked like him coming out of high school."

While football was the ultimate path for Armstrong, he was far from a slouch on the hardwood at North Shore High School in Houston, where he played both football and basketball. He impressed the KU coaches with his ability to run the floor, while it was clear his length and body type would benefit him in whichever sport he pursued.

Armstrong also possessed the explosiveness to dunk, something he’s not afraid to break out in games of 5-on-5 against teammates.

"My first time (dunking) was probably like going into my sophomore year," Armstrong said. "Last time was sometime at the rec, playing up here. … (There’s) a lot of guys that actually like playing."

But even while playing basketball in high school, Armstrong said he always had a good idea what sport he wanted to play in college. His football talent was obvious; his choice was even more so.

"It was definitely always football," Armstrong said.

Now, years removed from his basketball past, Armstrong has morphed into one of the best defensive players in the Big 12. He’s received praise from other coaches in the league about his talent level and is even gaining some attention nationally. On Thursday, Armstrong was named to the Ted Hendricks Award Watch List, the criteria of which involves a defensive end that excels not only on the field but exhibits "leadership abilities," according to a KU Athletics release.

When it comes to leadership, Armstrong isn’t an especially vocal person. He said he prefers to lead by example in practice and keeps some things to himself. At the same time, the coaches have begun to use Armstrong to bring along other players, such as freshman Isaiah Bean, a similar type of defensive end whose speed is among his best attributes.

"I call Isaiah ‘2.0’ in reference to Dorance," defensive line coach Michael Slater said. "That gives Isaiah some motivation and kind of prods Dorance."

And even while the two compete, Armstrong — at least on the outside — doesn’t appear to be bothered by the nickname.

Described by Slater as "very hard on himself," Armstrong said he prefers to let other people speak to his owns abilities. He doesn’t, however, have any such qualms when it comes to the freshman.

"Me and Isaiah are like boys. We’re real close. We do a lot of stuff together," Armstrong said. "I actually want him to be better than me. I know he’s underweight, (but) he’s already faster than me."

In fact, if there’s a nickname that bothers Armstrong, at least according to his teammates, it’s the one assigned to him by fellow defensive end Damani Mosby. Mosby refers to Armstrong as "prototype," a player who looks like he’s ready for the next level, and greets him with the nickname whenever the two cross paths.

"He might not agree to that, but all the time I call him prototype because he looks like those types of guys. He plays like those types of guys," Mosby said. "I’m really, really excited to see how he’s going to be, when it’s all said and done."

Despite all the accolades, Armstrong’s 2016 season almost didn’t happen.

Leading up to the West Virginia game last week, KU coach David Beaty talked about the first practice of the fall camp, when Armstrong went down with an apparent ACL injury. Beaty said he lost his breath and couldn’t believe what had happened, but was relieved when the diagnosis came back as a "slight tear."

Since that time, Armstrong has recovered and doesn’t have any problems with the knee — his coach is sure to ask him each week. He has wreaked havoc in opposing backfields, and looks to continue to do so to close out the year.

"When you’re developing your program or trying to turn a program around, you need to hit on a couple every year, a couple really good ones," Beaty said. "And Dorance is one that we hit on."