Former Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. and his mother saved a family from their burning house in his hometown of Gulfport, Miss., on Monday night. Armstrong was visiting his family when he noticed the house next door was on fire and decided to act.
Armstrong said he’s known his neighbors for some time and wanted help any way he could to get them to safety, per WLOX-TV.
“I saw a bunch of smoke, so I just started grabbing bricks and throwing ’em through the window and realized they were trying to get out of the back right window,” he said. “So I crawled in there and grabbed her, picked her up and drug her to the window. We got her out. At the end of the day, I was just trying to find her. It was more of just, I’ve known her since I was a little kid.”
Armstrong’s wife, Jaylyn, explained on Twitter what happened when they saw the fire.
“[Tommy] and his mom are heros [sic],” she said. “We’re sitting in her living room and the neighbors house burst in flames. We run over and I take care of the young girl who punched the windows out to break free, Tommy and his mom jump into the burning house to pull the remaining people out.”
On Tuesday morning, Armstrong posted a reminder how fragile life can be to his Twitter followers.
“Hug your family extra tight and always tell them how much you appreciate them,” he tweeted. “Life is too precious.”
Armstrong spent five seasons at Nebraska, including the final three as the starting quarterback. He is the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (8,871) and touchdown passes (67) and has spent the past four years playing professionally in the Alliance of American Football and Indoor Football League.
