Here are a few notables from today’s press conference with Turner Gill, Robert Wimberly, and Joe Dailey as they prepare for Thursday night’s non-conference game against Coastal Carolina:
1. GILL WILL SERVE HIS 1-GAME SUSPENSION THIS WEEK.
As was announced a few weeks ago, Coach Gill will serve a 1-game suspension due to a minor NCAA recruiting violation. Since this is the final regular season game, it’s no surprise that he’s serving it this week. Gill will travel with the team, but he will not be allowed to have any contact with coaches or players beginning midnight Wednesday night. He says he will likely watch the game on TV from his hotel room.
In his place, defensive coordinator Robert Wimberly will serve as the acting head coach.
“We’re not going to change anything that we’ve done in the past as far as routine wise, with our coaches and with our players,” Gill said. “(Wimberly’s) just going to have a few more duties as far as being able to handle the coaches in the staff meeting on Thursday morning that we go over a few little things just to make sure we’re all on the same track for preparation for the game. Talk to the team, as far as the rest of the day and handle all the other head coaching responsibilities. That’s, in general, what’s going to happen on Thursday, game day.”
2. FLAMES HAVE A QUICK TURNAROUND ON A SHORT WEEK.
We see it in the NFL every week, teams that have a short turnaround, playing on Thursday night, particularly on the road, have a tough time. Not only do the Flames have a quick turnaround, but also have to do so coming off a tough loss this past Saturday against Charleston Southern.
Liberty practiced Sunday night and also on Monday, which is normally a day off. The Flames will also practice Tuesday afternoon before travelling to South Carolina on Wednesday.
“It’s always a thrill to go out and try to win a football game, no matter what the circumstances are,” Gill stated. “I know, yeah, technically this is our last regular season game we have on our schedule. You don’t want to put any more on it than it is, don’t put any more pressure on it as we talk about with the team. You just go out and play and do the best you can and play as hard as you can and then be prepared. It’s all about preparation, if you’re prepared well, then for the most case, you’re going to go out and play well. I think all of our staff and players are excited about playing a football game and trying to win just like we do any other game. So, there’s a lot of significance with all the other things that are going on too, but also we want to make sure we go out and win the football game.”
3. FLAMES ARE CO-CHAMPIONS REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS THIS WEEK.
At the 8 second mark of his over 15 minute press conference, Gill said, “positives: we’re co-Big South champions. That’s a blessing of words to say even though we lost the game last week, that’s a great accomplishment this team has acquired. One thing I want to say about the seniors too is, 4 out of 5 years we’ve been conference champions. That’s a great accomplishment by the seniors who are playing their last regular season game.”
Liberty is finished with the Big South portion of its schedule, finishing 4-1 in conference. The Flames are currently still in 1st place by half a game as both Charleston Southern and Kennesaw State are 3-1. The Buccaneers and Owls are both 3-1 in Big South play and will square off against one another at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
4. COASTAL IS SHORT HANDED AT QUARTERBACK.
Due to injury, Coastal has played multiple quarterbacks this season. The Flames are preparing for multiple quarterbacks, not knowing who may start. Tyler Keane has the most playing time this season, playing in 10 games, completing 64% of his passes for 809 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
“Quarterback, whoever plays, we’ll find out,” Wimberly said. “We’ve watched all 3 quarterbacks that have played and (we are) trying to put together a good game plan.”
5. MICKEY MATTHEWS IS COASTAL’S DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR.
You should recognize Coastal’s defensive coordinator as Mickey Matthews took over there this season. Matthews was head coach at James Madison from 1999-2013. He’s originally from Texas where Coach Gill knows him from. Matthews is 6-0 as a head coach against the Flames. Liberty offensive coordinator Joe Dailey likened Matthews’ defense to Liberty’s.
“Structurally, they’re similar to what we’ve seen in previous weeks,” Joe Dailey said. “They’re similar in some senses in what we do here at Liberty. There’s some familiarity with what they do. Just the presentation of their structure is different from us in the sense that they mix up a lot of zone and man coverages, constantly. They don’t have any rhythm, per say, in a sense that it’s going to be cover 2, cover 4, cover 6 on first and second down and man on 3rd down. At any point in time, they can dial up any of those coverages and you have to be prepared.”
6. D’ANGELO HENDERSON IS STILL THERE.
The Chanticleers running back is having another great season, rushing for 126 yards per game and 12 touchdowns. If they still counted as an FCS team for statistic purposes, Henderson would rank 5th in all of FCS football in rushing.
“That’s how you win championships, you’ve got to be able to run the ball, and they’re doing that at a high level. They won the game last week because they were able to consistently run the ball…We know we have to put together a good game plan to stop the run.”
7. INJURY REPORT.
Coach Gill said defensive lineman Will Brown and safety Elijah Benton are out. Offensive lineman Lucas Holder is doubtful. Offensive lineman Sam Isaacson, defensive linemen Tolen Avery and Juwan Wells, and safety Solomon McGinty are all questionable.
Due to the injuries at defensive tackle and JaRon Greene being off the team, the Flames are down to true freshman DeCarlo Hamilton and offensive line convert Gregg Storey as the top defensive tackles this week.
