Over the course of preseason practices, the media will have the opportunity to speak with all the on-field, position coaches for the Liberty Flames. Those press conferences continued earlier this week when quarterbacks coach Kent Austin and offensive line coach Chris Klenakis met with the media.

Here are a few of the main takeaways from those interview sessions:

  • Obviously, Charlie Brewer was officially named Liberty’s starting quarterback on Monday, Coach Austin gave a look inside that decision, saying he has been on a “constant upward trajectory” with his performance on the field since the spring and throughout camp. He has also improved significantly with his ability to protect the ball.
  • Austin says that the experience factor Brewer has, having been the starting quarterback at both Baylor and Utah, gave him a big advantage that was hard for the other quarterbacks to overcome. “There’s no substitute for experience,” Austin said.
  • Austin also said that Brewer was given some things that he needed to work on following spring practice and going into the summer, particularly with his mechanics and his lower body when throwing the football. He worked on those things on his own away from the coaching staff during the summer and had improved in those areas by the time training camp started.
  • Johnathan Bennett is the backup to Brewer at quarterback right now, Austin stated.
  • As for Kaidon Salter and Nate Hampton, Austin said, “We’re bringing the other two along and trying to determine maybe smaller packages that we feel confident if the other two find themselves int he game, then we know they have a high execution level from a decision making standpoint.”
  • Austin said that Salter has made a lot of progression since last year, but he still needs to improve his decision making, saying it is still “a work in progress.”
  • Coach Klenakis says he has about eight guys that he feels confident in being able to throw into the game today, and he is working on growing that number with a couple of guys right on the bubble.
  • Klenakis feels really good about the top two centers on the team in Cam Reddy and John Kourtis.
  • X’Zauvea Gadlin provides an additional element with his flexibility to play multiple positions on the line. He has experience playing all five positions at the Division I level, and could help the Flames out this season at both guard and tackle.

Look for much more on the quarterbacks and offensive line in the coming days as part of our position previews.