Coach Gill addressed his 2014 signing class with a press conference Wednesday afternoon. You can watch the entire 23 minute press conference on Libertyflames.com, but here are a few notable quotes on each signee:
2014 recruits have all signed!! Three words to describe this class: AWESOME, ASSERTIVE, ATHLETIC
— Turner Gill (@LibertyTGill) February 5, 2014
TE Will Johnson
“Johnson is a great get for us. He was my last recruit at Kansas. I had a relationship with him…that carried over to West Virginia. He gave us a call. He’s a big man. I see him as a triple threat. He can catch the football, he also can block, but I see him as a tremendous leader. He has that charisma about him. When he walks into a room, you know people are going to listen to what he has to say.”
QB J.T. Bradwell
“I think he is intelligent, dual-threat quarterback. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to go see him play. (I was) very, very impressed. He threw the ball well, ran the ball well. I liked the way he commanded the offense. I saw players respond to him when things didn’t go well. I saw him go over and talk to players about what they should have done. I know what I’m getting, and I like what I’m seeing. He’s a great competitor. I feel really good about him.”
OL James Passmore
“He’s a state champion wrestler, this guy has a lot of bite about him. He has great size, great athleticism. He really fits our mold of what we’re trying to do.”
OL Gregg Storey
“He’s only played 2 years of football. So, his best football is ahead of him. I think that was a little advantageous for us as he didn’t have a lot of the experience that some of the people are looking for. He is great size, very athletic, very big. He was in our camp.”
WR B.J. Farrow
“Everybody knows about him locally. I think the best adjective to describe him as a football player is explosiveness. When you talk about explosiveness from an offensive player, he shows that. He defines an explosive football player. We’re ecstatic about him. He’s a champion, a competitor, loves the game, loves to compete, and we’re glad to have him on board. I think he’s the full package as a receiver. He will have a chance (to play as a freshman).”
FB Daquin Edwards
“Athletic. The biggest thing about him is he’s very versatile. Yes, he will fit the fullback for us, but you will see him on tape where he can run the ball. The versatility of him really fits what we’re trying to accomplish.”
LB Lucas Irons
“One year player. You watch him on tape, he defines an explosive player on defense. When he strikes you, he strikes you in a great way and knocks everyone back. He’s not a very big guy, but he’s going to be a guy that runs from sideline-to-sideline. He has great elusiveness, he can avoid blocks and get off blocks. The big thing about us being able to get him is he only played one year of football. I really, really feel like he has great upside.”
DL Javon Majors
“Another guy, 2 years of high school football, his best years are ahead of him. He’s not that weight-size right now (280 or 290), he’s right around the 260 range. He will be a big guy before it’s all over with. I see him being a great 3-technique guy for us, and have a chance to compete for a job this year.”
DL Tolen Avery
“He’s probably as athletic as any of the guys we have on our football team, any position. Defensive lineman, long, explosive, outstanding athlete. I’m just excited to have him and glad no body stopped by Galveston Ball High School or they would have been on him. He is very quick, very intense in what he needs to get done.”
CB Corbin Jackson
“Tenacious. State champion as a junior. I think in the state championship game he scored 4 touchdowns. This guy is a fantastic athlete. I went to see him play basketball. I became impressed with him watching him play basketball as I got to see him compete. When you can see him compete, you see the look in his eye, you can see their body language. Corbin Jackson, he is going to be a good one.”
S Avery James
“Comes from an outstanding high school program in Byrnes High School. A 2-time state champion. I love his physicality. Another guy who will strike you. Very athletic, he can run from sideline-to-sideline. He can be a guy that can cover people, can come on the blitz, he can take on a big fullback in the hole. I think he’s very versatile. He will have a chance, if he can learn some things, to compete for a job this season.”
CB Chris Turner
“A small town, but he’s a great athlete. Tremendous athleticism. He’s really an outstanding basketball player. He’s had conversations with Toledo and maybe one or two other basketball schools that were interested in him. But he said ‘I’m a football player and I want to go to Liberty University.’ Someone you don’t really know a whole lot about, but once he gets here on campus, you see him playing, whether he starts his first year, I don’t know, or play his first year. But I think once that time comes I think he’s going to be a guy that is very instrumental. He had 10 interceptions his senior year, 7 of them for touchdown.”
S Cam Jackson
“A guy we had on the radar screen there. We were seeing some other guys, then we continued to look at him, and went and saw him in person. Then it triggered it all that time in January. Man, he’s a smooth athlete. Really an all-American baseball player, that’s his first love. Does a lot of good things as an outfielder. A guy who is very, very talented. Fits what we’re looking for. Somebody that’s athletic, and somebody that loves to play football.”
Gill also mentioned 2 walk-ons: David Keen and Avery Echols.
David King
“He’s going to be our long snapper, plays a little bit of tight end, but we’re really looking at him primarily as a long snapper.”
Avery Echols
“A kicker out of the northern Michigan area.”