The past four seasons Liberty’s quarterback position has been a known commodity entering training camp. Once Buckshot Calvert unseated Stephon Masha early in the 2016 season, Calvert was Liberty’s gun-slinger and he didn’t face much competition.
Previous Liberty head coach Turner Gill pretty much declared Buckshot his starting quarterback each spring, and while Calvert faced some competition when Auburn transfer Malik Willis joined the program a year ago, the chances Willis would get a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately was fairly slim.
As current Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze looks to find Calvert’s replacement, he’s utilizing stiff competition during training camp to test the challengers.
3-star Johnathan Bennett was brought in, first by Gill and then solidified by Freeze as part of the 2019 class. He operated as Buckshot’s backup last season before going down to injury and redshirting.
As mentioned, Freeze quickly brought in Willis to join the quarterback room last summer, and in December he added even more competition with Maine grad transfer Chris Ferguson.
“We certainly lost a lot of production in Buckshot,” Freeze said following the first practice of training camp Friday. “He’s hard to replace, but I’m really excited about the competition we have there. Just in day one today, I thought it was very competitive, I thought Malik and Chris and JB, all looked pretty, pretty good. I love competition in rooms and that’s why we brought in the ones we did, and I’m just excited to see it play out.”
Willis got all the reps with the first-team on Friday while Ferguson got the reps with the second-team. Freeze said those two will alternate between first and second team reps through the first seven practices of training camp, as Ferguson will get first-team reps Monday.
“I think we’ve got some really good options there just from one day of practice,” Freeze continued, “but really excited about the competition there.”
Bennett has fully recovered from his injury suffered against Hampton last season and he was primarily taking reps with the third-team on Friday.
“He was good today,” Freeze said of Bennett. “We will probably slide him in there some with the 2’s also, if he continues to look like he did today.”
Willis and Ferguson both took very different paths to Liberty. Willis was a highly rated 3-star prospect out of Roswell High School in Atlanta, Georgia with offers from the likes of Auburn and Virginia Tech, signing with the Tigers before losing the starting job and transferring.
From La Salle College High School in Glenside, Pennsylvania, Ferguson only had the Maine offer, but he quickly made an impression on the Black Bears’ staff. starting 28 games for the FCS squad. Now, he has just one season of eligibility remaining and he hopes to make it count.
“To me, it’s all about competition and he provides that,” Freeze said of bringing Ferguson in. “He’s hungry, he’s a leader, people follow him, he’s vocal, he does everything the right way. He’s what you want in that quarterback room. He’s going to push for his shot in the right way. They have a good, healthy relationship going there that I really like. He has provided competition.”
With two seasons of eligibility left, Willis could seize control of the starting position for the next two seasons. Both Willis and Ferguson have some similarities, but they are far more different than they are a like.
Willis’ strength is his athleticism and being able to use his legs to run the football or by rolling out of the pocket. Ferguson is the more traditional, pocket-style passer.
“I think Chris is very similar to Bo Wallace,” said Freeze. “Chris runs it well enough where you can run certain things with him. Malik’s more like Chad Kelly, he’s an athletic quarterback.”
These next few days of practice will be critical for the Flames as Freeze and quarterback coach Kent Austin look to identify who will be the Flames’ starting quarterback on opening day.
“If there’s one that takes care of the football better and he’s more accurate, his reads are better, his mental side is better, ultimately that will over-weigh just a guy being better at being a dual-threat,” said Freeze. “I like having the options we have. Ultimately though, more importantly than them being able to use their feet is the way they run the offense, the understanding they have of it and their ability to take care of the football and to put us in good positions.”
*photo courtesy Liberty Athletics
