Jamey Chadwell and Liberty have concluded the December Early Signing Period, which resulted in the signing of 14 scholarship athletes on Wednesday. For more information be sure to check out our Signing Day Live Blog and also hear everything that Coach Chadwell had to say about the signing class.

Here are a few notes/thoughts on the class:

  1. The class is ranked No. 75 by On3Sports,  No. 84 by 247Sports, and No. 85 by Rivals. If those rankings hold, this will go down as the highest rated class in school history. Prior to this year, Liberty’s highest ranked recruiting classes were No. 83 by On3 (2021), No. 88 by 247Sports (2020), and No. 92 by Rivals (2022).
  2. All except for two signees were ranked as a three-star prospect by at least one of the national recruiting services, putting it right on par with last year’s class that only had two prospects not ranked, a program best.
  3. The signees came from 7 different states: Georgia continues to be the hardest recruited state by the Flames’ coaching staff, a reoccurring trend under multiple coaching staffs. Liberty signed 5 from Georgia with 3 coming from Virginia. Florida had 2 signees while Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Alabama each had one.
  4. Defensive line was clearly a priority with four signees coming to the defensive front. Liberty also signed 3 defensive backs, 2 offensive linemen, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, and 1 quarterback.
  5. It’s hard to single out any one prospect in this class as there are several that are highly rated. RB Jaylon Coleman was a four-star prospect by several services before committing to Liberty while Ethan Houck saw his recruiting profile blow up during his senior season and he’s now the highest rated quarterback to ever sign with the Flames out of high school. DL Kam Cullins was committed to two different ACC schools before landing at Liberty.
  6. Houck is the highest rated quarterback prospect in this class to sign with a Group of 5 program. 247 ranks him as the 43rd best QB in the class; On3 ranks him as the 19th best QB while ESPN has him rated as the 13th best QB. All three of these services have Houck as the highest rated QB prospect to sign with a G5 team.

Let’s talk about rankings. Here is how the class is rated individually by 247Sports:

  1. Jaylon Coleman, 3rd highest rated signee in program history, highest rated running back
  2. Ethan Houck, 4th highest rated signee in program history, highest rated quarterback
  3. Kam Cullins, 5th highest rated signee in program history, highest rated interior defensive lineman (could also play on the edge)
  4. Sam Cohen, 8th highest rated signee in program history
  5. Nas Newkirk, 9th highest rated signee in program history, highest rated wide receiver
  6. Gavin Askew, 12th highest rated signee in program history
  7. Gabe Smith, 14th highest rated signee in program history, highest rated offensive lineman
  8. Bryce Randolph, 17th highest rated signee in program history
  9. Brandon Edozie, 19th highest rated signee in program history, 2nd highest rated offensive lineman

Here’s a look at which signees had offers from P4 programs (# of P4 offers):

  • DL Sam Cohen (12)
  • RB Jaylon Coleman (10)
  • OL Gabe Smith (9)
  • WR Nas Newkirk (8)
  • CB Uriah Points (7)
  • DL Kam Cullins (4)
  • WR Bryce Randolph (3)
  • DB Myke Gunn (1)