Liberty head football coach Hugh Freeze held a virtual press conference with the media on Wednesday to discuss several different topics, one of which being the five new transfers the Flames have added to the 2022 roster since the December signing period. Additionally, Liberty is also bringing back wide receiver CJ Yarbrough and Freeze discussed his return. Here’s everything Freeze had to say about these new additions:
OPENING STATEMENT
“Recruiting never stopped this go around even though you were technically in maybe a dead period after the first signing day, you still were working towards finishing your class. Whether it be through Junior College or transfer portal or the high school ranks, so you continued to recruit and they even allowed us to have a week to bring transfer kids to campus that first week of January.”
“It certainly changed the holidays a little bit. I don’t think anybody feels like they’ve had a break yet other than a few days there between the bowl game and the new year. I know everybody will be excited to have a weekend off this weekend, but we continued to recruit.”
WR CJ YARBROUGH
“I’m incredibly excited to have him back. He is an incredible leader right now on our team. Everybody is following his leadership, particularly in his workout groups, in his position group. I think he is mature. He was always a great kid, but I think he’s matured to where he really knows what he wants. I think him having those two shoulder issues really took some life out of him. Now that he feels healthy again, I would suspect right now, if we were voting on captains, which we’re doing soon, it wouldn’t shock me if he gets one of those nods. We’re thrilled to have him back. He’s going to improve us, gives us a big threat at outside. I think he’s going to be one of our leaders.”
DT DRE BUTLER
“I think if Dre makes up his mind that he wants to be great, he can be great. He has got the body, he’s got the 300 pound body that looks like he weighs 260. We’re excited, excited that he could be a real difference maker. He’s got to decide that he wants it, but there’s no question he flashed at times on tape when you see what he could become.”
TE BENTLEY HANSHAW
“Tight end from BYU. He’s a really good mixture of a guy that can put his hand in the ground and also can flex out and run routes. Excited about what we’ve seen from him thus far.”
C CAM REDDY
“Two year starter at Colorado State at center. Will come in and immediately compete for that starting job there.”
CB KOBE SINGLETON
“Out of Southern Utah, gives us some length there. I like his quick-twitch. I like the way he’s worked in team workouts with Coach Dom.”
OT NAASIR WATKINS
“He started at Kentucky two years ago at offensive tackle. Had some knee issues. We’re taking a chance on him because I just love his length, I love his personality. He is sharp. Graduate. Is doing really well thus far. Just got to pray that he stays healthy.”
OTHER COMMENTS ON RECRUITING
“Those additions combined with the guys we already announced in the December period, I think have given us the nucleus of a really solid class. Most of them are here working out. We’re fairly pleased with what we’ve seen.”
“Recruiting is really never over in this day and age. We still have scholarships remaining should we choose to use them. We will see how the spring semester develops, but we’re excited about those five (new additions), for sure.”
ON BRINGING IN PLUG AND PLAY TRANSFERS
“That’s obviously our thinking, but I’m for competition. I don’t promise anything but an opportunity in recruiting, but certainly if we didn’t feel they had the potential to be a first-teamer or second-teamer, we would certainly, probably, go the high school route. We believe, in our minds, that when we go in spring practice that these young men that have joined us from those programs, particularly the ones who have one year left or two years left, we would expect that those guys, a guy with three or four years left may be different, but those guys with one or two years left, I am hopeful that we were right and they are coming to help us immediately.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THEM IN FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER
“My interest level in a lot of the transfer portal world goes way down if you tell me, they are going to have to be really good and you feel like they are a starter day one, but my interest is really high when I know they can be here for a semester with Coach Dom, academics, and spring ball, obviously.”
ON WHAT POSITIONS MAY BE TARGETED WITH REMAINING SCHOLARSHIPS
“When you look at our roster, which I study every day. That’s the first thing I see when I come in, I have it on my desk. I have it by position, and I have both the 2022 team and the 2023 team. Roster management now, there needs to be a major in college for us coaches that we need to go back and take online for roster management because there are a lot of moving parts.”
“I’m constantly, literally mean daily, mulling over the next two years. You have no idea who’s going to take advantage of their COVID year in broadcasting the future. You have no idea what the transfer portal is going to do to you or for you. Obviously, trying to balance that with maintaining this 25 in a given year and 85 on the roster is a great, great challenge for us.”
“With the remaining ones we have, I’m not afraid to push them forward. Again, I’m glad I have them because we could have some things happen between now and June that we don’t foresee. But when I look at right now the 2022 version of us on paper, I’m pretty satisfied with the numbers. If I had to say right now, I would say I would like to take one more safety for added depth there, but everywhere else on paper…Now, I say that, but if you have a kid that comes available that has four years left and you have a scholarship and you know you want him in you program, you’re going to try to find a way to put him in that group. But, currently sitting here today, when I look at our depth, I feel pretty good everywhere except, we play three safeties, I would like to have one more safety there, probably, if one came available.”
