Liberty’s quarterback competition got a bit spicier when Maine grad transfer Chris Ferguson elected to enroll at Liberty, as announced in December.
The 6’3″, 235 pound quarterback is immediately eligible and has one season of eligibility remaining. He was Maine’s starting quarterback as a redshirt-freshman, sophomore, and junior, before suffering a Lisfranc tear. As a sophomore, Ferguson led the Black Bears to a 10-4 record and a spot in the national semifinals.
“I was preparing myself either way at Maine,” Ferguson said of his decision to transfer. “Graduating in 3 1/2 years, I knew I had an option going into it. I was ready and prepared for whatever I had to do. I had an opportunity to move on, got a chance to move up a level, get some different coaching, things I haven’t had in awhile.”
Liberty was one of the first schools to reach out to him as the Flames look to replace 4-year starter Buckshot Calvert. There was already a relationship there as Ferguson’s sister, Danielle Gillen, is Liberty’s Director of Sports Nutrition. He also has a younger sister, Lizzy, who is a sophomore on Liberty’s women’s lacrosse team.
“Those things I tried to put aside, honestly,” Ferguson said, referring to his sisters already at Liberty. “I wanted to focus on what was the best fit for me, what was going to give me the best opportunity to play, where was going to give me the best opportunity to get healthy, and fitting into an offense and the guys.”
One of the biggest decisions for Ferguson as he chose Liberty was the Christian atmosphere.
“I’m a huge follower of Jesus,” he said. “I love that part of this school, and having the resources to grow my faith and be around that. There’s a bigger center on Christ, which I think is awesome. We’re praying after practice and praying before practice. It fires me up. It’s cool to see. It’s not something you’re going to get many other places.”
Maine also visited Liberty’s campus in October for a football game, one that the Flames won, 59-44. Ferguson did not play in that game, the first game he missed after injuring his foot the previous week, but the Liberty coaching staff prepared as if he would be the starter as news out of Maine was quiet that week on his status. This gave the Flames’ coaching staff plenty of opportunity to watch his film and know the type of potential he had when Ferguson officially entered the transfer portal.
His injury required surgery at the end of October, followed by 6 weeks with no weight bearing on a scooter, and another 6 weeks in a walking boot. Ferguson got out of the boot about the time he showed up to Liberty’s campus in January and he has been rehabbing with the Flames’ training staff ever since. As he recovers, Ferguson is participating in spring practice, but he has been limited in some drills.
Since he arrived on campus in January, he has been focusing on learning the offense through studying the playbook and film study, but he’s anxious for the rest of spring and fall training camp to put his study into practice.
“You can write it down in the playbook and look at it on film, but once you’re out there and doing it, it’s a little different.” Ferguson continued, “things are moving fast, something I’m not used to. We had some tempo at Maine, but now that I’m here things are moving quick. Practice pace is quick, it’s fast.”
Ferguson joins a Liberty quarterback room that is headlined by Auburn transfer Malik Willis and Johnathan Bennett as the Flames look to replace 4-year starter Buckshot Calvert. After transferring from Auburn and sitting out the 2019 season, Willis will be eligible in 2020 and 2021. Bennett, a true freshman in 2019, suffered a season-ending knee injury.
“Everyone wants to be the man at the end of the day,” Ferguson said of the QB battle. “Everybody wants to be that guy the team looks to. 4th quarter you want to be the guy that they rely on. I know whoever does the best job, whoever plays the best, whoever puts our team in the best position to win is who is going to play. The only thing I can do right now is prepare like a professional. Do everything I possibly can to put myself in a good position in spring ball.”
