Liberty concludes their regular season schedule Thursday night at Coastal Carolina on ESPNews at 7pm.
Flames extremely thin on defensive line.
Liberty is down their top 3 defensive tackles with JaRon Greene no longer on the team, Will Brown out due to injury, and Tolen Avery listed as questionable. This leaves DeCarlo Hamilton and Gregg Storey as the remainders at defensive tackle. Hamilton is a true freshman who has played in just 6 games this season and has just 2 tackles to his credit. Storey switched from the offensive line to the defensive side of the ball in training camp. He has played in 8 games at defensive tackle this season, and neither Storey nor Hamilton has started a game in their career. As they are set to both make career start #1, they will do so against one of the top running backs Liberty has faced all season in De’Angelo Henderson.
“We’re trying to find out who’s going to be behind (Hamilton and Storey),” Wimberly said when asked about his defensive tackles this week. “DeCarlo Hamilton is a young man that we recruited out of Florida. He was out of my area, Plantation, Florida, American Heritage High School, a powerhouse high school in the state of Florida. He’s come on the scene, we wanted to try to redshirt him, but due to some circumstances we felt like we needed him to be that 5th guy. Now, he’s stepped up to the ladder to now he’s the 2nd guy, first guy when it comes to starting. I think the thing he brings, for his size, he’s very athletic. He’s a strong young man, and he’s very intelligent. Coach Singletary has worked wonders just in 2 days with what I saw last night. His footwork, hand placement, I’m excited to give him an opportunity to showcase his talent. Gregg Storey, we all know he’s been here for 2 years on the offensive side of the ball. Over the summer, there was some discussion about the possibility of him helping us defensively. We got our hands on him in August. To see what Coach Singletary has been able to do with this young man, to see how this young man has been passionate in practice. He’s a strong young man, and he’s had 2 good days of practice. So, I’m excited to see these 2 young men because they want it.”
A new week, a new offensive line.
For the 8th time in 11 games, Liberty will have a different starting lineup on the offensive line. This week, from left to right, the projected starters are Julio Lozano, Ethan Crawford, Dontae Duff, James Passmore, and Aharown Campbell. Lucas Holder, who has started every game this season including the last 7 at center, is doubtful to play at Coastal Carolina. Sam Isaacson, who has started 9 of the 10 games this season at right tackle, is questionable.
“That’s been a theme all season, trying to patch up an offensive line group that has had a lot of injuries,” Offensive Coordinator Joe Dailey stated. “But like we do every week, we do an analysis of what we’ve got coming back going into each game, and we try to develop the best run-game plan, the best pass-protection plan that we can put in place in order to give us the best opportunity to play our best football game week in and week out. Each week it changes just because you don’t know who’s going to be in the lineup. Some people are questionable, some guys are full go, so you’re playing this game of wait and see until game day. With that being said, next man up mentality is what we’ve had all year long, and as you can see it’s been a number of guys that have started.”
Rivalry with Coastal Carolina coming to an end.
Thursday night’s game will be the first-ever non-conference meeting between Liberty and Coastal Carolina as the Chanticleers are playing the 2016 season as an FCS independent during their transition to the Sun Belt Conference. The meeting may also be the last as they are no future scheduled games between the schools. Each of the last 3 matchups between the two rivals have been decided in the final moments. In 2013, the Chanticleers won on a blocked field goal in double overtime while the Flames returned the favor in 2014, sealing its 15-14 win with a blocked field goal on the final play of the game. Last season, B.J. Farrow’s 40-yard touchdown reception with 1:27 left in the game gave Liberty a 3 point win. Coastal and Liberty have faced each other 13 previous times, with the Flames owning the all-time series, 7-6. During most of the team’s history, the winner of the game went on to win the Big South championship.
“All you’ve got to say is ‘Coastal'”, Coach Gill said. “I think when you say that, our guys get a little bit upbeat about things and getting ready to play. They know what’s going on and what’s happened in the past, what’s happened in the future, and what can happen in the future as far as these ball games. I’ve seen it, once you mention the word Coastal, our staff and our players know that this is a very, very important ball game. Not just all the other significant things that it means, but also who we’re playing.”
Similar opponents.
Coastal and Liberty have faced 5 similar opponents this season, and the Chanticleers and the Flames are both 3-2 against said opponents. Both teams defeated Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, and Monmouth, and they have both lost to Jacksonville State and Charleston Southern. CCU’s 2 losses to Jacksonville State and Charleston Southern have come by a combined 2 points while the Flames’ 2 losses to the Gamecocks and Buccaneers have come by a combined 51 points.
Notable quotes.
Turner Gill on the team’s energy and mood coming off a big loss – “They are all good. We all turned the page, as coaches and players, moving on to the next day. We talked about being better than yesterday. The excitement about playing a football game, we are all competitors, we all love to coach, teach, and play the game of football. So, all the players have been energized and ready to play. Obviously, we’ve had a few bumps and bruises and those types of things, but guys are out there and they’re doing, just like every other week, talking football, wanting to know what they can do to improve, and make sure they play their best football game.”
Robert Wimberly on the team playing a game that matters late in the season – “It’s still in November and we have an opportunity to play for something. It’s not a lot of schools that are doing that right now. A lot of schools are getting ready for Thanksgiving, but we still have an opportunity to put ourselves in position to continue to play and that’s all you can ask.
Joe Dailey on Buckshot’s performance – “They’ve (Charleston Southern) got 2 all-conference defensive ends that were coming after him a great deal in addition to some secondary pressure they were bringing. Early on, there were some overthrown footballs because they kind of made him uncomfortable, but in the 2nd half, you could see that once he calmed down and once he could really, really see and pinpoint where people were going to be, he made a couple of clutch throws. Each week it changes, whether its a first or 2nd down game-plan, where we’re going to ask him to try to be the guy, versus on 3rd down. Last week, it was more so on 3rd down he needed to be the guy. He didn’t have as much success as you would want, but as the game went along he was able to step up into the pocket and make some clutch throws when we needed it. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, but you could see there was maturity and growth in the 2nd half of that football game for that young man.”
My prediction:
Coastal Carolina 31, Liberty 24
