This is the third piece in a five-part series taking a look at Liberty football entering 2024 fall practices. Be sure to check back for the rest of this series throughout the week as we tackle a variety of Liberty football topics.
Quarterback
We all know about Kaidon Salter, but this group is better than it has been in quite some time at Liberty. Ryan Burger, the presumed second-string guy this season, has some experience and the talent needed to step in, if needed. Add in veteran Nate Hampton and the very high upside of Jayden Bradford, and it’s easy to see just how good this quarterback room is for the Flames.
Running Back
As good as the quarterbacks are, the running backs are even better and deeper! Not only does Liberty have Quinton Cooley, who may be the best running back at the Group of Five level, to lean on, but also the extremely talented Billy Lucas who could potentially be the top running back in CUSA if it weren’t for Cooley. Add to them the likes of Vaughn Blue and James Jointer and Liberty has insane amount of talent and depth at the position.
Tight End
Bentley Hanshaw and Austin Henderson are proven commodities now at tight end. Jacob Jenkins was an all-Sun Belt performer when he last played a full season at Coastal Carolina. Now, he’s added to this group after being cleared prior to the Fiesta Bowl. All three have pass catching abilities at the tight end position and add another very capable lineman to Liberty’s offensive front when attached.
You might notice that we didn’t pick a defensive position of strength. There are too many new pieces to plug into holes for us to project one of them as a strength. The defensive line and corner could certainly grow into strengths. I think linebacker could be close to as good as it was a season ago, and safety has some good high-end talent but lacks some depth that needs to be developed entering camp.
