After an off-season and much of the first part of the season where the Flames were in the midst of trying to replace a 4 year starter at quarterback, it looks like Coach Gill and his staff have finally found their guy for the next 3 years. Buckshot Calvert started the final 7 games of the 2016 season, going 5-2 as a starter. While he wasn’t perfect, he showed his potential as a true freshman.
Calvert put up the 3rd most passing yards by a freshman in school history with 1,931. He only trails Josh Woodrum’s 1,966 passing yards in 2012 and Paul Johnson’s 1,976 yards in 1986 in that statistic. Buckshot finished the year 150-of-262 passing for 1,931 yards, 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also had a passing efficiency of 131.2.
“I know he’s a guy that’s dedicated,” Gill said. “That’s why he was in a position to actually play this year, as a true freshman, because of his hard work and dedication that prepared him where he could go in and play pretty good, really good for a true freshman.”
Coming off his true freshman campaign, there are plenty of areas for him to improve, most notably his decision making in the pocket. Buckshot was sacked 28 times as a true freshman including 19 sacks in the final 5 games. Of course, not all of those sacks are the quarterback’s fault, but there were several times when Calvert held on to the ball longer than he should have.
Buckshot Calvert
“We’ll get the specific things that he needs to do,” Gill said when answering where Calvert can improve. “I think some of the things that we’ll talk about, I think more specifically as far as in the pocket, being able, there was an occasion or two, not all the time, but the step up in the pocket versus trying to roll to the right or roll to the left. You have to go at what the defense dictates. Sometimes you have to just step up into the pocket, and, then, keep your eyes down the field. Being able to throw the ball maybe a little better on the run, but all those things are definitely things that he can get done.”
Having a year under his belt will help Buckshot immensely as he prepares to lead Liberty’s offense in 2017 and beyond. He now has plenty of game film to digest as he continues to adjust his body, both mentally and physically, to the college game. Coach Gill agreed. “I’m going to tell him, ‘go back to work. Now, you have great things to look at to see specifically what you need to work on.'”
Liberty fans should enjoy the ride over the next 3 seasons with Buckshot as the team’s QB. “The exciting thing is we have 3 years left for him to play,” Coach Gill noted. “So, I know there’s going to be some great football, and our fans should be excited about the future having Buckshot Calvert as our quarterback.”
