LAST WEEK’S FUEL VIA PERISCOPE
We conducted last week’s FlamesNation Fuel via Periscope which you can view here. If you missed it, go back and watch the episode to get caught up on what happened around FlamesNation last week.
MEDIA DAY
Big South Media Day was held this week in Charlotte and the Flames were picked to finish second behind defending champion Charleston Southern. Liberty had four selected to the preseason all-conference team in wide receiver Zac Parker, cornerback Chris Turner, defensive lineman JaRon Greene, and punter Trey Turner. This is the fewest number of selections the Flames have had in the preseason dating back to at least 2010 (the furthest back I could find) with the previous low being seven.
ROSTER CHANGES
The football roster has been updated online and it includes several changes. Most of the additions are the new freshman, but there are a couple of new names in Austin Jones (WR, Sr) and Trystin Knowland (OL, Fr). James Passmore has also been added to the roster. Passmore is an offensive lineman who was on the team in 2014 and 2015, but removed from the roster this past spring. There are also 7 defections from the roster, most notably Denvre Daniels, Justin Guillory, and Bo Swanson. Others no longer listed on the roster are Ridge Boykin, Jordan Cabral, Christian Morgan, and Marc Wilson. There have also been a couple notable position changes including Gregg Storey, who has been switched to defensive line from the offensive line. Also of note, Spencer Jones has been listed as a quarterback. When the preferred walk-on was added to the roster he was listed as a QB/WR, perhaps Swanson leaving the team solidified Jones being added as a quarterback.
COOPER MCCAW COMMITS, 2ND COMMIT OF 2017
Coach Gill picked up his 2nd commitment in the class of 2017 this week when Cooper McCaw committed. McCaw is a 6’5”, 270 pound prospect from Grapevine, Texas. He chose Liberty over offers from Sun Belt teams Arkansas State and Louisiana Lafayette. McCaw joins Remington Green as the first 2 commits in the 2017 class.
FOOTBALL PRACTICE SET TO BEGIN
Football practice will be getting started soon as the team prepares for the season opener in just over a month at Virginia Tech. While we don’t have an official start date for practice yet, it will likely be sometime next week. There will be actual football to talk about very soon!
MBB TO PLAY IN COSTA RICA
The Liberty Flames men’s basketball team will embark on an early August foreign tour to Costa Rica as part of the team’s preparation for the 2016-17 season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. The trip will run from August 8-13. The NCAA allows teams to take a foreign trip once every four years. Liberty’s most-recent international summer trip was to Belgium and France in 2011. Division I teams are also permitted 10 full summer practices in preparation for a foreign trip.
WBB SCHEDULE RELEASED
The women’s basketball non-conference schedule was released this week. The schedule is highlighted with the season opener at the Vines Center against Duke. James Madison and Appalachian State will also make appearances in Lynchburg during the season’s first week.
JACKSON HIRES STAFF
New Liberty baseball coach Scott Jackson has announced the hiring of his staff of Bryant Gaines and Tyler Cannon. Gaines will serve as Liberty’s pitching coach. He joins the staff after four seasons as an assistant at North Carolina. Gaines was a member of four consecutive College World Series teams as a pitcher for the Tar Heels. Cannon will focus on the team’s infielders and hitters. He joins Liberty after two years as an assistant at Army. Prior to his time at West Point, Cannon was a student assistant at Virginia where he helped the Cavaliers to a 2014 national runner-up finish. Cannon played his collegiate baseball at Virginia.
