2018 football media day is officially in the books as we continue to inch towards September 1st and the season opener against Old Dominion. Here are some of the highlights from the day’s interviews.

“The mission has come right before us”

Coach Gill opened his remarks by giving his thoughts on what this day, the first official day of the 2018 season, meant. “(Today is a) very, very special day. Today, it’s special because I have the memory of the late Dr. Falwell. The dream, the vision, the mission has come right before us, and I’m blessed to be that person to lead this football team during this time period. I don’t take it lightly. I understand the significance of all the things that have happened before, everyone’s hard work. This thing got started back in 1971, football in 1974 and ’75, and here we are in 2018, and you can sit here and say, ‘Liberty football is playing at the highest level.’ It’s an honor and a privilege, and I want to say thank you to Dr. Falwell. I want to say thank you to President Falwell. Thank you, Ian McCaw and all the people involved to get us to this point. I just want to say it’s exciting, a thrilling privilege, and it’s going to be an outstanding season for us.”

Respect All. Fear None.

Coach Gill charged the players and leaders of the team to come up with a theme for the season. They came up with Respect All. Fear None. based on I Peter 2:17 – Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

AGG injured

Antonio Gandy-Golden was injured in car accident over the summer, and he sported a cast on his right arm. Coach Gill said he should be ready to go by September 1st against Old Dominion. When asked about the injury and if he would be ready for ODU, AGG simply said, “I got in a car accident and I will be ready by season.” AGG led the Flames in 2017 with 69 receptions, 1,066 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

Additionally, nose guard Elisha Mitchell, who is #30 on our top 30 player countdown, has an upper body injury and will miss the entire season.

Competition was the buzz word of the day

In each interview session, the word competition was brought up – competition among the returners, competition among the newcomers, competition at every position group. Coach Gill required every guy on scholarship to remain in town for 8 weeks during the summer to continue to prepare for the upcoming season. Gill said approximately 90% of the scholarship players were on campus for those 8 weeks and the ones that weren’t had an approved absence.

Both Offensive Coordinator Joe Dailey and Defensive Coordinator Robert Wimberly spoke of being able to go 3 deep at each position for the first time since they’ve been at Liberty. “Our young men will have to compete to show Coach Gill and this coaching staff they can help us win football games this year,” Wimberly said. “The motto I’ve been telling them is, competition does one of two things, it builds character or displays a coward.”

Dailey spoke highly of the newcomers on the offensive side of the ball. “We’ve added a number of JUCO guys, in addition to some high school guys, that may change the face of our offense. You can see the talent that we’ve added has changed the face of what we do on offense.”

The players echoed the increased competition level. “Competition-wise, it’s a lot different from the previous years,” defensive back Jeremy Peters said. “Guys coming in want to work. There’s competition everywhere, nobody is safe this season. You have to work, you can’t just show up. If you just show up, you’re not guaranteed your spot.”

Buckshot challenged to be more of a leader

It’s highly unusual for a 3rd year starting quarterback to not be a team captain, but that’s where Buckshot Calvert finds himself. Coach Gill and Dailey both mentioned that his biggest area needed for improvement is to step outside of his comfort zone and become more of a leader.

“He’s gotten out of his comfort zone,” Gill said of Buckshot pushing himself to become more of a leader. “We all have our personalities. He is not a person that likes to talk a lot, whether he’s around the guys that are 18 or 20 years old or he’s around the guys that are older. That’s just his personality. I think he has gotten out of that comfort zone. We’ve talked to him a lot about getting out of the comfort zone you’re in and doing some things that you haven’t done before.”

Dailey echoed that sentiment. “We don’t force him to do anything that’s too uncomfortable, but we try to illustrate to him the importance of being vocal in certain situations and kind of create teachable moments for him so he can provide some brief tidbits of leadership. That will allow guys to trust him a little bit further and then believe in him a little more.”

Depth chart released

The first depth chart we have seen in several months was in the media guide:

Other takeaways

  • Favorite quote – Coach Dailey on the 2018 schedule, “We’re picking fights with people all over the country.”
  • Rudiger Yearick has moved from quarterback to wide receiver.
  • The defensive players were asked to highlight one other player at each of their positions that have impressed them. David King mentioned Remington Green, Jeremy Peters said Bejour Wilson, and Juwan Wells highlighted Jessie Lemonier.

Stay tuned for much more coverage from media day and the beginning of training camp in the coming days!