On Wednesday, Liberty defensive end Durrell Johnson, linebacker Aaron Pierre, and corner Chris Megginson took questions from the media. There was a wide range questions and below is ASOR’s report from the player interviews…

FLAMES PREPARING FOR THE UNKNOWN

There are a lot of question marks surrounding FIU this weekend as they have yet to play a game and have plenty of unknowns. Who will be quarterback? How will their new transfers fit in?

“It is challenging with the amount of unknowns,” Pierre said. “We’re just going to follow the game plan our coaches have put in and try and just execute it the best we can as practices goes on throughout the week. Once we come out Saturday and we get a better feel for what they have going on, we can make changes or stick with what we have based on what they’re showing us.”

JJ Holloman is one of those transfers who is now eligible for the Panthers at wide receiver after transferring from Georgia. He has the potential to be one of the best Group of Five talents at receiver.

“We’ve seen some film from him from Georgia,” said Megginson. “Pretty big receiver, strong hands, he’s going to be coming, dominant, physical, we have to play right with him.”

FLAMES’ LBS FOCUSED ON WHAT THEY HAVE

It has been no secret that Liberty’s linebacker room is thin and relatively inexperienced. Pierre and the LBs aren’t worried about what they don’t have, but more focused on what they do have.

“We are really thin in that room,” Pierre said. “Coacy Symons always says we’re going to make do with what we have in this room. We’re going to focus on what we have in this room. All the guys in the room, we’re locked in. We’ve been studying film. Everybody is doing their part to make the group successful.”

FLAMES HAD SOMETHING TO PROVE IN WEEK 1

Coming in as 14 point underdogs, Liberty players said they felt disrespected and had something to prove at Western Kentucky.

“We were looked down upon,” Johnson said about last week. “We were the underdog. We came in and worked every day at practice that following week. I felt as though this was a new defense. Everyone came from somewhere different, we were fresh, and this was the measuring stick to see how good we could be.”

JOHNSON & PIERRE WITH BIG DEBUTS

It was Johnson’s first time in uniform for the Flames and Pierre was relegated to scout team last season, but the pair were part of 6 first time starters for LU. Both excelled in their debuts.

The defense hands out four weekly awards, and Johnson and Pierre came down with three of them. Johnson was named the team’s defensive MVP while also getting the big hit award for his tackle on the first play from scrimmage. Meanwhile, Pierre was giving the hustle award for his performance last week.