On Wednesday, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, defensive back Javon Scruggs and defensive linemen Durrell Johnson and Ralfs Rusins took questions from the media. There was a wide range questions and below is ASOR’s report from the player interviews…
THIS WEEK IS PERSONAL
“This week is personal for a lot of guys,” Rusins said. “Especially personal for the D-Line because we did good last year. I think we can do even better this year. It’s payback time.”
As we all know, the Flames lost to Syracuse last year, 24-0, but in talking with the players they all believe it should have been much more competitive.
“Last year, I felt like we could win the game,” Rusins continued. “I definitely want to win this game. Defense had a good game last year, but this game will be even better for us.”
“I can’t wait.”
FLAMES NOT WORRIED ABOUT OPPONENT
As Liberty prepares for its toughest test of the 2020 season, the players say they’re not worried about the level of the opponent they’re playing.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re ACC, SEC,” Javon Scruggs said. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re going up there to play football. We just want to go out there and put on the best show that we can possibly put on for the fans, and not just for the fans but our teammates that don’t get on the field. It doesn’t really matter what team we’re playing or what conference they’re in, we just want to go out there and be the best we can as a team.”
Defensive end Durrell Johnson agrees and says he welcomes the challenge to play the first ever ACC opponent he’s faced.
“We welcome the challenge to compete at a high level, but it starts at practice,” Johnson said. “We’re very competitive. We feel like (the defensive line) is the tip of the spear.”
LIBERTY PREPARING FOR NEW QB
Syracuse starting quarterback Tommy DeVito went down in last week’s game against Duke and is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Redshirt-senior Rex Culpepper is expected to get the start on Saturday with true freshmen Dillon Markiewicz and Jacobian Morgan listed as Culpepper’s backup.
Culpepper has seen playing time throughout his career, completing 53 of 95 (55.8%) passes for 631 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions while rushing for 31 yards on 26 carries.
“He knows their offense,” Scruggs said of Culpepper. “He’s played in some games with DeVito getting hurt some last year. He’s gotten in a couple times this year too. He can put the ball where he wants to, sometimes it might be a little slower, but he knows where he wants to go with the ball. That’s a positive for them, but it can also be a positive for us because he stares down his receivers.”
COMING BACK NEXT YEAR?
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA has already approved an extra year of eligibility to all fall sport athletes. Meaning this year won’t count against their eligibility.
We haven’t heard much from Liberty’s seniors as to their intentions on coming back next year or not. Ralfs Rusins is the only one who has mentioned it so far this year, leaving the option to come back next year open based on how the 2020 season plays out.
On Wednesday, Javon Scruggs was answer a question and threw this in there – “Probably we’re going to have the whole team back next year.”
While he obviously doesn’t mention anyone by name or give any real specifics, it’s apparent the players have had at least some level of discussion about returning next season.
