On Tuesday, Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell highlighted two players who have pleasantly surprised him through the first week of training camp – WR Darius Copeland and LB Aidan Vaughan.
Copeland joined the Flames last summer, prior to the 2023 season. He suffered a torn ACL late in his high school career, and last year, he was a slow go getting acclimated to the team and in practice as he continued to rehab his knee. This year, the redshirt-freshman is turning heads and pushing for playing time at receiver.
“He’s looked really good the first few days (of camp) and through summer and all that, just making plays and just attitude and everything,” said Chadwell. “He’s been a pleasant surprise. We thought he would be a good player. I did not think he would be where he’s at currently. I like what we’ve seen from him.”
Copeland is a 6’0”, 190-pound receiver from Pelham, Alabama and Pelham High School. He fell through the cracks a little bit after suffering that knee injury and the Flames were able to add him to the roster.
Vaughan transferred to Liberty in January from Wisconsin. He played in just one game for the Badgers and di not record any stats. With his play through camp, Vaughan could carve out a role for himself at linebacker for the Flames this season.
“Aidan Vaughan has made some good strides for us,” Chadwell remarked. “A linebacker where that’s a position in need from a depth (standpoint). Really pleased with where he came from in the spring until now and he’s somebody that we believe that we can rely on, that can play there.”
Vaughan is one of several newcomers at linebacker for Liberty this season, a position that Chadwell says has six guys pushing for playing time right now.
The 6’3″ linebacker is originally from Walled Lake Western High School and Wixom, Michigan where he was a consensus three-star recruit. Vaughan was named first team all-state as a senior as he made a school-record 136 tackles and recorded 27 TFLs his senior year. He also scored 10 total touchdowns – 4 rushing, 5 receiving, 1 kick return.
