TEYLOR JACKSON TO FACE HIS FORMER TEAM

Liberty linebacker Teylor Jackson is preparing to take on his former team this Saturday night at Williams Stadium. He played four seasons at East Carolina, earning his degree from there while also playing in 41 games for the Pirates. He finished his time at ECU with 83 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.

Now, he’s at Liberty where he is a key part of the Flames’ defense at linebacker. Through the first three games, Jackson has recorded 11 tackles. This week will certainly be unique for the now Liberty linebacker.

“Teylor’s been a phenomenal addition to us,” said Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell. “He comes in, he goes to work, doesn’t say a lot, at least to me anyway. He’s been a great addition. He’s been awesome on that side of the ball. He’s just been a great presence. Teylor cares about the team, he cares about his teammates, and he’s thankful for being here.”

Jackson is thankful for the time and memories he had at East Carolina, but he is all in on his new team.

“Blessed to get my degree there, but blessed to be here at Liberty University,” Jackson said. “We have a brotherhood here and we’ll be ready to go.”

ECU RUN DEFENSE PROVIDES STIFF TEST

East Carolina has been one of the best defenses in the country so far this season, especially in the run game. The Pirates are holding teams to 12.7 points per game and have only allowed 73 yards rushing per contest and just 1.8 yards per rush. No team has been able to rush for 100 yards in a single game this season.

“They give you a lot of different looks,” said Chadwell. “They’re moving from everywhere. They’re bringing a bunch of stuff, and then they’re doing it with really good players. They are physical at all three levels, if you look at the D-line, the linebackers, and secondary. They run to the ball and they sacrifice their body. They’re not going to turn anything down. They’re coming to put a lick on you. They’re physical and because they move so much and give you so many different looks, it confuses you a lot.”

Under Chadwell, Liberty has been one of the top rushing offenses in the country. Last year, the Flames led the nation in rushing and this year Liberty is a run first team, once again.

“We’ll have to be very, very creative and do some good things and try to have an opportunity to run the ball because we’re going to have to be able to run,” Chadwell said. “I’m not going to say we have to run for a certain number of yards, but we’ll have to be able to run enough.”

FLAMES QUARTER

Ever since Coach Chadwell has taken over at Liberty, he has dubbed the fourth quarter the Flames Quarter, and the team has been very good in the final 15 minutes of the game since he’s been in Lynchburg.

The Flames are outscoring opponents 42-14 in the fourth quarter so far this season. That +28 scoring margin is Liberty’s largest of any quarter this year which includes a 21-point fourth-quarter outburst to come back for a 30-24 win at New Mexico State.

Dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season, Liberty is 13-0 when leading after three quarters. Going back to his time as head coach at Coastal Carolina, Chadwell’s team has closed out the game with a win each of the last 42 times it took a lead into the fourth quarter, dating back to November 2017.

UNIFORM REPORT

After wearing all blue in the season opener against Campbell, the new light blue jerseys and pants with navy blue helmets at New Mexico State, and all red last week against UTEP, this week Liberty will be wearing the light blue jerseys for the first time at home. The Flames will compliment them with white lids and white pants against East Carolina.

Meanwhile, the Pirates will be wearing black helmets, white jerseys, and black pants.

INJURY REPORT

RB Quinton Cooley suffered an injury in the first quarter of the UTEP game, forcing him to miss the rest of the contest. Fortunately, it is not a long-term injury and he is week to week and could even play this week against the Pirates.

“There’s a chance for him to play this week,” Chadwell said of Cooley. “We’ll see how he responds. His injury was nothing long term but also it’s something that, from a healing standpoint, he’s got to see how he feels. He’ll be doing some things to try to get the return to play. So, we’re hoping that he can play. We’re not counting on it, if that makes sense, but hoping. We’ll have to have some other guys step up.”

Here’s an update on Liberty’s current injury situation:

  • WR Darius Copeland went down to injury early in the game against UTEP and will miss the rest of the season with a lower body injury. That’s a big loss for the Flames as the redshirt-freshman was expected to have a big role on the team moving forward.
  • DTs Eliyt Nairne and Bryce Dixon left last week’s game against UTEP early with an injury. It appears both of them are good to go this week against East Carolina.
  • DT Jay Hardy was injured in the first quarter at New Mexico State. Coach Chadwell said he is expected to miss approximately 4-6 weeks which would put him at potentially returning for the FIU or Kennesaw State game in October.
  • WR Juju Gray is week to week and questionable to play this week. He did not play the last two weeks.
  • LG JP Flores is expected to miss several weeks with a leg injury. He is getting closer to being ready to play
  • WR Victor Jones continues to be out.