It is game week! Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell met with the media on Tuesday as he discusses the Flames’ season opener on Saturday against Campbell. Check out the full video and transcript from his press conference below.
“We showed our new players, we got on the video game and actually showed them the entrance on the video game of how awesome it was when you run out. Even for coaches, the experience that we get, when you get out there. The band’s playing, cheerleaders are there, you get the countdown, and you got all the students over there in red and the place was packed out, it’s loud. Then, when we get into the Flames Quarter. It’s a special moment that I know I’m looking forward to. I had no idea how great it was when I got here, obviously, because previously playing up here, we usually won and it was quiet, nobody cheered – that’s a joke.”
“It’s unbelievable. I encourage everybody, if you’ve not got your tickets, whether it’s season tickets, or a ticket for Saturday, please come out. It’s a special place, playing at Williams Stadium, and our fans, our students, the alumni. It’s awesome. I know our players look forward to it. When we go to other places, they realize how special our fans and our stadium is. I know our coaches, we still talk about the Flames Quarter, it gives us chills. And it is pretty cool on the video game too.”
Did they have Emily Austen on the sideline as part of the entrance?
“I’ve not played it enough to know whether or not. I stop at the entrance once we’re there I feel good about it. But I’m sure she might be on there. I don’t know if she gave away her rights to do that or not.”
Do you feel like your team is in a good place coming out of camp?
“I think. I think anytime you’re actually in the game week, there’s a there’s an increase of intensity and focus, just because, you know, you’re a week away from finally playing. You get tired of hitting on each other a little bit. I’m not telling you we’re ready to play today. I think there’s some things in all areas that you want to see your team continue to improve.”
“I think the challenge for us is, you know, new staff there (at Campbell) and a lot of new players. We still don’t know exactly what they’re going to be yet. I think anytime there’s a new coach, even though you’ve been somewhere else completely different. Trying to find out who’s on the team in this era, it’s hard to do that. I think there is so little unknown for us about exactly what you’re going to see, from a coaching standpoint, but I know our team’s practiced well. Yesterday was an intense practice. Looking forward to continue to build it until we get to Saturday.
How do you prepare for a team that has a new coach and so many unknowns?
“The head coach came from Houston Christian. You check that out. And then where did their DC come from? Where’d their OC come from? You look at all those different things to give you an idea of who they are, but I think also not knowing a lot about their players, and they brought in a lot of different ones, what do they do well? They might have done something at their previous place because that’s what they’re good at. You don’t know what they’re doing well where they’re at currently, and what they’re capable of. So, I do think there’s a challenge there, anytime it’s a new year, and they brought a staff together, and you’re trying to figure out which direction they’re going to go. Our coaches have done a good job of evaluating all those things. Felt like we put a good plan together for that to go play well. At the end of the day, it’s about us, and can we go play our best? Can Liberty play their best?”
Have you had any clarity at kicker going into this season?
“I think we’re close on that. Coach Krantz and Coach Lewellyn, our special teams’ coaches, we’re gonna hopefully make that decision by tomorrow. I think we know, as of right now what we’re leaning toward. We want to have a couple more opportunities just to finalize the direction we want to go from there, but it’s been a spirited competition. There’s been some good things there. There’s been some the last couple, two, three days, we’ve had some great consistency. It’s what we’re looking for. We’re not expecting them to make all of them, but just consistency when we go out there. We believe who wins that job, who we name as the starter, we have confidence they can go out there and do what they need to do.”
Do you expect it to be just one guy, or do you see it being situational maybe based on distance?
“Obviously people’s legs are different, right? There might be a more accurate kicker from let’s say, 20 something yards in, and you feel good about him, but after that, maybe can’t kick as well. So I do think there’s opportunities to have a different guy kicking, you know, if there’s a distance in there. Right now, the main focus for us, who do we feel best on giving us that 30 yard line and in, so to speak. And, if we want to kick a deeper one, maybe we have another guy. I’ll never say that we wouldn’t use that, but the sole focus right now is if we get into that red zone area, and we have to kick, who do we feel confident if we put in there the majority of the time.”
What have you learned this offseason as a head coach?
“You can never be comfortable. There’s always a challenge. The old way, I think is normally, you build your program and guys are there and teach them and then train them. That’s not the case. There’s a lot of starting over and just continuing to reemphasize why you do things in your culture. Making sure that that you hammer that consistently. I would have never thought we’re gonna have 40 something new guys or 50 something new guys again, but you did. I think that’s what I’m learning through where we’re at in our sport is just how important it is to continue to implement what you believe and how to do it. And hopefully getting the right guys that want to buy into that.”
Have you and your staff given much thought to h ow you would navigate a world with a 105 player roster cap?
“No, not really. I mean, I’ve talked with our recruiting department about what that would look like. That’s the number everybody’s saying you’re going to but is that scholarships? Is that just your total number? I think there’s a lot of questions still being answered for that. I’ve met with them about what that would look like if we went to that and based off whether that’s scholarships or if that’s just the spot you have. Not into the detail where it’s a finalized plan.”
Would that be something Liberty would want to fully fund up to 105 scholarships?
“I think I would have to see what our university would want to do on those things. I know this, our university supports us tremendously, and so if they feel like that’s the best thing to do, they will do it. But also, you’re in a conference, and you gotta see what your conference wants to do. There’s a lot of things out there. Before the judge decides on that what’s the best route for a lot of colleges. I don’t know any college wouldn’t want to go to 105, truthfully, maybe they keep the status quo. I think there’s a lot of what ifs still on how that shakes down. We’ll plan accordingly when that happens, because if it goes into effect, I’m assuming, it’ll be the following August. So you’ll have time to adjust and plan that. It’s an interesting time. We’ll see what happens.”
You mentioned wanting to see progress out of the offensive line a couple weeks ago, how much have you seen?
“We’ve gotten better there. I think the challenge with the O-line right now is in the big depth concern. When you lost three starters from last year, and it’s so hard when you lose starters to successfully bring in portal guys that are ready to play. Also, it’s hard to get your young guys ready fast enough. That’s what we’ve been working through. An Austin Anderson, who’s out probably the majority of the year, is a guy that we redshirted last year, we thought would have an opportunity to really help us out, but he’s out the majority of the year with a shoulder issue. That depth takes hits and you don’t think it’s going to. When that happens, you’ve gotta get guys ready to play that maybe aren’t quite ready yet. Coach Durkin is a fantastic O-Line coach who we believe is the best int he country. We’ll get those guys ready. They’ve gotten better. I’m always cautious, optimistic they’re going to be ready. We trust those guys will perform when they need to.”.
