Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell met with the media on Tuesday as he recapped the Flames win over UTEP and looked ahead to Friday’s CUSA Championship game against New Mexico State. Check out the full video from his press conference below.
“Obviously our team is excited about the opportunity Friday night. We have had a tremendous season, and thankful to be hosting, obviously, in our inaugural year in the conference.”
“Tons of respect for Coach Kill and New Mexico State and what they have been able to do and the way they have finished the season strong. As a team, we’ve talked about the value of this conference and that there’s good football being played. Obviously, what they have been able to do to go to SEC country and dominate the way they’ve done, just speaks volumes of how our conference is and where it stands.”
“We are thankful to be representing Conference USA in the championship game, and looking forward to a great game Friday night.”
IT SEEMS LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN STRONGER AND STRONGER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHAT HAS BEEN THE KEY TO THAT SUCCESS THIS SEASON?
“I think, one, as we’ve gone on through the season, we’ve gotten to know our team better. This is our first year. Early on in the season, you are trying to figure out what can we do, who can do it, when can we do it, and as you get a long and get to know your team better, they get to know you better, and I think that’s why we’ve gotten better throughout the season because we started to understand more the strengths of our players and how to interact with them and to get them to play at the highest level. Secondly, I think they’ve done a fantastic job, the players have done a fantastic job of believing in each other and believing in what we’re doing. Each week, they just build off the previous week, and have not been satisfied. They’ve stayed hungry to continue to get better. When you do that, good things can happen.”
HOW UNIQUE IS IT TO PLAY AND PREPARE FOR A TEAM FOR A SECOND TIME IN A SEASON?
“It is challenging. It is unique. I’ve actually done it three times previously between Division II and FCS Playoffs. So, I have experience with it before, I don’t know if it’s a great experience, but I’ve had experience with it. Obviously, you know each other. The thing about this game is it was 10, 11 weeks ago, the first one. That was September (9th), they are obviously a completely different ball club than they were back then and we are too. Obviously, you have an understanding of each other, but I do think there is a lot of differences because it’s been so long since we’ve played. It’s more like an NFL model when you play each other in your division twice. It’s an exciting time. There’s not going to be any surprises. You have an understanding of what your opponent is because you’ve seen them up close and in person, as far as their personnel. I think it’s a unique deal. I like it because you get to decide a true champion.”
COULD YOU MAKE THE CASE FOR YOUR TEAM BEING THE MOST DESERVING TO GET A NEW YEAR’S SIX BOWL BID?
“Well, the most important thing is we have to win Friday. It doesn’t matter what I think we deserve or earn unless we can finish the season, be a conference champion. That’s the number one priority, you have to be a conference champion. We have to be able to do that.”
“If we do, if we’re fortunate enough to be able to win the game, I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, what our conference has been able to do, who our conference has been able to beat, who we’ve been able to beat, I think it stacks up against anybody that is being considered. I don’t have all the details in front of me. If we are fortunate enough to win the game, you can bet I will have them Friday night.”
WHAT MAKES DIEGO PAVIA SO DIFFICULT TO PREPARE FOR?
“He’s a winner. He’s a competitor. He’s the type you watch on video and you think you have him and he finds a way to get out and make a play. He’s so dangerous when he’s out of the pocket and with his running or with his throwing ability. He just has a great confidence. Even from our first game, just watching him and the things that he did, you are amazed by the competitiveness that he has. I believe, through watching him the rest of the season, it’s rubbed off on his team there. They play with this strong belief in each other and competitive fire. I think that’s a direct result of him and the way he plays the game. Very impressed with him, respect him greatly. He’s tremendous, he’s a tremendous player, makes them go for sure. We had our hands full with him the first time, and he’s way better this time. it will be a big challenge for our defense. You can’t stop him, he’s a guy you hope you can contain and limit some of the things he does, but he’s going to make plays because he has that natural…he’s just a great football player.”
HAS KAIDON SALTER SURPASSED YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR HIM THIS SEASON? HOW GOOD IS HIS CHEMISTRY WITH THIS WIDE RECEIVING GROUP?
“I don’t know what expectations for Kaidon I had coming into this season. I’m not going to say they were out of the roof, they weren’t based off the spring and going into the summer. Once he got into fall camp and he won the job, your expectations, you want him to go out and lead your team and hopefully help you to victory. He has by far exceeded those things, obviously, sitting here at 12-0. His improvement on the field, more importantly off the field, is a major reason why we are sitting where we’re at right now. We would not be here without his improvement that he made.”
“On top of that, those guys have been here together for a little while. Obviously, they have a relationship, but what they’ve been able to do because of that relationship they have off the field, they have a great connection on. They work at their craft on their own, in the offseason and different things. They have a really good connection where they understand what somebody is trying to do with the route and different things. I think that’s part of them being here together, even though maybe they didn’t have a ton of reps on the field together, they’ve had those reps behind the scenes and the relationship they’ve had. I think that’s led to the success you are seeing. What makes those guys really good is they are unselfish, as well. They don’t care who gets the credit. When that happens, good things happen.”
YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT WANTING TO PLAY FOR A CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE BEING HIRED AT LIBERTY, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THAT AWAITS FRIDAY?
“It’s one that everybody is looking forward to. It’s something that we’ve talked about but we didn’t just every week it was about this or that. It’s something that was out there, but now to be here and be in the moment, it is a special time. Obviously, coming off the season we’ve had, to be able to host it, that doesn’t happen often. We are thankful for that, but also it is more, as a coach, you are just thinking about getting your team ready to play their best. We are going to need to play our best if we want to have a chance to win. New Mexico State is arguably playing the best football of any team in the country, that’s Power Five, FBS, anywhere. They are playing with tremendous confidence. We are going to have to play well. I don’t know if there’s an excitement when you are trying to get ready and you are watching them. It’s more of are we doing everything we can to try and prepare to play our best. It will be a special opportunity Friday night to be able to run out knowing you are playing for a conference title.”
WHAT HAS TYREN DUPREE MEANT FOR THIS TEAM AND THE DEFENSE?
“Tyren, he has had a tremendous year. He was a bit of an unknown. He was obviously on the team, hadn’t played tons in his previous experience there. Linebacker was a place, when I first got here, that we had a lot of quality players, quality depth, and then real quick it went away. The linebacker room became, arguably, our biggest question mark on the team. Who were we going to have there that has played at all? There was hardly anybody that has really played a lot. He has stepped up tremendously, got named a captain. He has made us go out there from the standpoint of getting us in the right checks, getting the front where it needs to be, playing with the type of passion and emotion you need to play the game. He’s kept a level head. He cares. Being a 6th year guy, last opportunity to be a Flame. He’s really made the most of that. Very proud of him. He’s helped us through some challenging times. Close games, the defense made some plays and were able to do that, but maybe even when we haven’t played as well as we wanted, he’s been a good steady hand for us to keep us focused on what we need to be focused on. Been a great leader on that side of the ball.”
