Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell met with the media on Thursday as he discusses the cancellation of the Liberty at Appalachian State game as well as look ahead to the upcoming contest against FIU. Check out the full video and transcript from his press conference below.
“A lot of that happened where we were playing, in East Tennessee where I went to school. There was a lot of friends that I went to school with that were affected by that. We are praying for that as a team. Some of our players, whether they were directly impacted because of where they are from or they have friends and families that were. It’s a challenging time and a devastating time for that community. But, one thing you know about the people there, they’re resilient. You’re seeing stories about how people were rescuing different things and just what they’re doing for others. It’s pretty inspiring. We’ve been praying for those. Maybe it makes you put in perspective that you still get to do a game. Everybody makes it serious, but that’s real life, what they’re doing and what they’re dealing with. I’ve been proud of the guys and what they’ve been doing, as far as from a prayer standpoint, from organizing different things to sending money/supplies down there to different areas of need.”
What were some of the things that guys are doing?
“By position group, getting money together and organizing that. Our Unity Council has been organizing that. Whether they are going to send money directly or buy water and supplies up here to send down. They’ve been doing that, which is nice to see.”
When you found out there would be no game, take me into the planning from that point? How do you deal with one game over 30 days?
“I think we found out 10’ish, 10:30 Friday morning. I got a call, ‘Can you play it later Saturday? Are you willing to play on Sunday?’ Then, ‘hey, it’s canceled.’ We had our meetings that morning. We were having meetings and having our team devotion, and then we were prepared to get on a bus and leave a little bit later. So, I came in and told the team. Then after that, you start thinking about, you had an open date, or a mini open date, and you start figuring out, missing that game, whether that could be a positive from some guys getting back healthy, but also, when you’re in a routine, in a rhythm, I think it makes it hard when you’re basically going back to fall camp almost with the number of games that you have in one month.”
“So, there’s going to be some challenges there. Hopefully we’re able to overcome that and the schedule that we put together. You try to do the best you can in those situations. They’re challenging because there’s not a roadmap for it.”
Some live scrimmages maybe?
“No. We can’t go down with friendly fire. We’re so far now. Can you do some things against each other to continue to hopefully sharpen iron a little bit? Yes, but I don’t think we’re at a point where we’ll probably tackle each other just because this is one of those years where we just had some injuries, sometimes that happens. Guys will fall down to the ground and you’re holding your breath right now. We’ll do some things to keep the intensity up, but as far as live scrimmage, no.”
What conversations have you and Ian have about how this impacts the CFP outlook, the potential for rescheduling and what you do from that angle?
“We’ve not had many, obviously, Ian said, ‘Hey, we would like to reschedule if they’re willing to or find somebody else.’ We know that’s going to be challenging because what team out there is going to give up a bye date just to play an extra game? That’s not happening, especially versus us. If somebody else had missed a game because of this, maybe that would work out, but I don’t know if anybody else really missed one, at least that’s at our level, because of the hurricane. It was a very brief discussion about that, just the opportunity, not even more about CFP, but more just, if you guys put in a lot of work, for opportunities to play, that’s one less they got into place. You would like to find one for them just so they can compete again. We did talk about it briefly. I know he’s been working on trying to see if there’s anybody out there, but as of right now, we’ve not had much.”
Does that heighten the urgency of your team to seize the opportunity with the second half of the schedule?
“I’ve not brought that up just because it’s not something we’ve talked about a lot anyway, but I think our guys understand. We talked to them, and you only get so many guaranteed ones and then they’re gone. You need to make the most of those all the time. They came back over off of the weekend, we had really good-spirited practices. At least right now, there’s a great understanding of what we get to do, and don’t take it for granted.”
Is Brylan Green going to be available to play with the long layoff?
“Brylan is still in protocol right now, so we’re hoping, as long as there’s no setbacks, he’ll have a good shot to play. Jay (Hardy), I would so no right now, just because with the injury, you also gotta think, we don’t play again till October 23. So, if somebody’s not completely healthy, maybe, let’s say they’re 80%, hold off, and then hopefully they’re 100 by that next one. So that’s what we’re in the process of now with some of those guys. If some can come back completely healthy, then they’re playing. If they’re still not where they need to be, then you got an additional, two weeks to hopefully get them healthy.”
JP Flores, he played last game, how much does that help the offensive line?
“I think having him back was big, just from an experience standpoint. He’s played a lot of football. This was his first time playing for us, but nothing surprises him. He played well in the game, and then also this gets him more time. He was not 100%. This allowed him to get back to where he’s been closer to that. He’s been able to solidify up there. Now we’ve got a solid rotation, where you feel like you’ve got seven guys. We were playing six to seven, but now you feel like you got seven for sure, and then you got an eighth one, which is what you always want to have. You like to have eight guys you can count on. Having him back, we feel that gives us eight in case there’s some challenges and some different things that happen. He’s been awesome since he’s been here, but it’s been great to have him back.”
Thoughts on FIU as you look at them?
“I would think that their record does not indicate how good they actually are. They played Indiana. Indiana’s blowing everybody out. They played them really well, first game of the year, and they blew out Central Michigan. Then, FAU, they turned the ball over, and then they obviously lost to Monmouth. They played Louisiana Tech and really shut them down. I think they’re well coached. They play extremely hard. I think defensively, they’ve really upgraded their talent. Their group of DBs is probably the best group of DBs in this league. They’re really good. As far as the overall group, they play well, the play smart and physical upfront. Then, the quarterback makes a lot of plays. The running back’s finally healthy. He’s got some playmakers. I think they’re playing well. They obviously have extra time preparing for us. They’re 1-0 in the league. It’s for first place. That’s the way I look at it – for first place in the league. We’ll have to play well. We’ll have to play disciplined. If we go in and just try to show up and think we’re going to roll the ball out, they’ll beatus, truth be told. They play well enough to do that. They changed up some things on defense, and they’re playing really well there. The quarterback and the skill guys always scare you a little bit.”
Is their secondary physical?
“They are. They’re physical. They cover well, they’re very aggressive. Interception wise, they’re maybe 10 or something like that through five games, which is pretty good. They had five in one game. They returned one two weeks ago, 85 yards for a touchdown. They’re ball-hawkish. They’re physical. They play with great instincts. They cover. They play with great instincts. They can see routes coming. So, big challenge for us.”
You think you guys are ready for a bunch of midweek games back to back, how does that affect preparation?
“Right now, because we haven’t played in forever, we’ll be ready for anything. We’ll play any time. Because we went through it (last year), there’s obviously some new guys that haven’t, but it’s way easier this year than it was. Last year, we went from a Thursday to Tuesday. At least this year, it’s a week or more in between. So, it’s like a normal deal. We changed our practice during fall camp a lot to try to mimic what a midweek would be. So, our guys were out of a routine and all that. We’re hoping that helps us a little bit. I think it’s unique playing on a Tuesday or Wednesday, but it’s awesome too because you’re on national television. That’s what those guys want to see. Obviously, a home game. We’re gonna have a great crowd. It gives us a chance to show off Liberty, show off our brand, what we’re about. They better be ready to go.”
