Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell met with the media on Tuesday as he recapped the Flames win over Western Kentucky and looked ahead to Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech. Check out the full video from his press conference below.
“Thankful for the victory. It’s never easy to win on the road. Obviously, they’ve got a good team and a huge tradition. I thought defensively we played really well for three quarters and then, obviously, had some breakdowns there in the fourth. Offensively, going in there in the 2nd quarter I thought we had a beat on what we wanted to do and I thought we played well the 2nd quarter on. Took care of the ball and handled the line of scrimmage. I was pleased with the win.”
“It’s great to know you have the opportunity to play for a championship but we want to have a great chance to host it. It was a much needed break that we had. Those four weeks in a row, especially the quick turnaround on the Jax State week. Our guys were tired, a little wore out, so it was good to have a mini-open date here and get ready for a good LA Tech team that we know they’re very capable. They have good players offense and defense. They are playing for bowl eligibility so they are hungry. I hope our guys, our mindset, we are not satisfied where we’re at.”
IS IT GOOD TO HAVE A NEW THING TO PLAY FOR EACH WEEK?
“I do think it helps. Motivation, your why is always challenged every week. There is outside noise – you should win this, you are favored by this. There is all these different things that distract your team from the task at hand. Anytime you can, as a coach, have them focus on something specific, I think it helps because everybody is pulling them in different directions. We know that we have an opportunity if we can take care of our business and handle the games that we have in front of us, we know that we can play for a championship at our home field which is huge. I know our team, obviously, enjoys playing at home. Having that out there is a big deal. It’s something that our team is aware of and that we’ve stated.”
LIBERTY HAS STRUGGLED IN NOVEMBER RECENTLY, HOW DO YOU ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THAT TREND AND CLOSE STRONG?
“We have talked about that. We are 1-6 the last two years in the month of November. We brought it up and have stated that. Actually the team brought it to me, some of the guys that have been here. Everything that we’ve done, from a practice from a preparation from an offseason training is for November. I had an AD that used to tell me November is for championships. Septembers is for pretenders, October is for contenders, and November is for championships. That is important that you are able to finish strong in the month of November. We have everything in front of us. We’ve not dwelt on it, but we are definitely aware of it. We are going to practice and get stronger in the month of November, that’s the mindset. You want to look back, you don’t want to dwell on the past, but we definitely want to learn from it and why it happened. There’s always different circumstances. Obviously I wasn’t here for them all, but we’re part of that now. That’s why I said it’s we. We’re part of that. We want to make sure we can erase that narrative.”
WITH EXTRA TIME OFF, ANYONE YOU ARE ABLE TO GET BACK HEALTH WISE?
“I think we will be able to get EJ Smoot back. He has missed the last couple, had an injury. I think the off time helped him back. There will be a couple that depending on how the week goes maybe they get cleared maybe they don’t. Probably more realistically we are probably looking at another week or so for those guys – Elijah Hopkins, Larry Jones – guys that have been playing that have been out a little while. What you hope happens, the guys that have been banged up a little but still playing, that extra time helps them get back. There’s probably 2 or 3 guys that we’d love to get back that would help us. They are working hard to do that, but I can’t sit here and say today that they will be back. They will be at some point but I don’t know about this week.”
DOES THAT INCLUDE VAUGHN BLUE OR BRENDAN SCHLITTLER?
“They are still a ways away. Vaughn is going to be cleared here soon for activity to be able to do some things non-contact. Once he’s cleared, then you’ve got to get him back in game shape. Honestly, then he’s played three games. You have to think alright do you go above four and break his redshirt. There is a lot that goes into that. We will obviously discuss that with him. We will see how he is. I think with him specifically you have to throw that in there a little bit and see what’s best for the team but mostly what’s best for him and his long term. We have to be smart on that.”
“Brendan is working hard. I think we are probably still three weeks or so maybe out from that. Then he’s got to get in game shape too. It’s a challenge.”
WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH?
“If you look at their scores, with the exception of really SMU, every game they have won or they’ve had a chance to win. It’s been close games. I think they have some explosive players on offense. The injuries have caused them some issues quarterback wise, but they’ve got some explosive players. They are phenomenal on special teams. Kick return, punt return, Smoke Harris is tremendous. That is our biggest challenge to date from a special teams standpoint.”
“Defensively they have a couple guys that can lock you down at corner. Then, they are really good in the box. It is one of the better defenses we have seen this year. We are going to have to have a really good plan to try and execute. They can get after the passer but they really do a good job covering. They’re not giving up many, I had their stats but I forgot it, I think they are top 20 in the country from a pass defense standpoint. That’s hard to do in this league because a lot of people throw it.”
“They do a tremendous job. I have a lot of respect for Coach Cumbie and how they play. They compete. Every game they have been in it. They’ve got three games to get bowl eligibility. This is his second year. They are going to be ready to play and we know we have to come ready to go. We can’t take anybody lightly. We’re not good enough to do that. We have to play good to win.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU WORRY ABOUT SMOKE HARRIS IN THE RETURN GAME?
“He’s tremendous. Our punting team hasn’t been our best attribute, we’re protecting but maybe from a kicking standpoint, we haven’t played up to our ability there. It is a challenge. It is something you have to prepare for because he can change the game. The thing with him, it doesn’t matter who’s around him, he’s going to catch it and make people miss. There are videos where he is running through tackles left and right. We will have to have a good plan there because he can change a game. Then, their kick returner and he also does kick return as well, they do a nice job with that. We are going to have to have a good plan and be smart about what we do, when we do it, and why we do it.”
HOW DOES BACHMEIER COMPARE TO THE LAST COUPLE OF QBS YOU HAVE SEEN?
“They are all right up there. He’s got good players to throw to. Their scheme is good. Our biggest thing is, we’ve got to tackle better. I think you can try to slow down a quarterback, you’re not going to stop Hank. They are good. You’re not going to stop them, but you’ve got to try and slow them down. We’ve got to tackle better and not allow them to extend drives. He’s the type, both of them, they are the type where if we miss tackles here and there they’ve got guys that can take it the distance. That is our biggest area of improvement from a defensive standpoint is getting the guys on the ground and not letting them get the extra yardage that converts a third down. Or we could put them in 2nd and long and now they are in 3rd and manageable. We are going to have to do a good job in trying to affect him in different ways whether that is blitzing or something. If we let him just sit back there, we are going to be in trouble.”
WIN THIS GAME AND IT’S THE BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY AT 9-0, HOW MUCH DO YOU TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE CFP TOP 25?
“Mostly for us, we’ve talked about we want to have a chance to host the championship game and we have put ourselves in a position. The rest of it is really just noise, it’s out of our control. I think that takes your focus away from what you can control. We talked about that yesterday in our meeting, or Sunday in our meeting. Our word for this week is vigilant. The word vigilant means you have to be keenly aware and alert. Tonight, whether you’re not ranked or ranked, people are going to say you should be or you shouldn’t be, this that and the other. You should win all these games, you should do this or that, that just takes us away from things that we can control. The main thing for us, I haven’t brought it up all week that we can be 9-0. I don’t know what our best start is. That’s not about me, it’s about our players. It’s more putting them in the best position to be successful. Can we be vigilant in our thought process and our mindset and control what we can? The rest of it takes you away from it. Social media takes you away from it. It’s hard in today’s age. We are a good team trying to be great. Everybody else tells us we’re great and we’re not. We’re a good team that’s trying to be great. We have to be great in our mindset and how we prepare and how we approach it. That’s been our main focus. The rest of that stuff, if we take care of business, we can talk about it when we take care of business. Until then, it doesn’t help us personally.”
HOW MUCH DOES THE LEADERSHIP OF QUINTON REESE HELP SHAPE YOUR SECONDARY?
“He’s a tremendous young man. Anytime you have somebody who has played the way he has over the last few years that has strong character, he can ride the highs and lows. We’ve had a lot of highs and we’ve had some lows. He’s able to keep some guys on that even keel which is a big deal. Coaches try to keep players on even keels all the time because it’s such an emotional game. To have someone who has been through it, that has great wisdom, also has a voice that people listen to. It’s great to have a young man like that that people look up to. Our secondary, with interceptions and things, they have done tremendous. A lot of those guys are playing a lot of snaps for the first time, quite a bit. He has been a key cog as far as helping the safety room specifically but just in general the whole defensive guys helping them stay on course.”
ADJUST BACK TO SATURDAY SCHEDULE, IS THAT GOOD AND ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO A STRONG HOMECOMING CROWD?
“Since we went four weeks in a row, what is routine? I think from a player’s stand point you are back in to what’s normal but it won’t feel normal for a while. I know our guys are excited about it. From a coach’s stand point we are getting back used to it. The Tuesday-Thursday games were great for us, great for our program. We are thankful for that.”
“We are looking forward to homecoming. I don’t know what our homecoming crowd attendance record is but we should set it. You are 8-0 and if you take care of business you get to host a conference championship game. I hope we have a tremendous crowd. I know we will have a great one. Why not let’s set a record? Let’s get everybody here and get behind us. It doesn’t happen often that you get to secure something on your home field to secure home field advantage for a championship. Our players see it when we go play other places, we have a phenomenal crowd. We have the best crowd in this conference. It’s a great home field advantage and we’re going to need it again.”
