Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell met with the media on Tuesday as he recapped the Flames win over Old Dominion and looked ahead to Saturday’s game against UMass. Check out the full video from his press conference below.
“Going back and looking at the tape, defensively, I thought we did a really nice job. Special teams we were really good except for kicking the ball out of bounds a couple of times. I was really proud of Nick Brown for making the big field goal. Then, offensively, the first half was tremendous. Second half we didn’t execute some of the things we needed to to finish the way we wanted to, but that was not because of the offense, it was more because of us and the things we had called.”
“Really pleased with the win and more importantly the mindset that we came out with. Our challenge now is can we keep it? We were motivated to play at a high level, can we keep that going forward. We knew it was an in-state battle, an inter-conference battle, we’ve got to do the same thing this week.”
“From the seniors standpoint, I don’t know them as well as some other people just because of just being here. What I will say about each and every one of them, they all had a choice to stay or they could have left. They chose to stay and buy in to what we’re building here in our program. Asked them to stay with us and have an opportunity to make history being the first team in a conference and having an opportunity to play for a conference championship. They made a choice to do that. They made a choice to be leaders and they are being rewarded for that, which is awesome. No matter what happens going forward, they will always be remembered as the team that laid the foundation of what we will hopefully accomplish during our time here in Conference USA. They are all tremendous. I appreciate everyone of them.”
HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT FOR THOSE SENIORS TO STAY HERE AND BUY INTO WHAT YOU AND YOUR STAFF ARE DONG?
“That was the most challenging thing because the guys that you brought in, yeah whatever coach we will hit that wall. The guys that have been here a while, they are going to question everything because they’ve been under somebody else. It doesn’t mean it’s bad to question, but maybe why are we doing it this way, or why are we doing it this way. If we were going to be successful and make an impact, they had to buy in to what we were doing. Each week through the offseason, through the summer, they just kept getting stronger and stronger with each other and the trust between us, the coaches, and them got stronger, and the bond became closer. Without their buy in, without their commitment, we wouldn’t be here 10-0 without those guys.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT WANTING MORE RESPECT, HOW MUCH ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT AND HOPING TO BE IN THE CFP TOP 25?
“I’m not. We handled whoever was in front of us who everybody said came from this great conference and different things, and we beat them worse than anybody had all year. So, if that doesn’t earn it right now, hey, it’s what it is. What we’ve got to do is control what we can and keep winning and keep playing well, and let the dominoes fall. Nobody is making the decision in Week 10, it’s going to happen after championship games and all that. We’ve still got everything out in front of us. Hopefully our body of work, if we will handle our business, hopefully our body of work will match up with the other people that are in consideration with everything with their body of work.”
“I told our team, embrace the disrespect. That’s what it is, let’s embrace it. We are going to do everything we can to earn it. People don’t have to give it back. We will continue to do what we can and earn it.”
HOW IMPORTANT HAS COACH DURKIN BEEN TO THE OFFENSIVE LINE AND TEAM THIS SEASON?
“He’s been a tremendous coach. Coach Durkin and I have been together since 2017. He has a great knack, obviously he played the position, he played at a high level, he has a great knack and a way to communicate. All of us offensive guys, we want to do this, that, and that, and have all of these great ideas, you have to be able to, as an offensive line coach, to get to what we want to do and put it in a vernacular that your players can understand and you don’t confuse them. To me, that’s his greatest gift. He is intense. He is a phenomenal technician, but he knows how to communicate and have those guys play at a high level.”
“If you look at it, we have four new starters, if you think about it. I know Jon played some, but you have four new starters up there, and then obviously X’Zauvea, to be able to bring a unit like that together, and then Jack Tucker is playing quite a bit as well, so that’s five really new guys are playing the majority of football for the first time. That is hard to do to get those guys to gel, and he’s done a great job of that. Our success we have had, we’ve had great success at running back, quarterback, receiver, tight ends, but none of that would happen if it wasn’t for the guys up front. What you love about them is they don’t care about the credit. When they get excited is when we are rushing for 300. That fuels them. They were disappointed last week because we didn’t get it again. You love that.”
HOW MUCH HAS BRENDAN SCHLITTLER HELPED DESPITE HIS INJURY?
“I do think it helps to have somebody who has been in the battles, been in games, and just have somebody, especially on the sidelines during games, a guy maybe didn’t make the block he needed to, hey, it’s ok you can get the next one. Coach Durk is making the adjustments and he maybe can’t get over there and pick the guy up or show him another technique he is trying to teach you, this is how you do it. He’s been a great addition from that standpoint. He still doesn’t want to be a coach, he still wants to go make money, but he’s been really good.”
DOES A GAME LIKE UMASS GIVE YOU CONCERN AS THEY ARE BIG UNDERDOGS?
“First of all, they have played a lot of good teams. They are on a two game winning streak. They’ve had an open date before, so there is plenty of time to get ready for us. They are playing with a lot of confidence. We can’t roll the ball out and just show up and beat anybody. It’s not how we have to operate. Our whole focus has to be on us playing well this week, and I believe we will. I think our guys understand the importance of playing on senior day at home. It’s, obviously, our last regular season home game of the year. It’s a big deal. There is a lot for us to play for.”
“What we challenged our team on is that we arguably last week had our best week of practice in all phases, and it showed up in the game. It’s like Thanksgiving coming up. There might be one meal that your mom or your grandma, or one dish, that they make and you know that you want that. For me, it’s sweet potato casserole. When you get that, you don’t want to wait another year to get it again or you’d like to have more of it. That’s what I told our team. Let’s not wait to see if we can play our best. You felt like it felt like from that. Let’s go do it again. Yesterday was solid, hopefully today we will have another good preparation and continue to chase our best game.”
“We will have to play well to beat UMass. I know what their record is and I know they are the underdog or whatever it may be. They have good players. Their head coach has been a D-Coordinator for a long time at a lot of places. He’s going to have a great defensive scheme. They’ve got good players transfer wise. On offense, great running back, receiver, quarterback that played at Clemson and I can’t remember the other place he was at. They’ve got good people. If we don’t show up, they we will be in a dog fight.”
THEY DID BEAT NMSU, CAN YOU POINT TO THAT AT ALL?
“I’ve not brought that up specifically. When we talk a lot about our opponent, we go through what they’re good at X, Y, and Z, and what we can hopefully take advantage of. It always comes back to what can Liberty do to play our best game? If you are going to play in games where you are favored and you are going to play in games where you’re not. We try not to compare ourselves to anybody else. This is who we are and how we do it.”
“Young people naturally do say oh they beat this, they naturally do those things. We work harder on trying to get that out of their mindset and to control what they can. This is one where we have to play well. We can’t get emotional because it’s senior day. We have to come and play and not worry about those other things that are out of Liberty’s control.”
YOU PLAYED UMASS BEFORE AT YOUR LAST STOP, HOW DIFFERENT DO THEY LOOK?
“They are way better. They are more physical. They give you so many different looks and different things that challenge you, and they are playing with confidence. There is an identity for them. They believe in what the coach is doing. I know that we can’t take them lightly. I know that they’ve got quality people in places that can hurt you, and they are playing with a lot of confidence now.”
“They are on a two game win streak, they have an open date to get healthy. They are probably, arguably, going to be healthier than they’ve ever been. We know that they are going to know everything that we do. They are going to have a plan for it. We are going to have to have a good week of practice to be able to prepare for them and being able to play. Coach has done a really nice job there.”
“Coach Durkin played there. He is very proud of what Coach Brown is building there. Hopefully we will derail that building program at least one more week.”
DOES DURKIN GET A LITTLE MORE GEEKED UP FOR THIS GAME?
“I think anytime he plays somewhere that means a lot to him, he’s always excited about it. I can tell you something off camera about how excited he got, but I won’t do it right here. He is very proud of being an alum. He is very proud of his university. He met his wife there. I know he wants us to win, as well.”
HOW DOES THE UMASS RB COMPARE TO OTHER RB’s YOU HAVE FACED THIS YEAR?
“He’s really good. He’s a physical guy, hard to tackle. We’ve got some good backs that we’ve played in our league this season and out of conference. I would argue he’s probably the best one from an overall ability standpoint to where he’s got the speed to beat you. The thing that our guys have been impressed with is he’s able to run through tackles. He is a physical guy. He comes right at you. Anytime you have a guy who is over 100 yards a game you are doing something right. I would say he’s probably the best one we have seen as far as an individual guy, or close to it.”
HAVING A SENIOR LIKE GADLIN, HOW MUCH DOES IT HELP THAT PROCESS THE WAY HE HAS LED THE TEAM?
“It does make it easier. A senior, then he’s a guy that play, they obviously have a voice. That voice can either help you or it can hurt you. I’ve been around where it’s hurt you before especially as you take over a program. He could have easily been a voice that hurt you and he wasn’t. He’s like, hey, we are going to trust, we are going to buy into what they’re asking to do and in turn he’s able to get that group to buy in, and then anybody else he influences, at least on the offensive side of the ball, then they buy in. .He’s been tremendous, as far as a leader, obviously as a player. There is a reason why he is so well-rounded. He is very thoughtful, intellectual. He’s been a big reason why we have been able to do those things.”
