Liberty returns Quinton Reese and Brylan Green at safety, as those two look to lead the defensive secondary for the Flames that led the nation in interceptions in 2023.
The Flames will have to find replacements for the lost production of Brandon Bishop, Preston Hodge, and Jaylon Jimmerson. Bishop is certainly the biggest lost of those at the position, as he finished second on the team with 61 tackles last year. Hodge played both safety and corner with his time increasing towards the corner position as the season went into the home stretch. Jimmerson, who transferred to in-conference foe Sam Houston, was more of a depth piece for the Flames while playing in all 14 games.
Liberty typically uses three safeties on the field in their base packages, sometimes referring to the third safety as a corner. Reese and Green will certainly man two of those spots the majority of the time this fall. These two veterans combined for 93 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 7 interceptions last year. They are proven commodities for the team as the last line of defense.
Behind Reese and Green there are some question marks as to who will emerge. A couple names seem to be the most obvious to having a good shot at breaking into the lineup most Saturdays in 2024. A’Khori Jones has seen steady playing time in his first two seasons in the program and could easily step into a starting position this year. He finished 2023 with 15 tackles and 2 PBUs.
JUCO transfer Eldric Griffin is also expected to make an immediate impact this season. He began his career at Mississippi State in 2021 where he redshirted before going the JUCO route. He had offers from Kennesaw State, Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, FAU, New Mexico, Western Kentucky, Sam Houston, UMass, Utah State, and several FCS schools. In 9 games played at Tyler JUCO last year, he recorded 31 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 pass breakups.
A couple other names that will likely make a push during fall training camp to be included in the mix at safety this season include Marquis Bell and Jayden Sweeney. Bell has gone back and forth between safety and corner at times since he has been at Liberty, but it looks like he has settled on the safety position for this year. Sweeney is a redshirt-sophomore who played in 13 games last year, and he could take a significant step up in his on-field role this season.
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