Liberty returns six of its top seven pass catchers from a year ago. The only one not returning is Treon Sibley who led the team with 28 receptions for 510 yards as well as two touchdowns. If the Flames can stay healthy at the position, the production should only see an uptick from last year’s performance. From 2023 to 2024, Liberty saw a drop of nearly 40 yards passing per game and had its touchdown passes cut in half.
One who should help the Flames improve in its passing numbers in 2025 is Elijah Canion. The 6’5″ former Purdue transfer had 25 receptions for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first season in a Liberty uniform last year. He moved from the outside to the slot for much of the spring where he can be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Reese Smith is another receiver who has shown his flashes of potential at times while also fighting through injuries. We all remember his three-touchdown game last year against East Carolina. He finished the season with 18 catches for 277 yards and four scores. If he can stay healthy, Smith could challenge to be one of the top targets on the team.
The Flames also went to the transfer portal to help beef up its pass catchers, bringing in Jamari Person and Casey Cain. Person is a 6’1″, 200-pound receiver originally from Nashville, Tennessee. He played in 5 games during his freshman season in 2023 at Colorado State, including one start. He had 1 catch for 8 yards. Last season, Person played in 12 games and finished the season with 36 receptions for 386 yards and a touchdown, finishing second on the team in both catches and yards.
Cain is a 6’3″, 200-pound receiver originally from New Orleans. He began his collegiate career at Texas where he played in 22 games with 3 starts over 3 seasons for the Longhorns. After redshirting in 2021, Cain had 8 receptions for 201 yards as a redshirt-freshman in 2022. He posted four catches for a career-high 108 yards that season in the Alamo Bowl against Washington. In 2023, Cain had one reception for 13 yards at Texas before entering the portal and landing at UNLV. This past season for the Rebels, Cain had 7 receptions for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns while playing in 12 games and starting 5.
Tyson Mobley and Donte Lee are two other returning receivers that should have impact on the field this fall. Mobley is a veteran receiver who began his career at Coastal Carolina before transferring to Liberty prior to the 2024 season. Last year, he had 29 catches for 276 yards and 1 touchdown. Lee had 10 receptions for 148 yards and 1 score in his first year at Liberty after transferring from Division II Shaw. Both should continue to be options for the Flames in the pass game.
Darius Copeland should also be able to return after coming off an injury. After redshirting in 2023, Copeland was a big part of Liberty’s game plan early in the season when he had 5 receptions for 38 yards in three games before suffering an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season.
Other young names to watch that could emerge at receiver this season include Eric Smith, Jon Monteiro, Bryce Randolph, and Nas Newkirk.
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