Here’s the full transcript of what Coach Gill said at Big South Media Day:
You must be excited during this time of the year:
(Coach Gill) Well, you get that itch. You want to be around your football players, you want to coach them. You want to hug them. You want to get after them. Do all those things, and teach the game of football and also the game of life.
Last year did not meet expectations, how did that impact you during the offseason:
(Gill) We always have an urgency, but there’s a little bit more of an urgency, being more detailed in everything we do to our players. Making sure this doesn’t happen again as far as being at the top of the conference, getting in the playoffs. That’s what we should be able to do year after year, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Masha, you are the guy now, how does that feel?
(Stephon Masha) I feel like I just got to take it by storm. Going into this season, coming off a good spring offense and defensive wise, going into summer time, building chemistry with the receivers. I want to throw the ball a lot, put it on the targets, throw it the best I could, help out Coach Dailey he’s my new offensive coordinator.
You spent time at receiver and running back, did that help you?
(Masha) Yes, most definitely. My redshirt-freshman year they put me at running back and receiver. When I was thrown in there when Woodrum got injured, I was already used to the flow of the game, the speed of the game. So, I felt comfortable in there. I wasn’t really jittery, I felt comfortable to run a offense.
Dexter, you love to hit people. What is your mentality?
(Dexter Robbins) My mentality is really, you lay it all on the line. I kind of have like a Jack Lambert mentality. I grew up watching that linebacker play and whenever I grew into a football player I modeled myself after that. Smash-mouth, nasty kind of player, but you know clean in the mouth but hard-nosed on the field. You know, no disregard for my body, just lay it all out there.
Turner, new quarterback this year. How do you feel about the offense and will it change any?
(Gill) I’m excited about the offense. We’ve got Stephon Masha, I feel very confident in his ability. He’s shown he has matured in every aspect in a way. Physically (he) can do it, and also mentally he can handle it too. We’ve made a little bit of a change, Joe Dailey is our offensive coordinator now. We’re going to make a few little adjustments here and there. We maybe a little bit more uptempo than what we have been in the past. We’re going to be letting go. We’re going to be running as many plays as we can. We told the fans to make sure when they go get popcorn they better get it fast because they might miss about 4 or 5 plays.
Zac Parker is a guy that really impress me on film.
(Gill) Talented receiver. A guy that can catch the ball well, make people miss, and can make a way to get open. That’s the kind of people we’re looking for. Put the ball in his hands and let him go make plays.
Who else will we see in the skill positions that you’re excited about?
(Gill) B.J. Farrow, another receiver there we’ve had. Dante Shells has a lot of experience and has played. Todd Macon, a running back that’s played quite a bit for us. There will be another one or two guys that we haven’t heard about a whole lot that’s going to step up and make big plays.
Stephon, do you feel a good chemistry with the rest of your players on offense?
(Masha) Oh yeah, most definitely. After the spring practice, I really got the receivers, throwing 7 on 7, each week, on the weekend, non-mandatory hours. Just building that chemistry. So, when we go into the season, go into camp, we already have that chemistry going down the field, completing passes, gaining yards.
There are a number of faith-based schools in the Big South, but Liberty is a special place, Dexter. Is that why you chose to go to Liberty?
(Robbins) Yeah, I chose to go to Liberty because as soon as I stepped on the campus there was like an aura came over me like I knew this was my home. I knew, God showed me this is where it’s going to be. It was a very tough path getting here because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come here because the scholarship issues or whatever. But it ended up coming through, it ended up occurring on the night of national signing day. I was able to commit here and it was a really blessing and I’m very thankful for it.
Turner, you look down the roster and they come from all over the country. I would imagine it’s a special place to recruit to.
(Gill) No question. All you have to say is you’re coming here and getting a faith based education. You’re training champions for Christ. You’re here to get to know Christ in a deeper way. So people who really want to be in that environment and have coaches, have students, you have to pass 18-20 hours to get your degree here as far as in Biblical studies and those types of things. And then, you’re going to have Christian coaches. We’re going to teach them the right way, we’re going to encourage them, uplift them, but we’re going to be demanding according to God’s plan.
Talk about that defense.
(Gill) We feel pretty good about it. We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football. That have been younger guys, redshirt freshmen, sophomores. Now they got 1 year under their belt. So, we’re going to have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football. Nick Newman has a lot of experience, he is a senior. Dexter, and we got plenty of other guys too in the secondary, defensive line. We know this is our fastest defense we have ever had here. I’ve always talked about speed. I’ve always talked to my coaches, we want guys that can run. If they can’t run, I don’t want them on defense. I don’t care how short, small, big they are, but they’ve got to be able to run. I think we are finally there at this point in time where every position we have people that can run particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
Stephon, what did last year’s season do to you guys during the offseason?
(Masha) It was definitely motivating, it put a chip on our shoulder. I think last season we went into the season slight big-headed just because all the success we had in 2014 season. We lost games that the frontrunners had us winning and stuff like that. I think for this season we’re going into the season thinking 1-0, each week. Not overlooking every team, not overlooking teams that we think we can beat or teams that we can’t beat or just not looking forward. We’ve got to go into each week, think about that game, that week, don’t look forward, don’t look past. Just think about that week.
Speaking of that schedule…
(Gill) No, it’s a tough schedule, but if you want to be the best you have to play the best. So, therefore we always step forward and try to put our best foot forward. I always say, play the game and find out who’s the best team that particular day.
Dexter, I know you’re an emotional player. That game at Virginia Tech, enter sandman, 70,000 people, Liberty ready to surprise some people?
(Robbins) Enter Sandman is my favorite song to come out to. So, I believe, if we just put in the work in camp and continue to grow like we are I think that when we step out on the field we will be prepared to upset that team.
Dexter, what are you majoring in?
(Robbins) I’m a criminal justice major, and I’m currently 1 semester away from finishing. I hope to be working for a federal wildlife park somewhere. Working federally as a wildlife officer. I love the outdoors.
Stephon, what about you?
(Masha) I’m majoring in kinesiology and I’m trying to minor in health promotions. I want to be a health consultant. What made me come to Liberty I didn’t really know much about Liberty until they sent me an offer in the mail my junior year. So, I came up here, and I see all the facilities, stuff like that, new construction they’re building for the next few years, and I just fell in love with it. On top of that, you know these coaches that we have, I’m really grateful for them. They’re not really thinking about your football skills or your talent, they’re really thinking about you as a man, as a man spiritually, physically, you know stuff like that. Meeting Coach Gill and him and Coach Dailey, Coach Dailey was really on me my freshman and sophomore year, just maturing me as a person, as a football player. He just tried to bring the best out of you, each day, each practice. So, that’s what I really love about Liberty.
Turner, these are some great kids on this football team.
(Gill) Well, we got great young men who really want to strengthen their faith, strengthen their walk with God. They also want to be people that people’s going to look up to them as examples of Christ. So, that’s what we always talk about, are you living Christ-like, or are you not living Christ-like? And it’s a challenge, daily. The devil comes after you. We have great people and they are surrounded with people that’s going to help them grow.
This is your 5th year at Liberty, is this a great move for Turner Gill?
(Gill) Absolutely. God has called me to be here. He’s called me to be here today. So, whenever God calls you then it’s always a great move. I’m blessed to be here. I got a great bunch of kids, young men, great bunch of coaches, great fans, great leadership. So, again, Liberty is a great place to be and I hope that other people will continue to look at us. Those that are recruits, come on and join us.
