Liberty continues to have to shuffle the deck at quarterback, something that has defined the first half of the 2022 season.
The Flames began the season with Baylor and Utah transfer Charlie Brewer the starter. That only lasted two series in the season opener at Southern Miss before the veteran quarterback was sidelined with a broken hand just below his thumb on his right, throwing hand.
After Johnathan Bennett originally replace Brewer against Southern Miss, head coach Hugh Freeze turned to redshirt-freshman Kaidon Salter. The highly rated recruit and talented athlete led the Flames to a comeback win in four overtimes after being inserted into the game in the 4th quarter.
Brewer hopes to return to action in the next week or two
Salter would go on to start the next two games, against UAB and at Wake Forest, before being sidelined with a groin injury. That forced him to miss the Akron game, and Bennett started that game. Salter returned to practice the following and played in the first half at Old Dominion. Freeze elected to go back to Bennett in the second half in Norfolk, Virginia as Salter was not at 100%.
Bennett got the start again last week at UMass, as Salter did not make the trip to Amherst, Massachusetts. On Freeze’s weekly radio show this past Monday, he revealed that Salter had to have surgery on his groin and was hospitalized through the weekend as he recovered.
“Kaidon had surgery Friday, hopefully he gets out of the hospital (Monday),” Freeze told the Voice of the Flames, Alan York on Monday. “I don’t really have an idea on time frame there.”
As Salter recovers from surgery, Brewer is anxious to return to the field. He was back at practice on Tuesday morning during the portion of practice open to media. He just had his pins taken out and cast removed last Wednesday. After being in a cast for about four-five weeks, it will certainly take some rehabilitation for Brewer to get back to his pre-injury status.
“Charlie is itching to play,” said Freeze. “(He) would play this week if they let him. We will know more as the week progresses.”
Brewer’s status is currently unclear for Saturday’s game against Gardner-Webb. If he is unable to go, the Flames will once again turn to Johnathan Bennett as starter while having redshirt-freshman Nate Hampton available to play in certain packages, as well. We could also see Brewer get limited snaps in the game Saturday as he continues to acclimate towards playing in a game. Prior to his two series on Sept. 3 at Southern Miss, Brewer hasn’t played in a game since Sept. 18, 2021.
Redshirt-sophomore Sean Brown was also back at practice on Tuesday morning for the first time this season. He has missed time due to an undisclosed injury. The Apex, North Carolina native has played in one game during his time at Liberty, getting into the 2020 game against Western Carolina.
Following the Gardner-Webb game, Liberty’s schedule ramps up. The Flames host BYU Saturday, Oct. 22 before a much needed bye. Road trips to Arkansas and UConn follow the bye week with an in-state clash against Virginia Tech thereafter. Freeze says, at this point, there’s no question who is the starter for whenever the team has its full roster of quarterbacks.
“We named Charlie the starter for a reason,” said the Liberty head coach. “If he is what he was, we would expect him to start, but I don’t know that. I don’t know where he’s at, really, until we get into it. I’m thankful we have JB and Nate, and hopefully we will have Charlie and Kaidon both and have a full house to finish the season. But, again, I think Charlie earned the right to be the starter or I wouldn’t have named him that. I only had six snaps or so in the season (to watch him). So, if he’s healthy, we’d love to get him out there and see if he’s still the starter. Maybe he is, maybe he’s not. I don’t know, but I think he earned that right.”
