Another edition of the ASOR Mailbag! Thank you for submitting your questions and continue to send them in and we will be happy to answer them in our next feature. You can send them to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, or as a comment on the site. We had a ton of great questions this week, so let’s get right to it.
All new coaching staff’s have excitement or at least they need to sell that feeling.
However it sure seems genuine excitement IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT in being a part of the new Chadwell staff.
Way more than a sell happening on the Mountain. As the coaches settle in -> Tell us more!— Eric Taylor (@JET70X7) May 2, 2023
Great observation Eric! Based on the interactions I’ve had with several members of the new coaching staff, they are genuinely excited to be at Liberty. That excitement seems to be carrying over in their interactions on social media. It is certainly something the players and recruits are picking up on – they see that these coaches are legitimately excited to be at Liberty. It’s been fun to witness and hopefully it will translate well into on the field success this fall.
Are we getting baby blue jersey…
— jackson perry (@hugecaniac97) May 1, 2023
Assuming you are talking about a light blue jersey for football, we’ve discussed this before in the Rumor Mill a couple of times and haven’t heard anything that would change what we have stated previously. Several sports have debuted light blue jerseys in recent years, most notably baseball and hockey. Will there be one for football soon?
Who are the coaches looking at for another QB? How high are they on Reese Mooney?
— Optimus Ferg 🇺🇸🗽🔥 (@OptimusFerg) May 2, 2023
They were a couple of names I heard floated around as potential quarterbacks linked to Liberty early during the spring transfer portal and right after the conclusion of Liberty’s spring practice, but it doesn’t sound like any have gained significant traction, that we have heard. There is still a chance that a quarterback is added through the portal this spring, but we will have to see.
As for Mooney, he was recruited to Liberty originally by the previous coaching staff. It will be difficult for him to push past the four other quarterbacks on the roster that have been in the program for at least this past spring for the beginning of the installation of the new offense. It will be a lot to learn for Mooney in such a short period of time.
A question from ethanbryannnnt on Instagram: What’s the likelihood of more transfers committing before the start of this coming season?
100%. As of this writing, the Flames have 12 scholarships available for the 2023 football season and 3-4 visits scheduled for this weekend (more on that later in the week). There will certainly be more commitments out of the portal and probably several more.
A question from renodillon on Instagram: After securing the latest 4 transfers, what positions do we attack next?
I think needs remain on the offensive line, defensive tackle, and linebacker, most notably. Additional depth at running back, corner, and safety certainly wouldn’t hurt. I do think it would be hard to bring in a running back with the three names that have already been added to the team in Cooley, Jointer, and Blue. That’s a lot of competition for a transfer to willingly step into.
I heard some news that Coach Curtis is no longer with the team? Is this true & what does this mean moving forward?
— 5solaspastorJT (@5solaspastorJT) May 2, 2023
Yes, this is true, as reported here. Curtis was the only holdover of the on field coaching staff that worked under Hugh Freeze and remained after Coach Chadwell took over. Curtis coached the safeties during the spring. The Flames are now looking for a new safeties coach, and it is not entirely sure if there will be a Co-Defensive Coordinator on the staff, a position that Curtis also held, or if defensive line coach Skylor Magee will assume the role of Defensive Coordinator solely. Magee is currently Co-Defensive Coordinator in addition to his duties as position coach of the defensive line.
Why did Jack Curtis leave?
— Meacham (@Meach39) May 3, 2023
It’s hard for us to say why for many things, including decisions such as this. Was he ready to move on from coaching? Did his philosophies not mesh with the new coaching staff? Is there another opportunity he is pursuing? It’s hard for us to answer the why question, and many times we may never have that answer, unfortunately.
A question from cempm00 on Instagram: Do we know when scheduling details for football will start to be made public?
I’m not sure when Liberty plans on officially releasing future football schedules, but we always track them here. We’ve pretty much got all the schedules finalized through 2030. Of course, some of these could have changed and will likely have some changes prior to the games all being played. Here’s what the 2024 non-conference schedule currently looks like:
08/31 vs Campbell
09/21 vs East Carolina
09/28 @ Appalachian State
11/16 @ UMass
The four games we have on Liberty’s schedule for 2025 are at Army, at Old Dominion and home games against UMass and ETSU. Be sure to check out what else we currently have on the docket for the Flames in the coming years.
What’s up with Brylan Green and baseball? Did he red shirt this year?
— Optimus Ferg 🇺🇸🗽🔥 (@OptimusFerg) May 2, 2023
He is part of the team and goes through practices while also attending home games. Green is not part of the travel roster and has not played to this point of the season. He also spent some time with the football team during spring practice but he was not a full participant as sometimes his baseball schedule took away from the football team. Once the baseball season is over, it is likely that he will return to the football team for the summer and fight for a spot on the two-deep depth chart at safety for the 2023 season.
Any updates or renderings on the Baseball pitching lab?
— LittleLibertyArena (@LilLibertyArena) May 2, 2023
I have not seen or heard of any yet. When this was first reported several months ago, it sounded like it was a project that was further down the pipeline, There is a chance it could be started at the conclusion of the 2023 baseball season.
Are there any LU ALUM active on MLB or Minor League rosters?
— TJ Welb (@tjwelb18) May 2, 2023
There are not currently any Liberty alums on an MLB roster, but there are several in the minors right now. Max Alba, Dylan Cumming, Mason Fluharty, and DJ Artis are currently in A ball, Andrew McInvale and Will Wagner are playing AA, and Noah Skirrow is in AAA.