Our early-season preview of Liberty football has entered its final week with a late-November matchup against UMass.
Last year, Liberty handled UMass. Buckshot Calvert threw for 474 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Flames to an easy 63-21 victory. Massachusetts’ head coach Walt Bell was brought in prior to 2018 to turn the program around, and while the team will likely improve from a 1-11 2019 campaign, the Minutemen are not yet good enough to compete with the Flames.
UMass will return a number of starters, including QB Andrew Brito. Brito threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns against Liberty in 2019. Former wideout Cam Robinson will switch to running back in 2020 in the absence of transfer back Bilal Ally. Robinson finished second on the team in rushing last year as a wide receiver. Expect Robinson to split carries with transfer RB/WR Ellis Merriweather against Liberty.
Receivers Jermaine Johnson and Samuel Emilus return in 2020. The pair will likely be among Brito’s top two targets in 2020, alongside 6’5 tight end Josiah Johnson. Josiah Johnson was the only one of the trio to catch a touchdown against Liberty last year.
Defensively, UMass has promoted former linebackers coach Tommy Restivo to defensive coordinator. Restivo will look to shore up a defense that surrendered 52.7 points per game last season, good for last in the nation. UMass will return leading tackler Cole McCubrey at linebacker in addition to Mike Ruane and Xavier Steele, who will assume starting roles in 2020 after serving as reserve players in 2019. The Minutemen also signed JUCO transfer DT Tashian Holmes, who will start immediately.
UMass finished near the bottom of FBS in nearly every statistical category last season. The 2020 Minutemen will be better than the 2019 squad, but don’t expect the Minutemen to upset Liberty. The Flames will cruise to an easy victory in this one en route to another bowl game.
PROJECTED LIBERTY RECORD: 8-4
