Our season preview of Liberty football’s 2020 campaign is entering the stretch run with a late-season matchup against Western Carolina.
Western Carolina went 3-9 in 2019, their three wins coming against VMI, Eastern Tennessee State, and Division II North Greenville. The Catamounts will have to replace QB Tyrie Adams, who graduated as the best QB in school history. Adams holds school records in nearly every offensive category; including passes completed, passing touchdowns, and total yards.
Three quarterbacks will vie for the starting job in 2020. The first candidate is redshirt junior Will Jones. Jones started three games for the Catamounts in 2019, completing 62 of his 97 passes for 443 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. WCU picked up QB commit Kason Lincke this offseason. In his high school career, Lincke threw for nearly 6,000 yards with 57 touchdowns and 21 rushing touchdowns.
The favorite to win the job, however, is likely JUCO transfer Mark Wright. Wright was ranked the #5 dual-threat JUCO quarterback in the nation by JCGridiron.com. As a sophomore at Hutchison Community College, Wright threw for 20 touchdowns and rushed for seven more. He accounted for nearly 2,500 yards of total offense at Hutchison and earned first-team all-Kansas Jayhawk Community College honors. The KJCCC is home to Independence Community College, a program featured on the Netflix series Last Chance U and previous home to Liberty JUCO signee Juawan Treadwell.
Donnavan Spencer, the team’s leading rusher in 2019, returns for his senior season. The Catamounts added a few high school running back signees, but Spencer will likely remain atop the running back depth chart. He tallied 530 rushing yards in 2019.
Leading wideout Daquan Patten returns for a final year at Western Carolina in 2020. Patten’s 103-yard performance against VMI led the Catamounts to victory, and his stat line against the Keydets accounted for nearly a fourth of his 433 receiving total in 2019. The Catamounts signed JUCO transfer Raekwon Heath from Independence Community College, who will likely make an immediate impact for Western Carolina.
WCU lost two of their three leading tacklers to graduation and will look to several JUCO and high school signees to fill any gaps. In 2019, WCU surrendered an average of 39 points per game. The defensive unit will face a tall task when the team travels to Lynchburg in November.
Behind a career day from Malik Willis, the Flames will handle Western Carolina. While the 2020 schedule is uncertain at this point in time, Liberty is scheduled to play NC State the following week.
Projected Liberty record: 7-3
