Liberty returns all of its specialists in 2021 and should continue to have a solid group. Alex Barbir is now firmly entrenched as the team’s starting kicker and is back as a super senior this fall.
He had an up and down season, but he will be most remembered for his game winning field goal at Virginia Tech. He also had what ended up being the game winner against Coastal Carolina, and had the opportunity for a third game winning field goal as his kick was blocked at NC State.
Barbir was 13 of 20 on his field goals last season. He was a perfect 6 of 6 inside of 30 yards and 2 for 2 on kicks 50 yards or longer. He struggle din the mid-range, making just 5 of 12 kicks between 30 and 50 yards. Certainly, he will be focusing on improving his consistency and working towards becoming automatic on kicks inside of 45 yards this offseason. He also proved to be effective in kickoffs, as 25 of his 78 kickoffs went for touchbacks and made 50 of 52 extra points.
Aidan Alves is back once again as punter and holder. He’s grown into being a weapon for Liberty’s special teams unit as a punter. This past season he averaged 41.8 yards per punt on his 26 punts, which is very close to what special teams coordinator Tanner Burns looks for as his goal for punters is 42 yards per punt. Austin Mock returns as the Flames’ long snapper. Jason Stricker serves as the backup kicker and punter and could step in if there is an injury.
Wide receiver Demario Douglas was Liberty’s primary punt returner last season as he averaged 11.1 yards per return on his 15 returns including a 73-yard touchdown score. Running back Shedro Louis completed his second season as the team’s kick returner last season, averaging 25.3 yards per return on his 14 returns with a long of 51. We could also see cornerback Duron Lowe factor into the return game as he had two kickoff returns for a touchdown during his time at UTEP.
This spring, Liberty has received verbal commitments from three preferred walk-on prospects that are expected to join the team this summer as the Flames look to find a replacement for the specialists when their times run out. Brayden Beck can serve as kicker or punter, while Nick Brown joins as a kicker and Max Morgan as a punter.
“Tanner has done a nice job of trying to prepare us for the future whenever we lose Austin Mock and Aidan and Barbir,” Freeze said. “We’re always in the cycle of trying to have the next guy on campus, on the team, that would take their spot. I would like to have the specialists on campus to just rotate on that scholarship after being with us.”
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