Our position previews continue with a look at Liberty’s quarterback room.
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Tight Ends
For a second straight year and third time in four seasons, Liberty is looking to find out who will be the team’s starting quarterback. This comes on the heels of over a decade of knowing who that guy would be. From Mike Brown to Josh Woodrum to Buckshot Calvert, the Flames had multi-year starters for a long time. That trend has ended following Malik Willis and his two years at Liberty as he is now in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.
Will either Johnathan Bennett or Kaidon Salter emerge as the obvious answer at quarterback this season? Can Trey Lowe step into that spot? What about Nate Hampton? Will the Flames be able to rely on one guy at the position throughout the season? Those are all questions that head coach Jamey Chadwell and Co-OC & QB Coach Willy Korn are attempting to answer during camp.
Through the team’s first training camp scrimmage this past Saturday, Bennett, Salter, Lowe, and Hampton had all gotten the same amount of reps, Coach Korn said. This week, the coaching staff plans on taking a closer look at the top contenders for the starting job with the goal of naming a starter internally by next Wednesday.
“They were told we were going to take it up until the second scrimmage for Fan Appreciation Day, and then you will have two more practices that are technically fall camp practices,” Korn said of the quarterback competition. “Wednesday of next week is our first Bowling Green practice, by that Wednesday, those guys will know where they stand in the pecking order.”
“It’s still wide open,” Korn went on to say, but the coaching staff does plan on picking one guy. “Once we name that guy, that’s the guy we’re going to stick with and rally behind.”
Frontrunners
QB 1 Johnathan Bennett Sr 6”0″ 230
Bennett has been with the Flames the longest of all the quarterbacks in the room. He will have a very interesting story to tell when his career at Liberty ends as he helped lead the team to two of the biggest wins in program history against BYU and Arkansas. He seems to be the safe prediction to win the starting job to begin the 2023 season.
QB Coach Willy Korn – “He picks things up very quickly, mentally. In terms of processing, he’s probably the most impressive in that group. It was that way in the spring. That was one of the advantages he had in the spring. He doesn’t require a lot of reps (to learn the plays), he knows it and it sticks with him. As a coach, you feel confident with him going in and being able to handle some of the checks. I think we play at our best when our quarterback is on the field and doesn’t have to peak to the sidelines. I think it’s hard to get into a rhythm if you’re doing that 10-15 times. From the get go, that was one of his advantages.”
QB 7 Kaidon Salter R-SO 6’1″ 200
Salter’s ceiling is incredibly high. He struggled with consistency and turnovers when he was on the field for his redshirt-freshman season last year. After Charlie Brewer got hurt and Bennett struggled, Salter emerged and immediately wow’ed with his performances against Southern Miss and Wake Forest. If he takes care of what he struggled with last year, Salter can push the Flames’ offense to another level.
QB Coach Willy Korn – “He may have taken the biggest step from the end of spring to now in taking care of the football and understanding what his assignment is. Really a big step up, that’s a big credit to him putting the time in. I think everybody on the team knows how talented he is. The conversation in the spring was it’s not going to go to who runs the fastest, who throws the farthest. Those things are great, but you can’t make that what you value the most. If it leads to turnovers or missed assignments, those are drive killers. He’s taking a huge step in that to where he’s correcting guys on the field as it happens, not in a negative way. He corrects himself immediately. In the spring, I’d have to tell him this is the problem with what you did. Now, as soon as he does it, he knows and he comes back and tells me, ‘I should have done that.’ Tremendous amount of growth from that standpoint.”
Competition
QB 8 Trey Lowe SR 6’2″ 215
Lowe is working on his doctorate at Liberty after transferring from Southern Miss. He began his collegiate career at West Virginia and has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. He has plenty of playing time and experience that he can utilize to help be a leader for the team at the position.
QB 10 Nate Hampton SO 6’5″ 225
Hampton was Liberty’s fourth quarterback last season, being featured primarily in running packages when he had his opportunities. He’s a big body quarterback that provides a different look than what the other signal callers bring.
Depth
QB 16 Reese Mooney FR 6’0″ 200
Mooney was a highly rated prospect out of high school and chose Liberty over several P5 opportunities. He will begin his career as a two-sport start as he will also play baseball. Mooney is very talented and has impressed the coaching staff this fall, though it is most likely that he preserves his year of eligibility and redshirts this season.
