MORE ON MALIK’S RECORD SETTING DAY
We’ve already had a lot to say about Malik Willis’ record setting day in Liberty’s win on Saturday over Southern Miss, but we’re not done yet. The Liberty quarterback finished with 442 total yards of offense, the fourth most in a single game in school history and most since Buckshot Calvert’s 480 total yards at UMass a season ago.
In addition to his program record 7 touchdowns and tying the school record with 6 passing touchdowns, Willis became just the third quarterback in all of the FBS with six passing touchdowns in a game this season, joining Florida’s Kyle Trask and Memphis’ Brady White.
His five first half passing touchdowns were the most by a Liberty player since Buckshot did so in the first half against Morehead State on Sept. 9, 2017. Willis also completed touchdown passes to 5 different Liberty receivers, and he came less than a yard from having a 7th passing touchdown and 8th total touchdown of the day when his pass to Chris Barrett on Liberty’s final scoring drive was ruled down inside the one. That would have been a 6th different target with a touchdown reception.
CJ DANIELS RECORDS FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN
During fall camp, the Liberty coaching staff couldn’t stop raving about the play of true freshman wide receiver CJ Daniels. He looked like he was poised for a big role for the Flames this season until he was injured late in camp and has seen his playing time limited.
Daniels entered Saturday’s game with just 2 receptions for 25 yards. He finished the game against Southern Miss with 3 receptions for 59 yards and his first career touchdown. He hauled in a Malik Willis pass for a 42 yard touchdown score late in the 3rd quarter to help the Flames halt the Southern Miss run and momentum to regain control of the game.
JIMMY FAULKS COMES THROUGH WITH INTERCEPTION
When starting cornerback Emanuel Dabney went down to an injury in the first quarter, the Flames turned to Jimmy Faulks. The former starting corner has had his ups and downs this season as he’s fought through injuries and struggled to get back on the field.
He got his opportunity on Saturday against Southern Miss and he responded, coming up with an interception in a crucial moment in the 4th quarter of Liberty’s win to help the Flames seal the victory to move to 6-0 on the season.
“Jimmy and I have had a lot of discussions since the beginning of camp,” Freeze said. “Everything doesn’t always go your way in life. How you handle it when it doesn’t speaks volumes to how your life might be later on. I’ve met no one that life doesn’t throw you a curveball or hit you in the gut at some point. As Jimmy and I have tried to navigate what his role looks like on this team, along with his position coaches, there’s disappointment. I don’t blame him when your role is not as significant as you want it to be. He’s stuck in there and hung in there, and he’s going to persevere and be better for it.”
STEPHEN SINGS WHISTLED FOR LATE TARGETING PENALTY
In a seemingly inconsequential play, Liberty freshman defensive end Stephen Sings was whistled for a personal foul and targeting on Southern Miss’ final touchdown of the game in the closing seconds. Since the penalty came in the second half of the game, Sings will also be forced to miss the first half of Liberty’s next game against Virginia Tech.
FLAMES MOVE INTO BYE WEEK
Coach Freeze always talks about breaking the season down into multiple seasons. This year, he pegged the first six games of the slate as season one, and the Flames finish season one at 6-0. Can’t do much better than that.
Liberty now has a bye week where the Flames can rest up and get healthy for the stretch run beginning with a crucial game at Virginia Tech on Nov. 7. Freeze and Liberty will continue to practice through the week, but the team will have some extra down time with not having a game. That is typically good, but with the concerns of COVID, the Flames need to be very careful to not relax the high standards the team has set for themselves to keep a virus outbreak at bay.
“I think our kids have done a nice job,” Freeze said. “We’ve been very fortunate with the tests. We’re going to practice next week and try to get better. It won’t be as long of practices, and we will continue with the bubble principles around the food and the academics, but, ultimately, they will have a little time next weekend to get away from me and me get away from them. We will be stressing – take every precaution possible.”
