Liberty running back Quinton Cooley has announced he is focusing on the NFL Draft and will not play in the Bahamas Bowl for the Flames on January 4.
“First and foremost, I just want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because without Him, I wouldn’t have the gifts he gave me or the ability to play football at a high level,” Cooley said in an announcement on his social media channels. “Knowing Him has helped me get through the last two seasons of my college career with a positive outlook through all the ups and downs.”
“I want to thank Coach Chadwell, Coach Isaac, and the coaching staff at Liberty University for allowing me to come be a part of their program and leave a legacy,” Cooley continued. “Most importantly, I am forever thankful for Liberty for bringing people into my life who helped me find the Lord which has been the most impactful thing in my life. Liberty will forever hold a special space in my heart. Thank you.”
“With all this being said, I’m truly thankful for both programs (Liberty and Wake Forest) and the way they helped me through the college years of my life, but it’s time for a new chapter and it’s time for me to go chase my dream. I will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft.”
The three-star product of Southern Nash High School in North Carolina signed with Wake Forest after rushing for 2,977 yards and 54 touchdowns during his senior season. Over three years at Wake Forest, Cooley played in 26 games, finishing with 96 rushing attempts for 402 yards and four touchdowns before entering the transfer portal.
When he entered the portal, Liberty was under a new coaching staff that was looking for running backs to help beef up its offense under a new triple option spread attack. Chadwell and his staff quickly zeroed in on the Wake Forest transfer and Cooley would commit to the Flames that December.
Cooley quick established himself as the go-to running back in the new look Liberty offense. He rushed 16 times for 78 yards in his Liberty debut, a 34-24 home win over Bowlin Green. That would be just a small microcosm of what he and the Flames would accomplish during the 2023 season.
He would rush for a career best 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries during a 56-30 home victory over Louisiana Tech on Nov. 4, 2023. Just a couple of weeks later, Cooley would have his longest rush of his career, a 60-yard scamper for a touchdown in the first quarter of a 49-25 home victory over UMass on Nov. 18.
Behind Cooley, the Flames would defeat New Mexico State at Williams Stadium on December 1, 2023, to secure the program’s first ever conference championship at the FBS level. He rushed for three touchdowns in that game, one of four contests during his Liberty career he would reach three touchdowns.
His success carried over to 2024. He had 91 rushing yards on just five carries during the fourth quarter at New Mexico State, including touchdown runs of 27 and 44 yards in the final 5:12. It helped the Flames rally from a fourth quarter deficit to win 30-24. On Oct. 8, 2024, Cooley carried the ball a career-high 29 times for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 31-24 overtime win against FIU.
Cooley posted 15 100-yard games in his 25 Liberty games, with the Flames posting a 14-1 record when he surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark. He had a streak of four straight 100-yard games late in 2024, surpassing that mark against Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, UMass, and Western Kentucky. The streak ended in the regular season finale, Cooley’s final game as a Flame, when he rushed 19 times for 90 yards in a loss at Sam Houston.
In just two years, Cooley will go down as one of the best running backs in the history of Liberty football. His 1,401 rushing yards in 2023 is the second most in a single season in program history, while he went over 1,200 yards in 2024 to post back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. His 16 rushing touchdowns in 2023 were just one off the program record of 17 set by Rashad Jennings in 2008. He nearly broke Rashad’s career mark of 10 100-yard rushing games in a single season, posting 7 in 2023 and 8 in 2024, those marks rank 2nd and 3rd in program history.
