The biggest question mark for the Liberty defense this spring is at linebacker where the Flames look to replace departing seniors Solomon Ajayi and Brandon Tillmon as well as Remington Green who elected to transfer following the 2019 season. What’s left is a group of relatively unproven yet talented linebackers who are all vying for playing time in 2020.
“Huge, huge,” Liberty defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Scott Symons said of the importance of the spring for his group. “It’s the biggest position of need for those guys to emerge.”
Amarii Jenkins, Waylen Cozad, and Tyren Dupree all played 11 or more games in 2019 and will now be counted on to help lead an otherwise very young and inexperienced group.
“There’s a lot of competition right now,” said Symons. “I think we have more depth compared to last spring at the linebacker spot. I’m excited about the group.”
During the only open portion of practice so far this spring, Dupree and redshirt-freshman Malik Caper worked out with the first team while Cozad and Aaron Pierre ran with the second team. Jenkins missed Saturday’s practice with an injury.
“I have very high expectations for him,” Symons said of Caper. “He is a very sharp young man. HIs biggest battle was he played high school running back and outside backer at a very small school. His knowledge base for playing linebacker was very limited, and then we didn’t get him in the spring last year. We actually got him in July, I think the learning curve last year was steep. This is a huge spring for him.”
During Saturday’s practice, Symons rotated several linebackers into 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 workouts as he looks to get extended looks at his entire roster.
“The great thing about it is we do not have a starter at linebacker,” he said. “We don’t have a returning starter, we don’t have a true starter. We have a bunch of guys battling, and I think there’s 3 or 4 guys at each spot that legitimately could start. I’m evaluating that each day.”
The Flames have also brought in Charlotte grad transfer Anthony Butler who has one season of eligibility remaining. He played in 36 games and made 16 starts for the 49ers, amassing 146 career tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and 4 QB hurries. But he hasn’t played since early September 2019 and he is still working on getting back to game shape.
“He has a really high mental acumen, IQ, for the game,” Symons said of Butler. “He’s probably the most natural linebacker, which he should be, he’s played a lot of FBS football, so you would expect that. I think the mental aspect that he brings to the game is invaluable. He needs to continue to work to get himself back in college football shape. He’s pushing himself to that. I think he’s going to add a lot of value just mentally. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good leader for some of these guys.”
Aaron Pierre is a veteran in the Liberty football locker room as he played in 12 games in 2018 before failing to get on the field in 2019. With his work off the field, he has put himself in a position to fight for playing time this spring.
“Mentally, he’s kind of started to come on and decided he wanted to make some changes,” Symons said of Pierre. “When you make positive changes off the field, generally the on the field stuff follows the on the field issues. Very rarely is there a great player that doesn’t handle their business off the field. Usually they go hand in hand. I think some of those guys have decided to make some positive choices for themselves and I’m seeing the positive carry over onto the field with accountability.”
By the end of these 15 spring practices, Symons should have a better grasp on what his rotation should look like in the fall, but this time is critical for one of the biggest question marks on the roster this offseason.
“I think the cream is going to rise eventually,” he said. “I put some of those guys in adverse situations to strain them and stress them and see who can grow and emerge.”
