Training Camp Preview: Defense

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our offensive preview. Today, we turn our attention to the defense. To say the defense struggled in 2017, would be an understatement. The Flames allowed its opponents to score over 30 points per game and rack up nearly 450 yards of offense per game.

Defensive Coordinator Robert Wimberly didn’t mince words at media day when discussing last season. “I’m accountable for the defense. I don’t make any qualms about that, we were not good enough (last year). I’m thankful to still be sitting in this chair because across the country when you don’t produce, the head coach and the administration have the right to make a decision. I’m thankful and honored that they gave me this opportunity to be a part of this program this year.”

To help address the issue, the Flames hit the recruiting trail, and hit it hard. The coaching staff signed 7 JUCO transfers on the defensive side of the ball and 8 defensive players out of high school. The coaching staff is hopeful this influx of talent will pay immediate dividends on the field, especially from the Junior College signees.

“The biggest thing I was excited for was we got all our Junior College signees,” Wimberly said. “The majority of them came in June. They were on campus, and they were able to work out. I saw young men compete (during summer workouts). They were able to bring in that competition mindset that we want to continue to instill. That’s been our theme as we went throughout spring ball.”

As we mentioned in our media day recap, competition is the main word entering camp, and it was especially prominent when talking to members of the defense. Wimberly says they have enough players to be 3-4 deep at most positions.

“When you bring in individuals that really have a want to,” Wimberly explained, “I think certain young men who have already been here have to make a decision – am I going to get in the boat or am I still going to do it my way? I think what they’ve seen is the competition of the young men that we’ve brought in is really hungry, and I think that’s helped the current young men on our roster realize they really have to step it up on the field.”

Defensive Line

“The biggest glaring weakness we had (in 2017) was in our D-Line,” Wimberly said. “We lost so many (to injury) early in the season, prior to the season began. It took its toll on our whole defense because we weren’t able to create pressure. We knew we needed to address it.”

As mentioned above, the Flames hit the ground recruiting early, especially for defensive linemen. Liberty welcomes four JUCO transfers on the defensive line as well as three high schoolers.

“We started (recruiting) in August with Coach Wilkins, our Junior College recruiter, getting going looking at defensive linemen,” Wimberly explained. “That allowed us to be successful. to be able to sign 2 in December. In December, it’s a meat market when it comes to trying to find defensive linemen.”

Those newcomers will try to help remake the defensive front, especially at tackle. JUCO transfers Vincent Elefante and Devin Pearson could find themselves as the Day 1 starters in the middle with Mitchell Hurtado, a JUCO transfer from a season ago, and Ralfs Rusins also competing for time. The Flames did get a blow to its interior defensive line depth this summer when Elisha Mitchell succumbed to injury and will miss all of 2018.

Gill thinks the added bodies will help sustain Mitchell’s loss. “I’m not concerned at this point in time with Mitchell not being able to play. I think we’ve gained some of that depth. In the past, when we had very good defenses, we had at least 6 or 7 guys that we feel really good about (on the DL), that we can put in the ball game, and they can go out and make plays for us.”

True freshmen Emmanuel Cater and Logan Beadles provide additional depth at the tackle spots.

With the influx of talent at tackle, it allows Tolen Avery to concentrate on playing defensive end. He’s spent most of his career going back and forth between tackle and defensive end, and he’s been successful at it. Avery started all 11 games at tackle last year and 10 the year before. The 5th year senior has seen playing time in 30 games during his career. He should be able to take the next step during 2018.

Another JUCO transfer, Dylan Gilfoy, also joins the team. The 6’5″, 260 pound product comes to Lynchburg from Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. In 2016, he recorded 38 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. He spent the 2015 and 2016 season at Diablo Valley, and then committed to Montana over Northern Arizona in December 2016. He enrolled and competed with the Grizzlies during spring practice in 2017, but was not listed on their 2017 roster. Gilfoy is currently slotted at defensive end, but, at that size, he could play on the interior of the line as well.

At rush end, the Flames’ welcome back senior Juwan Wells. Ever since he stepped on campus, he has been a difference maker. As a true freshman, he recorded 7.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. He’s amassed 169 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks during his career. Throughout his time at Liberty, he’s been at the top of the scouting report and faced double teams routinely.

Jessie Lemonier is another JUCO transfer who finds his way to Liberty after spending the 2017 season at Ventura College in California. He signed with the Flames over offers from Miami (OH), New Mexico, and UMass. At Ventura, he finished last season with 79 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and an interception. Jayod Sanders played in 10 games as a true freshman last year and provides additional depth, which make his numbers even more impressive.

One of the most highly recruited defensive linemen to ever sign with Liberty, Austin Lewis will also battle for playing time at defensive end.

Linebackers

In base packages, Liberty only has 2 linebackers on the field at a time. This is why only one of the newcomers is a linebacker and there is only 8 linebackers on the roster. The Flames’ 2nd leading tackler from a season ago, Brandon Tillmon, moves up from safety to linebacker, following in the footsteps of Solomon McGinty from a year ago who also made the switch. Tillmon will line up at the WILL backer position alongside Lucas Irons at the MIKE. Irons has a wealth of experience, playing in 28 games during his Liberty career.

Kedrick Bradley returns for his senior season and will be among the mix at linebacker. He came to Liberty a year ago after spending 2 seasons at Ventura College. Team captain David King will also factor into the playing rotation. He has seen playing time in all 22 games the last 2 seasons as a reserve linebacker. Remington Green saw playing time in all 11 games as a true freshman and will add depth again in 2018. Solomon Ajayi, the brother of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jay Ajayi, redshirted in 2017 after transferring in from a JUCO. He is also expected to carve out a role at linebacker.

“If I can get 6 linebackers that can play at a high level, then I’m going to find a way to play 6 linebackers in the game,” Wimberly said. “If we have to rotate every 2 (series), then we’ll rotate every 2. We all know it’s a 12 game season, you’re going to have ups and downs, and I want to have young men have enough game experience as they can get.”

Defensive Backs

At corner, the Flames are led by senior captain Jeremy Peters who has seen playing time in 30 games in his career including making a start in all 11 games in 2017 at boundary corner. He had a career day last year at Gardner-Webb when he picked off 3 passes including one he ran in for a score. Alongside Peters, is Jimmy Faulks who started 6 of the last 8 games at boundary corner in 2017. He’s seen playing time in 20 games during his Liberty career.

Veteran Malik Matthews is also back to provide depth at corner, having played in 10 games in 2017. The redshirt-junior finished the season with 12 tackles and made 2 starts. Kimani Donaldson saw playing time in 7 contests as a true freshman in 2017, and he will add depth there again in 2018.

Additionally, the Flames’ brought in one JUCO transfer cornerback in Bejour Wilson who comes to Liberty after two seasons at City College of San Francisco. He had several FCS offers and chose Liberty over New Mexico, the only other FBS school to offer him. In his 2 seasons of JUCO ball, he recorded 56 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 5 interceptions, and 20 pass breakups. Wilson will compete for a starting spot at corner during camp.

One of the highest rated incoming freshmen a year ago was Keith Best. He was a 3-star rated prospect out of high school and he had offers from numerous schools including Kentucky, Southern Miss, and Tulane. He suffered a torn ACL in September of his senior year of high school, causing him to miss most of that season. He redshirted in 2017 to continue to get back to full strength. Both Coach Gill and Wimberly described Best as being a steal on Signing Day 2017.

True freshmen Javon Scruggs and Hunter Goetz, who enrolled for the spring semester, will both be fighting to earn playing time during camp at corner, as well.

At safety, the Flames will lean on the experience of Rion Davis and Corbin Jackson. Davis was Liberty’s 3rd leading tackler a year ago while starting 9 games. He’s seen playing time in each of the past 22 games since he redshirted during his true freshman campaign in 2015. As a redshirt-junior, he’s looking to make that next step towards being one of the team leaders and best players on defense. Corbin Jackson has a wealth of experience, competing in 30 career games with 27 starts.

Elijah Benton and Benjamin Alexander both came into the program as walk-ons, but they have both worked their way up the depth chart during their first couple seasons as part of the program. Benton even started 4 games at safety last year, and he amassed 31 tackles during the season. Alexander saw most of his time on special teams but was also part of the rotation as a reserve safety.

Two JUCO transfers join the fray this season as Cheapell Morris and Isaac Steele signed with Liberty during the offseason. Morris comes in as a junior after competing at Sierra College where he led his team in tackles in 2017. He also had offers from Eastern Washington and New Mexico. Steele comes in as a sophomore after playing just one season at Mesa Community College in Arizona. He was a 2-star recruit out of high school and chose Liberty over an offer from Northern Arizona. He finished the 2017 season with 47 tackles, 7 pass breakups, and an interception.

Ricky Lester is a true freshman who will compete during training camp to make an impact.

At the SPUR, which is technically a hybrid linebacker/safety position, Liberty will turn to Ceneca Espinoza, Jr. to lead the way. Espinoza played in all 11 games as a redshirt-freshman in 2017, working his way into starting at the SPUR during the final two games of the season. He finished the year with 27 tackles.

Behind Espinoza is a lot of inexperience as Aaron Pierre, Marcellous Harris, and Lionell Johnson are also listed at SPUR. Pierre redshirted last year after coming to Liberty from Tampa, Florida. Harris is a true freshman from Charlotte’s Harding University High School, the same school that produced former Flame and current Miami Dolphin safety Walt Aikens. Johnson joined the team during the offseason as a walk-on. He is a redshirt-sophomore from Woodberry Forest, Virginia.