The Liberty football team began their 2nd week of training camp Monday morning in what was their 7th practice. We spoke to a few players and head coach Turner Gill after practice today. Here are a few notes and quotes from that session.
The Flames had their first scrimmage on Saturday.
The biggest notable from the scrimmage was true freshman quarterback Stephen Calvert. Calvert only played 4 or 5 plays and he threw for 2 touchdowns in his limited action. He was also a perfect 3/3 passing. It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on his development the next 3 weeks as training camp progresses. While Stephon Masha is the clear starter, his backup is wide open and there for the taking. Of course, the coaching staff may opt to redshirt Calvert to preserve a year of eligibility.
Carrington Mosley also provided a spark on Saturday. The redshirt-junior running back is fighting for playing time behind Todd Macon. On one specific play, he carried “5 guys for 7 yards” as running backs coach Scott Downing described it. More on Mosley in a bit.
Reps will now be reduced for those who aren’t ready to play.
Coach Gill mentioned he has been pleased with the progression of the team thus far into training camp, but cautions that the team is not ready to play a game today.
“After 1 week, we’re going to have to move to people that are ready to play, to get more reps. We gave everybody, whether they were a true freshman or whatever, they all somewhat got equal reps. Now, that’s going to be reduced for the people who we believe are not ready to play at this time.”
The coaching staff also will do more situational work this week including the 2 minute drill and short yardage situations.
Carrington Mosley
Mosley solidifying himself as 2nd RB.
One of the big question marks entering this season has been at backup running back behind Todd Macon. Carrington Mosley surprised during the spring and was listed as 2nd on the depth chart. He continues to show promise behind Macon.
“Carrington probably has been a little bit more impressive,” Gill said. Running back coach Scott Downing also spoke highly of Mosley, “we expect some great things out of him. He’s come into camp in outstanding shape. He’s carried the ball well.”
Mosley, who is the strongest and biggest running back of the group, says he treats every day as gameday. “Coming out here every day with the mindset to come in and get the work in so that I can be ready for the season.”
Unsurprisingly, expect Damian King and Zac Parker to be involved in the return game.
The Flames haven’t gone full 11-on-11 in the return game yet, and numerous guys have tried their hand at returning including Damian King, Zac Parker, Frankie Hickson, Todd Macon, B.J. Farrow, Lionell McConnell, Malik Matthews, and Ceneca Espinoza.
Downing, who is also the special teams coordinator, says he would give the nod to Parker and King right now due to their experience in the return game. “We do have some guys with some experience, King and Parker, that we feel more comfortable with them back there right now, particularly on punt return, than we do anyone else.”
Offensive line still taking shape.
Coach Gill said he’s still doing a lot of evaluating of the offensive line, trying to find the right mix of guys that he feels good about. Tanner Hartman and Michael Henderman are pretty stable on the left side of the line. Center and the right side of the line are still a work in progress. Lucas Holder and Dontae Duff are still battling it out at center while Aharown Campbell, Sam Isaacson, and James Passmore are competing for playing time on the right side of the line. Gill says it may not be until game week before they decide on the starters.
The heat is still playing a factor.
Several of the players I spoke with brought up the heat as being a factor. Carrington Mosley said it has been smothering. “We’ve just got to get used to that kind of heat and playing in that heat and keeping our continioning up.” Mosley continued, “We need to continue to get reps in. The more reps we get in, the slower everything will happen when it’s time to play Virginia Tech, and that’s what’s going to help us the most to be successful.”
Redshirt-freshman running back Frankie Hickson said, “A lot of people would complain about the weather, but we love it here. The hotter it is, the better condition we will be in, and the better tempo our offense will be able to play.”
Injury update, other notes.
We learned today that Ernst Anderson and Didier Moncion are two guys that have been slowed by injury some during training camp.
Gill says the linebackers and defensive line has been the most steady on the defensive side of the ball while the wide receivers have been very productive.
Coach Downing mentioned they have been playing loud music over the speakers during practice to help the team get used to playing in a stadium with noise like they will experience on September 3rd at Lane Stadium.
Stay tuned for plenty more coverage of the Liberty football team as they prepare for the 2016 season and kickoff at Virginia Tech on September 3rd.
