The Liberty football team is about 3/4 of the way through training camp with 13 practices completed, including 2 scrimmages, and just 5 practices to go. We spoke to a few players and coaches, including head coach Turner Gill, after practice today. Here are a few notes and quotes from that session.
Scrimmage recap.
Carrington Mosley
Coach Gill gave a brief recap of the team’s off-campus scrimmage Saturday at EC Glass High School in Lynchburg. He said the biggest part of the scrimmage was focused on situational packages such as short yardage, goal line, and red zone. This coincides with a week full of the same situational work all last week. Now, the coaching staff has it on tape. The one individual he highlighted was Carrington Mosley, who he said scored a couple times in the goal line opportunities. Mosley is the 2nd string running back behind Todd Macon.
Gill also mentioned the coaching staff has been emphasizing “football awareness” much more this training camp than previously. The team needs to be aware of what’s going on in the game, what the score is, how much time is on the clock, etc.
Overall, the Flames ran about 30 plays during the scrimmage, the 2nd scrimmage of training camp. Gill also highlighted the defensive line saying they did pretty good and had some sacks. The team had 3 field goal attempts, 2 by Alex Probert and 1 by Cole Gibson. All 3 field goal attempts were within 45 yards and they were all made.
Backup QB battle still on going.
As Stephen Calvert and Rud Yearick continue to battle for the backup quarterback position behind Stephon Masha, Gill says that Calvert has been “a little bit more consistent.” A final decision is not expected to be made until next week. Of course, Gill has mentioned he intends to redshirt either Calvert or Yearick this season.
It will be interesting to see what the decision is here. Let’s say Calvert is the 2nd best QB on the roster, does he automatically get the backup spot this year while Yearick redshirts? Or do you preserve Calvert’s year of eligibility and let Yearick handle the backup responsibilities this season? If Calvert is your next starting quarterback after Masha, why waste a year of his eligibility this year when he will primarily be on the bench? On the flip side, the coaches want the best players on the field and available to play now.
To redshirt or not to redshirt?
When asked what was on the top of his to do list this week, Gill quickly responded, “to finalize who is going to redshirt or who is not.” This is a process that may carry over into the first couple of games of the season, but the coaching staff should have a good idea by the end of the week of who is going to red shirt.
Lionell McConnell
The most notable decision will have to be made at quarterback, as mentioned above, as either Calvert or Yearick will likely be redshirted. At wide receiver, either Lionell McConnell or Antonio Gandy-Golden will likely play while the other will redshirt. Gill says that’s probably going to be decided by what the biggest need is, either a wide out or a slot guy. Gandy-Golden is an outside guy while McConnell could play either spot.
Brandon Tillmon at safety and DeCarlo Hamilton on the defensive line are two others that could break into the rotation.
Injury update, other notes.
Coach Gill says he doesn’t think there’s anyone right now that he expects to miss the Virginia Tech game due to injuries. Of course, we know Ben Fiordelise is out for a few weeks. Erwin Dessources did get banged up some today in practice. Defensive line coach Vantz Singletary call his injury “a little sprain,” but he thinks he will be fine.
We will be receiving an updated depth chart on Tuesday next week. So, be on the lookout for that.
Virginia Tech preparation will begin later this week as the coaches begin to try to get a grasp on their personnel and what they will try to do in their new offense under new head coach Justin Fuente.
We will continue our positional updates as camp winds down, be on the lookout for updates on the wide receivers, defensive line and linebackers in the next couple of days.
