Gone is John Lunsford, who is currently in training camp with the San Fransisco 49ers. Lunsford finished his Liberty career as the FCS career leader in made field goals of 50 yards or more with 12. Looking to fill in for Lunsford is true freshman Alex Probert.
“He’s done really well, solid, solid work. He’s displayed a strong leg. Good accuracy,” special teams coordinator Scott Downing said.
Inside of 50 yards, Probert should be reliable. It’s the 50+ kicks that he might not have the range for yet. The Flames do have a veteran snapper and holder in Lucas Holder and Trey Turner. Coach Downing says their consistency and high level of play have helped Probert and the team as it is able to concentrate on protection and letting Probert work from various angles and distances.
Turner returns as a redshirt-junior at punter. This will be his 3rd season as Liberty’s punter, and he has been very successful in his first 2 seasons. Following his freshman season, when he averaged 41.5 yards per punt, he was named first team All-Big South. Last season, he was named to the 2nd team. Coach Aaron Stamn has worked with Turner on a one-on-one basis helping him to perfect his craft.
Zac Parker
“He’s tightened up his footwork,” Coach Downing said. “He’s getting better with his directional punts, he’s more consistent. He’s finding that you don’t have to kill the ball, you have to let your leg work for you and have good technique. The big, booming high spirals are going to take care of themselves as long as you have good technique.”
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 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.”
It’s early as the coaching staff is still working on who will be a part of which team, whether it’s punt return, punt block, field goal, field goal block, kickoff, or kickoff return. Downing said this past Saturday’s scrimmage helped a lot in that regard. “We found some guys that could cover kicks, that could block. We still haven’t put every team together yet. By the end of this week we ought to be in good shape as far as the base fundamentals, the basic returns, the basic looks.”
