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2009 OUTLOOK

As in most situations in life, the various circum-stances we encounter during our daily lives can beviewed from differing angles. Some see the glass“half full,” while others see it “half empty.” Howone views a subjective position is often a testa-ment to their personality or their prespective onlife.

A difference of option can also be seen in howonlookers may view the upcoming Flames footballseason, as the opinions are varied entering headcoach Danny Rocco’s fourth year with the pro-gram.

Back-to-back Big South Conference champi-onship seasons have seen the program quickly risefrom a 1-10 team in 2005 to a legitimate Top 25program in 2008.

Last year, Liberty proved that its 2007 champi-onship season was no fluke and that the Flameswere not going to be a one-year wonder. Duringthe course of the season, Liberty knocked off twoTop 25 programs (No. 12 Elon and No. 23Youngstown State) and achieved the program’sfirst-ever 10 win season and highest final nationalranking (No. 14 in the Sports Network poll).

Behind the efforts of a senior-laden team, theFlames set 11-program records and outscoredtheir opponents by more than two touchdowns pergame (15-point difference, 33.7 average points pergame to 18.7 average points allowed per game).

After a record-setting season in 2007, wherethe Flames averaged 42.6 points per game, Libertycontinued to rank among the nation’s elite in of-fensive prowess. In 2008, the Flames ranked No. 9in total offense (446.67 total offensive yards pergame), No. 13 in rushing offense (213.50 rushingyards per game) and No. 17 in scoring offense.

However, not to be outdone by their offensivecounterparts, who reaped much of the praise andaccolades throughout the year, the Flames’ de-fense remained stout during the course of the 12-game campaign. Liberty finished the year rankedNo. 14 in scoring defense, making the Flames oneof seven FCS programs nationally to rank in theTop 20 in both scoring offense and scoring de-fense.

The face of Liberty’s unprecedented seasoncame from its backfield, as Rashad Jenningsbowled his way over defenders and punctuated hisstar-studded collegiate career. The running backrushed for 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns, finish-ing No. 5 nationally in rushing average and No. 6in scoring (10.36 points per game).

Not only did he capture his second-straight BigSouth Offensive Player of the Year honor, but thelocal product out of Forest, Va., caught the na-tional eye of those watching the FCS scene. He be-came Liberty’s first student-athlete considered forthe Walter Payton Award, the Heisman of FCS foot-ball, where he finished eighth in the final voting.

Jennings’ accolades were well noted, but thebruising back was not the only accomplished ath-lete among his senior class. Quarterback BrockSmith threw for 2,620 yards and 19 touchdowns,

enabling him to finish his career third among Lib-erty passers in program history in total passingyards.

Wide receiver Dominic Bolden, also an All-America punt returner, finished the 2008 seasonby hauling in 1,056 yards and nine touchdowns,which ranks third best in program history for re-ceiving yardage and second best for receivingtouchdowns.

All in all, Liberty had 16 Big South all-confer-ence honorees, eight players named to the VaSIDall-state Division I team and seven different All-America nods.

The accolades were well deserved for the seniorclass, which, under Rocco’s leadership, righted theship and has turned Liberty into a frequently men-tioned name inside the FCS circles.

However, those who are knowledgeable insidethe FCS realm have some concern entering the2009 campaign, as 15 starters and 25 letterwin-ners from last year’s 10-2 campaign graduated,leaving Rocco with a much younger clan to in-struct this year.

The losses have certainly been reflected in thepreseason predictions around the country, as someprognosticators have the Flames finishing third orfourth in this year’s Big South chase. Also, Liberty,who had a 10-week run inside the Top 25 last year,is now on the outside looking into the nationalpolls in 2009.

While the outside watchers of Liberty’s programmight view the Flames’ proverbial glass as “halfempty” or even worse, the view from the back cor-ner office at the Williams Stadium Football Opera-tions Center is quite different.

Rocco, a Top 5 finalist for last year’s Liberty Mu-tual Coach of the Year honor and an Eddie Robin-son Award nominee, sees a younger and untestedgroup chomping at the bit to carry on the legacythat has been established over the past severalyears.

“This year’s version of Liberty football is a lit-tle bit different in that this is a younger team,”stated Rocco. “Yes, it is a little less experiencedthan what we have had the last two years, buthaving said that, this is a very talented team.

“I’m very excited about the talent and thedepth that we have on this team, as across theboard, we have great depth at every position, bothoffensively and defensively.”

The three-time Big South Coach of the Yearknows that he does not have the proven talentthat has packed out Williams Stadium the pastthree years, but he is not expecting a drop in per-formance. Spring practice showed him the Flamesare ready to make a run at an unprecedentedthird-straight Big South title, but they might haveto do so in a different manner this go around.

“I think this is a year where we are going tohave to find some different ways to win footballgames,” projected Rocco. “We are going to haveto find different ways to put points on the score-board and unique ways on defense to take the ball

away. However, with that being said, I’m very com-fortable and confident that it will be another verysuccessful year for our program.”

Over the next four months, the outcome in 11different trips out onto the gridiron will tellwhether the doubting minds of those on the na-tional FCS scene, who view Liberty’s talent pool as“half empty” are correct or whether the one whoknows the program best is right, as Rocco is confi-dent that the 2009 version of the Flames are “halffull” or better.

“Over the past four years, I think the expecta-tions have changed greatly,” remarked Rocco. “Ithink the program is in a position right now werethe expectation is that we are very competitiveeach and every year. We expect to win every timewe take the field and we expect to compete forconference championships every year. Because ofour most recent successes, we have put ourselvesin this position.”

QUARTERBACKSAs in most cases, the success of a football team

will rise and fall on the play of its quarterback.Nothing could be closer to the truth this year forthe Flames, as Rocco is hoping several cogs in hisoverall offense fall into place during the preseasonworkouts, especially at this key position.

As previously mentioned, the Flames will belooking to replace a three-year starter in BrockSmith, who finished his career with 7,036 passingyards and 50 touchdowns.

During spring practice, Smith’s backup for thepast two years, Spencer Landis, and multifacetedplayer, Mike Brown, shared reps throughout theworkouts.

By the end of the 15-practice season, Rocco hadtabbed Brown his starting quarterback, while theredshirt sopho-

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more gained the respect of his fellow teammatesand was named one of the team’s three offensivecaptains.

“Mike Brown is the guy who came out of springball having earned that spot at starting quarter-back,” reflected Rocco. “But we all know Mike is ex-tremely versatile, as he can function in our offenseas a quarterback, both full-time or part-time, or as awide receiver or a running back.”

Last year, Brown was 2-of-4 for 25 yards undercenter: however, he also ranked fourth on the teamin both rushing (142 yards/two touchdowns) and re-ceiving (331 yards/one touchdown) yards.

Landis has been the understudy for the past sev-eral seasons, and he completed 11-of-17 passing at-tempts for 88 yards in five games of action during2008.

Since Rocco’s arrival, the head coach has success-fully used several key FBS transfers to aid in theteam’s rapid rise to success. All-conference perform-ers Eddie Pinigis and Vince Redd came from Virginiato quickly bolster Liberty’s line-up, while Jenningshimself returned home after his first season at Pitt.

Rocco is hoping the influx of FBS talent continuesto aid in Liberty remaining atop the league andamong the nation’s notable FCS programs, as headded a SEC quarterback last January.

Tommy Beecher, South Carolina’s starting quarter-back going into the 2008 season, finished up his de-gree last May in Columbia, S.C., but still had oneyear left of collegiate eligibility. Now enrolled in theLiberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Beecher hasjoined the Flames’ roster for one last season of foot-ball.

“Tommy Beecher joined our program here overthe summer after transferring from South Carolina,”stated Rocco. “He started the opening game forSouth Carolina last year against N.C. State, and hehas been very impressive in his preparation duringthe course of the summer.”

Should Beecher quickly mesh with the Flames’ of-fense, Rocco could have a powerful tool in Brown todisperse to another part of his offense – whether itis in the backfield at running back or outside thehash marks as a wide receiver.

“Despite the fact that we don’t have a guy goingto bat right now at the quarterback position who hasstatistical experience, we’ve got a couple of differentoptions,” remarked Rocco. “I think with each optioncould present different problems for the opposingdefenses and I’m excited both the talent and depthwe have at this position.”

QUARTERBACKS AT A GLANCEFront Runner

QB Mike Brown R-So. 6-0 190Tommy Beecher R-Sr. 6-2 227ContendersSpencer Landis Sr. 6-2 185Up-and-ComersTyler Brennan R-Fr. 6-3 205Brian Hudson Fr. 6-4 200

RUNNING BACKS/FULLBACKSThe name Liberty Football has become synony-

mous with rushing, as the Flames have rankedamong the FCS ranks’ Top 30 in the statistical cate-gory six out of the last seven years. Last season, Lib-erty posted its second-highest team rushing total inprogram history with 2,562 yards, while ranking No.13 nationally in rushing average (213.5).

All but 526 yards out of the Flames’ 2008 total isno longer with the program (20.5 percent remain-ing). Most of the lost yardage came from Jennings’star-studded season, one in which he rushed his wayto a seventh-round selection by the JacksonvilleJaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Also lost was four-year starter Zach Terrell, whowas used in a variety of roles during his stay on Lib-erty Mountain. He rushed for 2,479 career yards and29 touchdowns, while also completing 25-of-40 passattempts for 297 yards.

Rocco knows that the quarterbacking position isnot the only place he needs to retool. “I think one ofthe most interesting positions on our team right nowis the running back position,” commented Rocco.

“Having lost Rashad and Zach, who were twooutstanding players in our program, we don’t havethe guy in place right now who is a proven commod-ity. We don’t have the guy who has gone out thereand gained the yards on Saturday afternoons in thepast, but we do have a very deep pool of talent tochoose from.”

Leading the way amongst the unproven clan isDanny Broggin, who came out of spring practice asthe Flames’ starter at tailback. Broggin rushed for 75yards on 19 carries in 10 games during the 2008 sea-son.

“Danny Broggin finished spring ball as thestarter,” stated Rocco. “He certainly will play a keyrole for us offensively this year, as we get startedwith the season.”

Rocco had B.J. Hayes split his time during springpractice between the Flames’ backfield and with thewide receivers. Last year, the redshirt sophomoreranked third on the team by rushing for 194 yards on18 carries, while catching 17 passes for 189 yards.

“B.J. Hayes played a lot for us last year as a slotreceiver,” commented Rocco. “We have looked at B.J.in the backfield, as he has shown some outstandingskills back there in the backfield, both as a ball car-rier and as a receiver.”

“I can see this pair being the two most prominentball carriers for us, but we really do have a lot ofyoung talent in the program.”

The depth that Rocco speaks of can be found inplayers who have been with the program, like TerronLawrence and Alfonso Wells, and in some fresh faces,like Chase Barnett and Chauncey Holloway.

“Chauncey Holloway is a young man who joinedour program last January, as a true freshman out ofFlorida,” said Rocco. “He has a very bright andpromising future for us and I think he will have achance to contribute this year. Chase Barnett is an-other in-state running back, who I think will be com-peting for playing time in the backfield.”

Much like the quarterbacking position, the Augustpractices leading up to the Flames’ Sept. 5 openeragainst West Virginia are going to be key to deter-mining the starting outcome in Liberty’s backfield.

“Although we don’t have the senior depth backthere, we have a lot of guys to look at during thistraining camp,” commented Rocco. “We have a lot ofyoung players who should be able to adopt differentroles. This is probably a year for us where the back-field will be done by committee instead of being aone or two-headed monster, like it was the last cou-ple of years.”

Although the tailback position will see many bat-tles during August, the fullback paving the way forthe newest Liberty star running back is set, as DerekBishop returns to fill the unsung hero role.

“Derek is just a really solid player for us and hehad an outstanding spring and summer,” remarkedRocco about his returning starter. “He is as far alongas he has ever been in terms of his ability to do mul-tiple roles in our offense. He was predominately ablocker for Rashad the last couple of years, but hehas shown the ability to catch the ball and run theball inside. We are really expecting good things fromBishop.”

RUNNING BACKS/FULLBACKS AT A GLANCEFront Runners

TB Danny Broggin R-Jr. 6-0 195B.J. Hayes R-So. 5-9 185

FB Derek Bishop Sr. 5-10 225ContendersChase Barnett Fr. 5-8 175Chauncey Holloway Fr. 5-8 190Mark Malvaso (FB) R-Sr. 6-0 225Terron Lawrence R-Sr. 5-7 175Alfonso Wells R-Jr. 5-10 195Up-and-ComersAldreakis Allen Fr. 6-0 210Courtney Anderson (FB) Jr. 5-11 230Irwin Coleman R-Fr. 5-9 190Korey Davis So. 5-10 185Kevin Fogg Fr. 5-10 175

Danny Broggin

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TIGHT ENDSAlthough Liberty’s tight ends have not put up

the statistical numbers that warrants recognitionover the past several seasons (an average of 140yards per year for the starter over the past sevenyears), the blocking work the Flames tight endshave done for Liberty’s power running attack hasnot gone unnoticed.

Chris Luck was a three-time Big South all-con-ference honoree, including first-team accoladesduring his final two seasons in 2005 and 2006.Last year, Corey Rasberry continued the tradition,as the sizable tight end was recognized for hisblocking abilities, as a second-team all-conferenceselection. He finished the year with a career-best15 catches for 190 yards and his lone collegiatetouchdown.

This season, the position of providing Liberty anextra blocker in its punishing rushing attack hasbeen handed to redshirt senior Will Quarles. Quar-les saw playing time in 10 out of 12 games in2008 and caught one pass for 14 yards, whilebeing heavily used on the Flames special teams.

“Will Quarles is a young man that came on realstrong during the spring,” said Rocco. “He is goinginto his senior year and he played a significantamount of football for us last year. He has goodsize and a good combination of run blocking abil-ity and pass reception ability.”

Also adding depth behind Quarles will beTommy Shaver, Dominique Jones and MatthiasWrede. Shaver matched Quarles in 2008 with 10games of action and one single 14-yard reception,while Jones hauled in two catches for 20 yards.

“Tommy Shaver is a young man, who is a biggiant of a guy and can be a threat in both theblocking game and receiving game,” added Rocco.“Tommy will give us the ability to use some twotight end formations, with Quarles and Shaver inthe game at the same time.

“Matthias Wrede is a very strong player, whowas an offensive tackle for us and we are nowmoving to tight end,” continued Rocco. “Do-minique Jones enjoyed a good spring, giving usfour big bodies at the tight end position that addsflexibility and versatility to our offense.”

TIGHT ENDS AT A GLANCEFront Runners

TE Will Quarles R-Sr. 6-2 250ContendersRyan Culkin R-Jr. 6-4 225Dominique Jones R-Sr. 6-1 260Tommy Shaver R-So. 6-6 250Up-and-ComersEric Fath Fr. 6-3 240Matthias Wrede Jr. 6-5 265

WIDE RECEIVERSThe past two seasons, the Flames have success-

fully been able to retool the wide receiver posi-tion. In 2009, Rocco is hoping to make it three forthree in this part of his offensive scheme.

In 2007, the tandem of Wynton Jackson (641yards/six touchdowns) and Brandon Turner (536yards/three touchdowns) were responsible for over50 percent of the Flames’ total receiving yards.

Last year, another pair stepped up to do evenmore damage, as Dominic Bolden (1,056yards/nine touchdowns) and Jonathan Crawford(713 yards/six touchdowns) were the prime targetsfor Brock Smith during his senior campaign. Theircombined 1,769 yards made them the secondhighest receiving tandem in program history.

“The wide receiver position is a position that isvery intriguing to me,” commented Rocco abouthis corps. “We have a number of different candi-dates that we are looking at. Once again, we re-ally don’t have the statistical superiority at theposition going into this year like we had a yearago, but there certainly is talent in this position.”

Two previously mentioned players are joined byanother pair of frontrunners, as the leading candi-dates to see a majority of playing time.

B.J. Hayes and Mike Brown enter the seasonlisted as possible starters at one wide out position,while Jimmy Eden and Chris Summers had solidworkouts last spring to help them rise to top thelist of ample options at this position.

“Chris Summers is a big, tall and rangy sopho-more receiver for us, who I think has a chance tobe an outstanding player,” stated Rocco about his6-4 receiver, who gained valuable playing time inall 12 games as a redshirt freshman last year.

Eden, along with Pat Kelly, are two youngsterswho could see time during their first year on thefield. “Jimmy Eden and Pat Kelly are two youngplayers in the program that show an awful a lot ofpromise and versatility,” added Rocco.

New additions to the Flames’ roster over thepast six months also provide depth and previouscollegiate playing experience. Ervin Garner, whotransferred in January from Virginia Tech, andFreddy Brown, who graduated alongside quarter-back Tommy Beecher at South Carolina in May,give Liberty experienced options.

“Ervin is a real speed athlete at wide receiver,”stated Rocco. “Freddy Brown is another transferthat we are looking forward to getting into ourprogram. He is tall and a physical receiver that I

really think could offer some immediate impact.”Rocco also will be looking for depth at wide re-

ceiver from Chuck Duffey, who will be movingfrom cornerback back to his high school positionof wide receiver, and Aaron Hewlett, another ath-lete who gives the Flames some much-neededspeed outside.

“Chuck could have a prominent role in the widereceiver corps,” continued Rocco, “while AaronHewlett is a senior, who is really starting to refinehis game as a wide receiver.”

But the eventual placement of Mike Brown andHayes might really tell the story of how potent Lib-erty’s wide outs might be in 2009. The pair werefourth and fifth, respectively, among wide re-ceivers last year. Mike Brown finished the yearwith 19 receptions for 331 yards and a touch-down, while Hayes hauled in 17 passes for 189yards.

“The two biggest cogs could be B.J. Hayes, whocan function at receiver and at running back, plusthe possibility of having Mike Brown at times outthere at the wide receiver position,” commentedRocco. “So you can see, there really is some versa-tility and flexibility in this year’s version of our of-fense, especially at wide receiver.”

WIDE RECEIVERS AT A GLANCEFront Runners

WR Jimmy Eden R-Fr. 5-10 175WR Chris Summers R-So. 6-4 190WR B.J. Hayes R-So. 5-9 185

Mike Brown R-So. 6-0 190ContendersFreddy Brown Sr. 6-3 210Kyle DeArmon R-Jr. 6-3 185Chuck Duffey R-Sr. 6-0 190Ervin Garner R-So. 5-9 165Aaron Hewlett R-Sr. 5-7 165Pat Kelly Fr. 6-3 205Up-and-ComersBrandon Apon Fr. 6-4 215Zach Duke So. 5-11 175Cody Fridgen R-Fr. 5-11 180Bellmon Hicks So. 5-10 170Josh Medlin R-So. 5-11 180

Will Quarles

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OFFENSIVE LINEFans love numbers and stats, like yards and touch-

downs, and although football coaches know theyneed these flashy figures to win football games, theyare more importantly looking for productivity.

Anyone familiar with Rocco knows and under-stands that he sees his most important unit on theoffensive side of the field as his line, and in his opin-ion, the ability for his program to move the ball upand down the field lies within his front five.

Two seasons ago, Rocco had one of the largestFCS offensive lines in the country, as Liberty’s start-ing five averaged 6-5 and 297 pounds.

Last year, a slightly smaller group continued thesuccesses of their larger predecessors, proving keyprotection for starting quarterback Brock Smith andWalter Payton Award candidate Rashad Jennings.

As a team, Liberty posted the second-highestrushing total in program history (2,562 yards) andfinished the year ranked No. 13 nationally in rushingaverage (213.5 yards per game). Liberty’s offensiveline also enabled the Flames to finish the yearedrank No. 9 in total offense (446.67 yards per game)and No. 18 in scoring offense (33.67 points pergame).

Liberty’s Fab Five up front allowed only eightsacks, ranking the Flames No. 4 nationally in thefewest sacks allowed per game (0.67). The Flamesalso finished the year ranked No. 13 in first down of-fense, No. 4 in fewest tackles for a loss allowed andNo. 2 in third-down conversion rate (51.0).

As with most of the Flames’ previously mentionedoffensive positions, Liberty lost three key starters tograduation on its offensive line – Zach Davis (LT),Britt Stone (LG) and Mike Godsil (C).

Stone and Godsil received Big South all-confer-ence nods for their performances in 2008, whileGodsil, who started 45 straight games under centerfor the Flames, was also a Sports Network honorablemention All-American.

“Those who have listened to me talk about ourprogram before know that I think to be good on of-fense, you need to be good on the offensive line,”stated Rocco. “And looking at this year’s group, Ithink we are going to be in real good shape.”

“We’ve got nine or 10 guys that we feel confidentabout, who can play winning football,” continuedRocco. “I think the three seniors are the guys whoare going to lead this group for us in 2009.”

The three seniors that Rocco was speaking aboutare Mario Cosby, Bryan Mosier and Josh Weaver. Theother players on this year’s team understand the im-portance of this trio, as both Mosier and Weaverwere selected along with Mike Brown, as this year’soffensive team captains.

Weaver and Mosier started all 12 games last year,while Cosby gained valuable playing experience as areserve member of the offensive line.

“Josh Weaver, one of our senior offensive cap-tains, had a great summer and an outstandingspring,” said Rocco about his Big South preseasonall-conference pick. ”He has started a lot of footballgames around here for us, and we are expecting himto have an outstanding season.

“Bryan Mosier really is in great shape,” continuedRocco about the player he has moved to left guardthis year. “He is a big, strong and physical player,who has been a consistent starter for the past sev-eral seasons.”

“The addition of Mario Cosby back to the rosterat the center position has really given us three solidseniors on that offensive line,” closed out Roccowhen asked about his Big Three. “With Mosier, Cosbyand Weaver, all three have good levels of experienceand we have high expectations for their ability toperform.”

Rounding out the projected starting five for Lib-erty on the offensive line are a pair of redshirt jun-iors in Justin Vargas and Alex Stadler.

Stadler was one of the Flames’ first guys off thebench in 2008 during his first year with the programafter transferring from Alabama, as he played in all12 games and started five. Vargas also got onto thefield all 12 games, as the left guard has steadily seenhis playing time increase during his career.

“Alex Stadler and Justin Vargas give us two bigbodies to round out our starting five on the offensiveline,” stated Rocco. “They are both athletic andallow us to have the kind of presence on the offen-sive line that we like to have with size and guys thatare athletic and physical type of players.”

“I think those five guys are good players andplayers we can win a championship with right thereon the offensive line,” added Rocco.

Providing depth behind the aforementioned five isa solid mixture of returning players and newcomersto the program, all of whom Rocco expects to see onthe field at times this upcoming season.

At the tackle positions, Rocco will look to TimHartman, D.J. Sellman and Soeren Wendland to adddepth, while Aaron Brown, Malcolm Boyd, JayWeatherington and Toney White will battle forbackup time at the guards.

“To offer some depth at the offensive tackle, So-eren Wendland was moved from defensive end to of-fensive tackle,” commented Rocco. “He’s got twoyears of eligibility left and we are grooming him tobe a starter for his senior year.”

Backing up Cosby at center will be Aaron Lundyand Matt Camire. “Aaron Lundy can be a very serv-iceable center for us and he’s got four years of eligi-bility left,” added Rocco. “Matt Camire is a junior inour program, who has a lot of versatility, and Iwouldn’t be surprised to see him in the lineup insome games at either center or guard.

“Overall, we are really excited about the potentialof this offense, but again at this stage of the game, Ithink it is just that, potential,” remarked Rocco whenreflecting back on this thoughts about his offenseoverall.

“We’ve got some guys who need to step up and ithas been my experience through the years that guyswill step up. When it is their turn and their senioryear and they finally find themselves in the spotlight,they find a way to elevate their game. We are count-ing on a number of guys doing that this year.”

OFFENSIVE LINE AT A GLANCEFront Runners

LT Justin Vargas R-Jr. 6-5 285LG Bryan Mosier R-Sr. 6-2 300C Mario Cosby R-Sr. 6-1 270RG Alex Stadler R-Jr. 6-5 310RT Josh Weaver R-Sr. 6-4 285

ContendersMatt Camire R-Jr. 6-3 270Tim Hartman R-Sr. 6-4 315Aaron Lundy R-Fr. 6-5 305D.J. Sellman R-Fr. 6-6 320Soeren Wendland R-Jr. 6-8 300Toney White R-So. 6-4 270Up-and-ComersMalcolm Boyd Fr. 6-4 275Aaron Brown R-So. 6-4 270Garry Brice Fr. 6-0 295Matthew Brink Jr. 6-6 290Jay Weatherington Fr. 6-4 280

DEFENSIVE LINEWhen previewing this team position-by-position,

Rocco was pleased to flip the page and start to talkabout his defenders. Not to say that his offensiveplayers are not talented, but the 20-plus year defen-sive coaching veteran knows that the other side ofhis depth chart seems to be much more solid head-ing into preseason training camp.

The more experienced side of the field begins upfront on the defensive line, starting with Trey Jacobsat right end. The Big South preseason all-conferenceselection doubled his career tackles total cominginto 2008, as he finished the last season with 40stops, including six tackles for a loss and four sacks.

Also a key member of the Flames’ special teamsunit, Jacobs enters his final year in a Liberty uniformwith four blocked kicks, leaving him one shy of theprogram record.

“Trey Jacobs is going into his senior year and hereally has had an outstanding career for us,” statedRocco. “He will once again play the right defensiveend position, as he certainly has earned a startingrole there.”

Flanking the Flames’ defensive line on the otherside will be Daryl Robertson, who returns for his sec-ond year with the program after transferring fromVirginia Tech. During his first year as a reserve mem-ber on the line, the left end recorded 20 tackles, 5.5tackles for loss and three pass breakups.

“Daryl Robertson came out of spring ball startingat the left end position,” remarked Rocco. “He had asolid spring and he really seems to be on top of hisgame.”

Liberty’s cog in the middle of its defensive linetruly solidifies the Flames’ sizeable three up front, asAsa Chapman returns after playing in all 12 gamesas a true freshman in 2008. The 377-pounder fin-ished the year with 10 stops and a tackle for a loss,and learned to improve his skills under the leader-ship of Colin Dugan, Liberty’s all-conference starterat nose guard last year.

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“Asa Chapman is starting for us at nose guard,”said Rocco. “Asa is a big body and a hard-workingkid. I think with Trey, Daryl and Asa, we’ve gotthree defensive linemen that really look the part.This is what you want your defensive front to looklike in a 3-4 defense.”

Backing up Jacobs and Robertson on the endsare four solid reserves in Terry Adams, Patrick Ban-non, Stan Herring and Tim Smith.

Bannon is the leading returning tackler amongthe group, as he recorded 28 stops during hissophomore season. However, he did so at theweak side linebacker position in 2008.

“We’ve moved Patrick from linebacker to defen-sive end, and he is really chomping at the bit toget back out there on the field at his new posi-tion,” stated Rocco. “Terry Adams had an out-standing spring and brings some solid play andenthusiasm to this position.”

Herring leads a list of younger players Rocco isexcited about on the line, who could provide depththis season and solid play down the road. “We’vegot some younger players in the program, likeStan Herring, who is in his second year and he hasgot a bright future,” added Rocco.

“We’ve also got two freshmen in the program,Steven Wilkes and Cory Freeman, who are big, tall,long, good-looking athletes. We’ve got a lot ofdepth on the defensive line and we are hoping toget a lot of different guys playing time.”

Backing up Chapman at nose guard will be red-shirt freshman Greg Schuster, followed by a truefreshman, Bryant Lewellyn.

“Behind Chapman at nose guard, we’ve gotGreg Schuster, who is a very physical, hard-charg-ing type of player,” commented Rocco. “He hastime a bright future.

“I think Chapman and Schuster will not neces-sarily split at nose guard, but they are both goingto get a lot of plays during the course of the game,as we try to keep them fresh.”

DEFENSIVE LINE AT A GLANCEFront Runners

DE Daryl Robertson R-Jr. 6-3285NG Asa Chapman So. 6-5377DE Trey Jacobs Sr. 6-3280

ContendersPatrick Bannon Jr. 6-4245Tim Smith R-Jr. 6-3265Greg Schuster (NG) R-Fr. 6-2275Terry Adams R-Jr. 5-11235Up-and-ComersBryant Lewellyn (NG) Fr. 6-1260Stan Herring R-Fr. 6-4275Tommy Fair R-Fr. 6-4260Cory Freeman Fr. 6-4235Steven Wilkes R-Fr. 6-6240

LINEBACKERSLinebackers certainly play a key role inside a 3-

4 defensive scheme, and 2008 continued to provethat point. Nick Hursky led the Flames in tackles,marking the eighth straight season a linebackerhas led the team in total tackles.

Hursky wrapped up his stellar career roamingthe middle of the defensive field by finishing theyear with 97 tackles, which ranked No. 41 nation-ally in tackles per game (8.8), giving the four-yearveteran 270 career stops and 25 tackles for a loss.

Two seniors will look to carry the mantle left byHursky, as the Flames will be looking to leadershipfrom Ian Childress and Wes Cheek at linebacker in2009.

Childress was a welcomed surprise for Rocco,as the strong side linebacker was granted a fifthyear of eligibility by the NCAA because of a med-ical hardship suffered during his freshman season,where he only played in a single game in 2005.

“Our linebacking corps is deep and we were ex-cited to hear that it got deeper with the return ofIan Childress,” commented Rocco about the seniorwho ranked fourth on the squad last year with 59tackles.

Cheek, who was elected one of three defensiveteam captains, returns for his second year as alinebacker, after making the switch to the positionlast year. During his first go around as a linebacker,Cheek was tied for eighth on the squad with 44tackles, including five tackles for a loss and fivepass breakups.

Joining Cheek and Childress among the list ofprojected starters at linebacker are Doncel Boltand Chad Brown in the middle linebacker posi-tions.

Brown is coming off a solid season, where hetied for sixth on the squad with 48 tackles, whileBolt tallied 20 stops during his first season withthe Flames.

“The inside linebacker position once again hasa lot of competition,” commented Rocco. “We arereally looking at four guys. I think right now thatDoncel Bolt and Chad Brown are the two guyswho came out of spring as the starters, but Kyle

O’Donnell and Pierre Tinsley are right there and that gives us some flexibility with our rotation.”

O’Donnell and Tinsley saw limited action lastyear at inside linebacker, as compared to Liberty’skey reserve and potential starter on the outside inJamal Giddens. As a true freshman, he finished theyear with 29 tackles, including 15 solo tackles.

Also vying for playing time in 2009 at line-backer will be Mike Connolly, Marques Jenkins andDemetrius Ward, according to Rocco.

“Mike Connolly is another outside linebackerwho is going to be an outstanding player for usand we need to find ways to get him on the field,”added Rocco. “Demetrius Ward is a young, first-year player in our program, who we will be play-ing at outside linebacker.

“Marques Jenkins is a transfer from Ole Misswho looks the part, and I think that before the endof the season, he is going to find himself in a lotof situations where he is playing for us.

“When I look at our linebacker positions, I see agroup that is talented, deep and experienced,”stated Rocco when summarizing his linebackers.“This is exciting, as we try to get the right combi-nations of guys in the game at the right time andto keep guys fresh thought the course of thegame.”

LINEBACKERS AT A GLANCEFront Runners

SLB Ian Childress R-Sr. 6-4 225Jamal Giddens So. 6-2 210

MLB Doncel Bolt Jr. 6-3 230JLB Chad Brown R-Jr. 6-2 230WLB Wes Cheek Sr. 6-0 205

Jamal Giddens So. 6-2 210ContendersMike Connolly R-So. 6-2 245Cameron Gillespie R-Sr. 5-10 245Marques Jenkins R-Fr. 6-2 235Kyle O’Donnell R-Jr. 6-2 230Brandon Robinson So. 6-1 175Pierre Tinsley R-Jr. 6-0 235

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Up-and-ComersRon Hobby R-Fr. 5-9 170Jordan Marsh Jr. 6-3 220Nathan Revell R-Jr. 5-10 225Kyle VanDuser Fr. 5-11 215Demetrius Ward Fr. 6-1 215

DEFENSIVE BACKSThe theme of experience on the defensive side of

the field continued when Rocco was previewing histeam, punctuated by three seniors who are slated tostart in the defensive backfield.

Leading the way are a pair of preseason Big Southall-conference selections in Chris Rocco and Tim Tor-rence. “In the secondary, we’ve got two seniors thatwe are really excited about in Chris Rocco and TimTorrence,” stated Liberty’s head coach.

Rocco had an outstanding season in 2008, finish-ing second on the squad with 78 tackles, after com-ing into his junior year with a combined 28 stopsduring his first two years on the field. He tied for theteam lead with seven pass breakups and managed toforce three fumbles, a figure which was tied for thefourth best single-season mark in program history.

Torrence posted impressive numbers of his own,giving Liberty three defensive backs among theteam’s Top 6 tacklers, as the cornerback finished theyear with 48 stops. He was also tied for third on theteam with six tackles for a loss.

Joining Rocco and Torrence in the projected start-ing spots in the backfield are returning senior Don-ald Manns and redshirt sophomore Larry Claiborne.

Manns sat out the 2008 season after suffering ayear-ending injury during August training camp. Dur-ing his most recent year of competition, the pro-jected starting left cornerback recorded 19 stops in2007.

The lone youngster among this group is Claiborne,who finished his redshirt freshman year with 19tackles and three pass breakups, while seeing play-ing time in all 12 games.

“The safety position right now is going to beChris Rocco and Larry Claiborne,” stated Rocco. “But,we have a number of guys who we think can offersome legitimate depth backing them up.”

Leading that talented pool of contenders areBrandon Robinson and Kajuan Lee, who both hadsolid years during their first season on the field in2008. Robinson finished the season with 14 tackles,seven solo and seven assisted, to go along withthree pass breakups, while Lee followed closely be-hind with eight tackles, five of which were solo.

“The corner position looks like it is going to beDonald Manns and Tim Torrence,” projected Rocco.“We’ve got great competition with Kajuan Lee, Bran-don Robinson and Brandon Saunders. But onceagain, we’ve got depth and competition to be ableto make some decisions come this August.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS AT A GLANCEFront Runners

LCB Donald Manns Sr. 5-10 180LS Chris Rocco Sr. 5-10 200RS Larry Claiborne R-So. 6-1 180RCB Tim Torrence Sr. 5-8 165

ContendersOmar Clark R-So. 6-0 185Kajuan Lee R-So. 5-11 180Chris McAlister R-So. 6-1 180Brandon Robinson So. 6-1 175Brandon Saunders R-So. 6-0 185Up-and-ComersJarrett Dixon Fr. 5-11 215D.J. Edmond Fr. 6-2 195Ron Hobby R-Fr. 5-9 170Brandon Knight Fr. 5-10 155Reggie Matthews R-Fr. 6-0 190Brent Vinson Fr. 6-1 195

SPECIAL TEAMSThe Flames’ special teams have certainly lived up

to their name in recent years and the 2008 seasonwas not any different.

The Flames were one of the nation’s best puntand kickoff return teams in the nation in 2008. Lib-erty ranked No. 12 nationally in average punt returnyardage (14.16), while individually, Dominic Boldenranked No. 3 nationally in the statistical category.

The Sports Network third-team All-America puntreturner averaged 18.12 yards per return and wasone of one eight players nationally to return morethan one punt for a touchdown, as two of his 17punt returns on the year went for a score.

Bolden and Jonathan Crawford shared kickoff re-turn duties, enabling Liberty to finish the year rankedNo. 21 as a team by averaging 22.05 yards per re-turn. Crawford followed suit with Bolden and wasranked No. 31 in the nation, while scoring once onhis 19 returns during the course of the year.

Senior leadership helped the Flames excel in thereturn game, but younger players took over the reinsin the kicking game.

Matt Bevins was a three-time Big South Freshmanof the Week honoree, as he finished third on theteam in scoring with 56 points. That figure was is

good enough for the fifth-most points scored in aseason by a freshman in program history. He was 12-of-16 on field goal attempts, which ranks third-bestin program history for total field goals in a season,and was 20-of-21 on point after attempts.

“When you look at our kicking game, I’m excitedabout a number of things,” commented Rocco. “Firstand foremost, Matt Bevins is back for his secondyear and Matt is a very talented player. He will han-dle a majority of our kickoffs, if not all of them, andmost of the field goals, as well.”

Battling for time on short-yardage field goals andextra points will be Ben Shipps and Paul Young.Shipps had a solid year in 2008, connecting on 18-of-19 PATs and 5-of-6 field goals to finish fifth onthe team with 33 points. Young suffered a season-ending injury during the second game of the year,but looks to be fully healthy coming into 2009.

Returning for his second year as the Flames’ pro-jected punter is Mike Larsson, who also suffered aninjury midyear that left him out of four games. Dur-ing his eight games of action, Larsson averaged 35.6yards per punt (17 punts, 605 yards). Bevins handledpunting duties while he was gone, averaging 40.9yards per punt (14 punts, 572 yards).

“Last year, our kicking game was really up in theair, but I think going into the 2009 season, we are asfar along as we have ever been,” stated Rocco. “Wehave some capable quality guys in place, guys thathave some experience, but fortunately for us they arestill young and could have some very bright futures.”

The kick return duties will fall into the hands ofsome of the fastest guys the program has seen in re-cent years. Mike Brown is slated to lead a group thatdo includes Jimmy Eden, Ervin Garner, B.J. Hayes andAaron Hewlett, giving Liberty some definite potentialin the return game.

SPECIAL TEAMS AT A GLANCESpecial Teams Depth Chart

K Matt Bevins So. 6-2 185Ben Shipps R-So. 6-0 155Paul Young Jr. 6-2 180

P Mike Larsson So. 5-10 170Matt Bevins So. 6-2 185

LS Robby Cramer Fr. 6-1 225H Mike Brown R-So. 6-0 190

Chris Rocco Sr. 5-10 200Spencer Landis Sr. 6-2 185

PR Mike Brown R-So. 6-0 190Ervin Garner So. 5-9 165Jimmy Eden R-Fr. 5-10 175Aaron Hewlett R-Sr. 5-7 165B.J. Hayes R-So. 5-9 165

KR Mike Brown R-So. 6-0 190Ervin Garner So. 5-9 165B.J. Hayes R-So. 5-9 165Jimmy Eden R-Fr. 5-10 175Aaron Hewlett R-Sr. 5-7 165

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SCHEDULEWhen Liberty announced its 2009 slate last

September, the Flames were pleased to presentthe program’s first-ever all Division I slate.

However, one of the Flames’ scheduled foesdropped its program (Iona), forcing Liberty to finda substitute. Despite the schedule change, Rocco isstill pleased with the 11-game schedule thatawaits his talented squad.

“I think it is a really exciting schedule,” statedRocco. “I believe this is like anything else you do,as you have to build toward your goals. We havebeen able to build some confidence in our pro-gram and develop some positive habits includingwinning, which has enabled us to assemble such aschedule.”

Liberty opens the 2009 season against BIGEAST national powerhouse West Virginia in Mor-gantown, W.Va., on Sept. 5. The contest marks theFlames’ return to FBS match-ups, as the 2008 sea-son brought to a close a stretch of nine-straightyears in which Liberty had faced off against a FBSopponent.

The Flames will be tangling with their secondfoe from the BIG EAST Conference in program his-tory, as Liberty previously faced off against Con-necticut on Sept. 10, 2005.

“We are opening the season at West Virginia,who is truly a national power,” continued Rocco.“Their program has been outstanding for quite awhile, and it is certainly a marquee game for us.We are looking forward to the challenge and itwill help us stay focused in the offseason and dur-ing training camp as we are going to need to playwell early on in 2009.”

Following the road opener, the Flames will playthree out of their next four games at home, lead-ing up to a weekend off on Oct. 10. Liberty opensup its 2009 home slate against North CarolinaCentral on Sept. 12, before completing a home-and-home series by traveling to Easton, Pa., toface Lafayette on Sept. 19.

On Sept. 26, Liberty welcomes the return of in-state opponent James Madison to its schedule andthe Dukes’ first trip to Williams Stadium since2001. The Flames and the Dukes have a long-standing series, one in which James Madison holdsa 9-5 edge.

The contest will culminate an important week-end in the history of the Athletics Department, asLiberty will be officially inducting its first-ever Ath-letics Hall of Fame class when the Dukes come totown.

The Flames will welcome West Virginia Wes-leyan to Lynchburg on Oct. 3, their schedulechange following the Iona situation, for the middlegame of a three-game homestand, before openingup Big South play against conference rival CoastalCarolina on Oct. 17.

The match-up with the Chanticleers begins asix-game stretch where Liberty will close out the2009 campaign in Big South action and look topick up its third-straight league championship.

On Oct. 24, the Flames travel to Charleston,S.C., to face off against Charleston Southern, be-fore returning to Williams Stadium to welcomePresbyterian (Oct. 31) and VMI (Nov. 7).

Liberty will close out its 2009 schedule withback-to-back road games, traveling to BoilingSprings, N.C., for a Nov. 14 match-up with Gard-ner-Webb and finished with a Nov. 21 meetingwith Stony Brook on Long Island in Stony Brook,N.Y.

The NCAA FCS playoffs will open up with eightfirst-round match-ups at on-campus sites on Nov.28, beginning a four-week schedule that culmi-nates with the NCAA FCS national championshipgame in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 18.

“I think this year is the right year to have sucha schedule, as we have put together in 2009,”concluded Rocco. “This schedule is going to giveus an opportunity to gain some additional expo-sure for our program and our conference.”

2009 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE AT A GLANCESept. 5 at West Virginia NoonSept. 12 North Carolina Central 7 p.m.Sept. 19 at Lafayette 6 p.m.Sept. 26 JAMES MADISON 7 p.m.

(Hall of Fame Weekend)Oct. 3 WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 7 p.m.Oct. 10 OpenOct. 17 COASTAL CAROLINA * 3:30 p.m.

(Homecoming Weekend)Oct. 24 at Charleston Southern * 1:30 p.m.Oct. 31 PRESBYTERIAN * 3:30 p.m.

(Family Weekend)Nov. 7 VMI * 7 p.m.

(Senior Day)Nov. 14 at Gardner-Webb * 1:30 p.m.Nov. 21 at Stony Brook * 1 p.m.Nov. 28 NCAA FCS Playoffs (First Round) TBADec. 5 NCAA FCS Playoffs (Quarterfinals) TBADec. 12 NCAA FCS Playoffs (Semifinals) TBADec. 18 NCAA FCS Playoffs TBA

National Championship GameDavenport Field at Finley Stadium

Chattanooga, Tenn.* - Big South Conference game

BIG SOUTH CONFERENCEThe head coaches and a select media panel still

consider Liberty the team to beat this year. How-ever, the choice is not nearly as clear as last year,when the Flames took home all of the predictedpreseason first-place votes.

In 2009, five different programs received first-place nods from various voters. Despite the vary-ing opinions, Liberty still stands atop thepreseason listing.

The Flames garnered 109 total votes with 10first-place votes, followed by Stony Brook with 87points and four first-place selections. If all goesaccording to the way the head coaches and themedia predict, the conference’s title might be onthe line in Stony Brook, N.Y., on Nov. 22 when the

Flames visit Long Island for both programs’ seasonfinales.

Three former conference champions follow Lib-erty and Stony Brook in the preseason predictionlist, beginning with Coastal Carolina in third (83points), followed by Gardner-Webb (77 points) andCharleston Southern (56 points).

Rounding out the listing are VMI (39 points)and Presbyterian (25), whose games will count inthe regular-season standings, even though theBlue Hose will not officially be eligible for theleague title until the 2011 season.

Despite a predicted fourth-place finish, Gard-ner-Webb was head and shoulders above the restof the league in terms of preseason all-conferencemembers. The Bulldogs garnered 10 preseasonathletes, as compared to Liberty, who finished sec-ond in the listing with five preseason honored ath-letes.

The 2009 season will serve as the final year be-fore the Big South gets an automatic bid to theNCAA FCS Playoffs. The Playoff field is slated toexpand to 20 teams in 2010, giving the Big Southwinner a secure ticket to the FCS Playoffs.

Until the expansion takes place, the Big South’swinner is going to need to put together a solidseason, one with key victories over establishedand well-respected FCS programs, similar to thetype of schedule the Flames hope they have con-structed for this upcoming season.

LIBERTY’S BIG SOUTH PRESEASONAll-Conference SelectionsOL Josh Weaver R-Sr.OL Bryan Mosier R-Sr.DL Trey Jacobs Sr.DB Chris Rocco Sr.DB Tim Torrence Sr.

Big South Preseason Poll1. Liberty (10) 1092. Stony Brook (4) 873. Coastal Carolina (1) 834. Gardner-Webb (1) 775. Charleston Southern (1) 566. VMI 397. Presbyterian 25(Numbers in parentheses indicate first-place

votes)

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