A Look at the Rockets' Second Opponent - Liberty
8/19/2003 12:00:00 PM | Football
Written by Liberty Sports Information Office.
Aug. 19, 2003
Lynchburg, VA - When Ken Karcher took over the reigns of the Liberty University football program on March 20, 2000, he knew that things were not going to change overnight - but rather that the revival of the program would be down the road.
Karcher, who is entering his fourth season at the helm of the program, believes the future that he spoke about on his opening day press conference in the Williams Stadium locker room starts this year.
Although the improvements over the past three seasons may not be visible in the win-loss column, the Flames faithful have been able to see the gradual development of what Karcher believes to be a perennial powerhouse in the Big South Conference and eventually the national scene.
"I am very pleased with our first three recruiting classes," said Karcher. "I think our first class was outstanding and we are just now starting to see their potential. Our second class was equally impressive, while our third class met some very specific individual needs.
"Liberty University is a unique place and sometimes it is hard to keep kids here, so we have lost a few of the players that we thought might help us down the road. However, I believe the nucleus is now here for us to accomplish what we had envisioned when I first came to the campus."
Some of those players - Dre Barnes, Gus Condon, Aaron DeBerry, Kendrick Howard to name a few - are now well-known figures on the Liberty University campus and hope to lead the Flames football program to a brighter future.
That future now also includes a potential conference championship, as Liberty University will be entering into its second season of play in the Big South Football Conference after completing its inaugural run with a third-place finish.
Karcher believes that the foundation has been set, that the key players are in place and that the future of Liberty football is now.
Quarterbacks
The Flames return a pair of qualified quarterbacks in Gus Condon and Kyle Painter, while several other capable quarterbacks await in the wings and will be vying for playing time during the 2003 season.
Condon, a redshirt senior, started the first eight games of last season and finished the year with 892 yards passing and six touchdowns, while completing 61-of-155 pass attempts. Condon, who had a solid spring performance and has secured the starting quarterback position heading into preseason camp, struggled at times in his first season as starting quarterback, but Karcher is quick to say that many things factored in Condon's performance.
"I think I was probably the most shocked of anyone on our staff in Gus' performance last year," commented Karcher. "However a lot of things played into his performance.
"Gus clearly stood out in spring practice and is our starting quarterback heading into preseason camp. However, our quarterback position will remain wide open all the way through camp, up until the first game. It is just the issue of finding the one that will step up and play down after down."
Also returning will be Painter, a redshirt sophomore, who saw playing time in seven games last year and started the last three contests. He passed for 788 yards and led the team in touchdown passes with 10, while completing 57-of-117 pass attempts and a 112.6 yards per game average.
Also vying for playing time this season will be J.R. Barley, Travis Johnson and Andrew McCay. Barley sat out last year and had a solid performance during spring workouts, while Johnson, who was the top-rated high school quarterback in the state of Virginia, and McCay will be newcomers to the Liberty University campus.
"J.R. is a very intelligent player with a strong arm," said Karcher. "We are very high on him this year after having a good spring. I would not be shocked if he got some playing time this season, because he is a young kid that could be the future."
Running Backs
One of the deepest positions on the Liberty roster is at running back as the Flames return all four of the able-bodied backs. The Flames ranked 28th in the country in rushing yards as Liberty ran for 2,019 yards, marking the second time in school history that Liberty has surpassed the 2,000-yard mark and nearly missing the school record for rushing yards in a season by 29 yards (2,049 in 1979).
Liberty returns a plethora of backs to mount another charge at the school record in Dre Barnes, Sam Gado, Eugene Goodman and Marcus Hamilton, which the Liberty coaching staff would put up against any running back core in the nation as Karcher believes that "all four of our running backs could be a starter anywhere in the country."
Leading the pack will be all-conference performer Dre Barnes, who rushed for a school record 1,304 yards. In just his sophomore campaign, Barnes finished fourth in the nation in rushing as he averaged 118.5 yards per game, while scoring five touchdowns.
"Dre is our workhorse and will be the focal point of our running attack this year," said Karcher. "He is going to play more than he ever has before and I am fully confident that he is ready for the challenge."
Also vying for time in the backfield will be Gado, Goodman and Hamilton. Goodman finished second on the team in rushing last season as he rushed for 401 yards on 69 carries, while Gado finished with 136 yards rushing and 190 yards receiving with three touchdowns.
Hamilton will be returning to the active roster after sitting out last season to regain his redshirt year, which might happen to Gado or Goodman, barring an injury, so Liberty can attempt to preserve the wealth of running back talent for the future.
Wide Receivers
Faithful followers of the Flames will need to check a recent roster when scouting Liberty's receiving core this year as the wide receiver position saw the greatest numbers of changes in the offseason.
Daniel Jackson, Liberty's second leading receiver last year with 372 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, graduated while Erick Harris, who led the team with 480 yards receiving, and Christopher Green will be on the opposite side of the ball this season as the pair have been transferred to the defensive backs core.
Condon will have a new arsenal of receivers to throw to in Darnell Edwards, Ryan Grigsby and Lauren Williams as all three were redshirted last season, but greatly impressed the coaching staff during spring practice.
The trio of wideouts will provide the Flames with some diversity, as Edwards is a 6-4 outside receiver that presents a physical presence on the field, while Grigsby is a smaller and speedier inside receiver that possesses the ability to read coverages. Williams provides a combination of the two players as he is 6-3 but has speed and will also play outside.
"We are very excited about our receivers this year after all three young men were able to gain an extra year of experience with a redshirt season last year," said Karcher. "Our wide receiver position is the one that we have upgraded the most from last year. Although we have a young crew this year, we have the utmost confidence in their ability to perform."
Terris Gregory and Chris Vaden will also be challenging for playing time, while Adrian Hall will provide the Flames with an experienced player at the position as Hall finished fourth on the team last year with 183 yards receiving on 14 receptions.
Tight Ends
At this time last year, the Flames looked to be set up quite well for the future at the tight end position, as Liberty had several quality tight ends on the roster. However Jordan Anderson and Derrick Swinski have left the program, leaving Jay Cline as the only experienced tight end returning to the program.
With the departure of some of its more experience talent at the position, the Flames' coaching staff has shifted Lorenzo Dixon to tight end. Also adding depth at the position is Michael Pearson, who returns for his second season.
"We have three returning tight ends that we feel good about," comments Karcher. "We are looking for that one player that can catch the intermediate ball vertically on some play action passes as well as be able to block, which will aid our running game."
Cline started all but the first game of the season at tight end last year, finishing the season with 11 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Cline was also honored as a member of the Big South all-academic team and was named to the Verizon University Division Academic All-District III - Second Team.
Dixon finished third on the team in rushing last year as he ran for 140 yards on 27 carries in nine games, while Pearson started five games as a true freshman and finished with four receptions for 63 yards.
Offensive Line
The offensive line enters the 2003 season with quite a challenge on its hands, as they will be looking to equal their performance from last year. During the 2002 season, the offensive line helped the Flames rush for 2,000 yards for just the second time in school history along with helping Dre Barnes rush for a school record 1,304 yards.
Liberty will be looking to fill the vacancy left open by graduated senior linemen Jackie Burgess and Anthony Knutson; however Sean Boyle, Marcus Ferguson, Kevin Inge, Rhett Parson and Thom Smith are just a few of the players who are poised to fill that role.
Boyle has played parts of two seasons at Liberty and could see time at guard or center, while Smith gained valuable experience at guard last year as a starter. Inge is an athletic-type player with a bright future, while Ferguson and Parson, who is the younger brother of former Liberty quarterback Biff Parson, are a pair of young linemen with great potential.
Defensive Line
The Flames will dress one of their more experienced defensive lines in recent history during the 2003 season as Liberty's starting four all have gained valuable playing experience over the past several years. Aaron DeBerry and Seth Reichart return to reclaim their starting roles on the line, while John Aldrich and Tim Ayer filled both reserve and starting roles last season and are ready to step up to the full-time starting position.
DeBerry, who was recently named to the 2003 Sports Network Preseason Honorable Mention All-America team, is a first-team all-conference performer who led the team in tackles for a loss with a career-high 17 negative yardage stops, while finishing the year with 49 total tackles. Reichart finished third on the team in tackling with 61 tackles, while adding 11 tackles for a loss and three sacks last year.
"I am excited about our defensive line this year and some of the things that our new coaches (Defensive Coordinator Steve Carson and Defensive Line Coach Mickey Mays) bring to this position," said Karcher. "Defensive line is always an issue for anybody at the I-AA level, but we feel that our kids are now juniors and seniors that are stronger and hopefully a little bit better technically in tackling."
Aldrich saw playing time in nine games last year and finished with 11 tackles, while Ayer played in all 11 games and started the last six, finishing up the season with 22 stops, four tackles for a loss and a pass breakup.
Backing up on the defensive line will be a pair of returning players and two newcomers as Christopher Deitsch and Rayshawd Barkley return, while Michael Erminger and Jarrett Winfrey will be donning a Liberty uniform for the first time this year. Deitsch saw playing time in 10 of the Flames' 11 games last year, while Barkley finished up the season with 24 tackles and three tackles for a loss. Erminger transferred to Liberty from New Mexico Military Institute, while Winfrey sat out last year as a redshirt.
Linebackers
If the Flames' running back core is its strongest offensive position, the linebackers would be the equivalent on the defensive side of the ball as Liberty returns three solid starters in Kendrick Howard, Kenneth Kemp and Nick Vaughn for another season.
Howard led the team defensively last year as he finished with 113 total tackles, which ranked second best in the conference. The Big South first-team all-conference honoree has led the team in tackles for the past two seasons and is the only player on the team with 200 or more career tackles as he enters the year with 227 career stops.
"It is nice to know as we enter the season that we have both depth and experience at the linebacker position," said Karcher. "Kendrick will lead this group again this year, but he cannot carry the whole load and will need both Kenneth and Nick to set up and help him."
Kemp saw playing time in all 11 games last year and started four of the last six contests, finishing the year with 40 total tackles, including one tackle for a loss and one forced fumble. Vaughn playing in the first two games of the season, but was granted a medical redshirt as he sat out the remainder of the season with an injury.
Providing depth to the returning trio of linebackers will be several talented but untested players in John Davis, George King, James Oldham, Manny Rojas and Joseph Solomon. This group of linebackers all sat out last year, but gained valuable experience and knowledge of the system during their redshirt season.
Defensive Backs
Some recognizable faces will be seen in the Flames' defensive backfield this season; however, the familiar players were on the other side of the field as several of last year's receivers have made the switch to defense this year.
Among those making the change are Chris Green and Erick Harris, while the likes of Brandon Giles-Summers, Jonathan Hanberry and C.J. Moore will be vying for time in the backfield as well at a position that will be wide open during preseason workouts.
"We wanted to create some competition in the defensive backfield this year, which should make everyone involved better," commented Karcher. "We moved Chris Green and Erick Harris from offense to defense because both were very good defensive backs in high school."
"Chris has a chance to start at corner after a good spring, while Erick will be competing at safety or corner. Jonathan played as a true freshman and can only get better, while C.J. and Kevin Moon both redshirted last year and seem ready for the challenge. We are also excited about our junior college transfer Victor Hart as we think he can have an immediate impact."
Harris led all Flames receivers last year with 480 yards receiving on 24 catches, while scoring three touchdowns. Green finished the year with 78 yards receiving and two touchdowns, while also adding three tackles on special teams.
Moore and Moon were both redshirted last year, while Hanberry was one of the leading freshmen in the Big South Conference with 24 tackles in his first season of play and was honored twice by the league as the conference's Freshman of the Week.
Giles-Summers played in 10 of the Flames' 11 games and finished the season with16 tackles, one tackle for a loss, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. Hart will look to jump right into the starting lineup after transferring from Georgia Military College where he was a two-year starter, which included the 2001 season where Georgia Military won the National Junior College championship.
Special Teams
The special teams unit is one that Karcher is quite excited about as he feels the latest additions to the team will provide dramatic and immediate improvement.
"If I had to say just one thing about our third-year recruiting class," said Karcher, "I would have to say that this is the area that we have upgraded the most."
The Flames will be looking to replace placekicker/punter Jay Kelley, who finished his four-year career as the fourth-best kicker in the history of the program with 178 career points, including 28 field goals and 94 extra points.
Looking to fill that vacancy will be Bryce Coffee, a redshirt senior who is transferring from Virginia for his final collegiate season, David Holland, a sophomore who saw some playing time when Kelley was injured last season, and incoming freshman Scott Kiovsky.
Punting duties could return to Noah Crouch, who was redshirted during the 2002 season after finishing with 1,224 yards punting on 36 kicks during his freshman season two years ago.
Adrian Hall is slated to returning kickoffs and punts for the Flames this season and should rewrite the record books during the 2003 campaign. Hall set a single-season school record with 692 kickoff return yards and stands on the verge of nearly every Top 5 kickoff return category in the school's career ranking.
The Flames have also brought in some experience at the longer snapper position (junior college transfer Marlon Roman), which plagued Liberty in several.
Schedule
For the first time in school history, the Flames will play a 12-game schedule, featuring an even number of road and home games, a pair of I-A powerhouses, several perennial I-AA playoffs teams and a challenging Big South Conference slate.
"Our schedule is a very competitive schedule with playoff-type teams, a solid conference schedule and some in-state teams that gives our players and our fans to watch some good football," said Karcher.
The 2003 slate features opponents such as James Madison and Norfolk State - a pair of in-state schools - Bowling Green and Toledo - two I-A teams that flirted with the Top 25 last year - Youngstown State, East Tennessee State and Hofstra - playoff-caliber foes - and an ever-expanding Big South Conference schedule, including defending champion Gardner-Webb and new league members Coastal Carolina and VMI.
"Our goal is to make the playoffs and right now our conference does not have an automatic bid to the playoffs," said Karcher. "We feel that our schedule allows us, if we win those type of game, an opportunity to get into the playoffs."
Liberty will open the season against in-state opponent James Madison on August 30, then travel to the "Buckeye State" for back-to-back weekends to square off against Toledo on September 6 and Bowling Green on September 13.
After three straight road games, the Flames return home to host Kentucky Wesleyan on September 20 and Youngstown State on September 27, before beginning Big South Conference play against VMI on October 4, which will conclude the University's Homecoming Weekend.
Liberty's next three games will be played on the road, including two conference games. The Flames will start the stretch on October 11 at defending conference champion Gardner-Webb, followed by away games at East Tennessee State on October 18 and Charleston Southern on November 1.
The Flames will conclude their 2003 schedule with three-consecutive home games as Liberty will host Norfolk State on November 8 and Hofstra on November 22, while hosting Coastal Carolina on November 15 in the squad's final Big South game of the season.
"Our first year in the Big South Conference was great and just what the program needed," said Karcher. "It is something that we have worked for here at Liberty for quite some time and Kim Graham (Athletic Director) and our administration did a great job in helping us get into this conference.
"Now it is our responsibility to compete in this conference. I feel that if our guys will take care of what they are supposed to do and if we as coaches put them in the best situation, we have the ability to compete with anyone on our schedule. It is about us and not them."
