Coach Gill and his squad are approaching the halfway point of training camp as they continue to prepare for the 2018 season and the season opener against Old Dominion on September 1st. Here’s an update on how camp is progressing after talking to Coach Gill and other selected coaches and players earlier today.

Corners have been impressive

Arguably the most experienced defensive position is cornerback. The Flames are returning three guys with starting experience in Jeremy Peters, Jimmy Faulks, and Malik Matthews. Throw in Kimani Donaldson, who saw some playing time as a reserve last year, and JUCO transfer Bejour Wilson, and Liberty’s cornerbacks have a chance to be special.

“I’m really seeing this group come together,” cornerbacks coach Marshall Roberts said. “I haven’t had a group like this since the Fogg and Aikens days.”

Captain Jeremy Peters likes to compare this group to the previous cornerback group that included Kevin Fogg and Walt Aikens, as well. “We still watch film on them,” Peters said. “They’re pros now, and we want to be pros. So, we try to learn from them as much as we can.”

Malik Matthews will be counted on this season

Starting alongside Peters at corner is Malik Matthews, according to Coach Gill, who says the redshirt-junior is having a very good camp. Matthews started two games last year as he was shuffled in and out of the lineup with Jimmy Faulks. Matthews seems to have a leg up on that competition right now.

Coach Roberts had glowing remarks on Wilson, comparing him to Kevin Fogg, who’s currently playing in the CFL. “(Wilson) is special. He can move like Kevin Fogg. We look for him to do some special things for us.”

“Kimani Donaldson, Jimmy Faulks, Bejour Wilson are battling to see who will be the 3rd and 4th guy right now,” Gill said. “It’s great competition, I can tell you that.”

Juwan Wells 100% healthy

Liberty’s leading tackler from 2017, Juwan Wells, is back for his senior campaign, and he’s looking to take his game to the next level. He’s added about 15-20 pounds of muscle this offseason as he prepares to go against FBS offensive linemen and double teams all year.

“This is probably the first summer since I’ve been in college that I’ve been 100% throughout the whole summer,” Wells said. “That’s why I gained so much muscle. I spent so much time trying to get my body ready for this upcoming season.”

Wells ready for his senior season

Defensive line coach Vantz Singletary raved about the leader of the defensive line. “He’s playing lights out,” Singletary said of Wells. “He’s struggled with some injuries (throughout his career), but  he’s worked through it. He’s come back. He’s flying around. He’s executing. All I know is, when I look at practice film, he’s doing better than anybody we have out there on the field.”

Depth & Competition continue to be topics

As we’ve mentioned before during training camp, depth and increased competition continue to be a topic of conversation among the coaches and players. Coach Roberts said it best today, “Competition makes it real easy. It’s absolutely amazing to have 85 scholarships, unbelievable. I’ve never seen us this deep. This is my 15th season being here, and to see us have that deep of a room in all positions, it’s unbelievable. People don’t really understand the difference between FCS and FBS until you really see all of those talented guys bumping up against one another. We’ve had a 1 deep or maybe a 2 deep over the years, well, now we’re about 4 deep.”

Coaches and players have both talked about the ability of being able to rotate guys in and out of the lineup during camp. It’s allowed the team to stay healthy, as a whole, more this camp than in previous seasons, according to some of the veterans on the team.

Other Notes

  • Antonio Gandy-Golden, who injured his right wrist in a car accident this summer, is still expected to be ready to go by September 1st.
  • The Flames will hold their 2nd scrimmage of training camp on Saturday, and Coach Gill says it’s an important one. “(Saturday) will be the last time for a lot of young guys that we want to take a serious look at to see if they’re capable of playing. After two weeks, we have to make some decisions – who’s going to get more reps and who’s going to get less reps.”