Liberty will kickoff the 2023 season against Bowling Green in 46 days as the Flames are looking to make a fifth straight bowl appearance while also hoping to compete for a Conference USA championship.
Jamey Chadwell enters his first season as Liberty’s head coach and will do so with an entirely new coaching staff as well as a ton of new faces on the field. This leads to many questions surrounding the program and fall camp will provide insight into many of these when it gets underway.
Here are our 46 questions for Liberty football entering the 2023 season.
1. Will Liberty compete for and possibly even win the Conference USA championship in its first year in the league?
2. How quickly will the Flames adjust to a new coaching staff and new system?
3. How quickly will all the new pieces on the field gel into a team unit?
4. How many quarterbacks will start a game this season?
5. Can one of the quarterbacks emerge and be a team leader and remain consistent throughout the year?
6. How will the new offense look?
7. Will the defense take a step back with all the roster turnover?
8. Under the new coaching staff led by Skylor Magee, will the defensive system be significantly different from what the Flames’ have looked like in recent seasons?
9. In addition to Kendy Charles, who else will emerge on the defensive line to replace all the departed talent?
10. Can the running back group be even more productive than it was in 2022 despite the loss of the top three backs, including Dae Dae Hunter?
11. Can true freshman Vaughn Blue be a consistent performer out of the backfield this season?
12. Who will emerge as the top running backs out of all the newcomers (Blue, Quinton Cooley, James Jointer, Billy Lucas, VIctor Venn)?
13. How big of an impact will injuries play on the team this season?
14. Will we see any new uniforms this season, maybe some baby blues?
15. WR was a big question mark in 2022 and now Demario Douglas is in the NFL, will there be enough production at this position?
16.Who will emerge as the top targets in the passing game?
17. How big of an impact will the tight ends have on the offense?
18. Can a tight end help enough in the pass game to alleviate some of the question marks at receiver?
19. Will any of the running backs be able to catch passes consistently out of the backfield?
20. How quickly will the newcomers on the offensive line mesh with the returners?
21. Is Jordan White the answer at center?
22. Will Liberty get back to a 5th straight bowl game?
23. Will CJ Daniels be back to full strength from his torn ACL and how much can he help improve the receivers?
24. Can Aakil Washington take the next step at linebacker in his second season at the position?
25. Will Chike Nwankwo be able to step into the lineup and help offset some huge losses at the linebacker position?
26. Can Jerome Jolly emerge from his strong special teams play to making a big impact at linebacker?
27. Will newcomers like TJ Bush and Larry Jones provide enough of a pass rush for the defensive line to not have a huge dropoff from last year’s production?
28. Can Quinton Reese develop into one of the defense’s next leaders on the field?
29. How will the loss of so many specialists (kickoff specialist, punter, holder, snapper) impact the team?
30. How will the attendance be affected with the midweek games?
31. How different will it be with Homecoming in early November?
32. Will a new rival emerge as Liberty enters CUSA?
33. How many one score games will Liberty have this season?
34. Will Liberty finally find some consistency at kicker?
35. Who will be fighting for a spot in the CUSA title game?
36. Which opponent will be the best Liberty plays this season?
37. How many true freshman will burn their redshirt?
38. Who will emerge as the team leader in tackles?
39. How many different quarterbacks will start a game this season?
40. How will Max Morgan adjust to being the starting punter?
41. What is the ceiling for the team this season?
42. Can Kobe Singleton be the leader the Flames need at corner to lead that position after a couple of offseason transfers?
43. Who will develop into Liberty’s next draft pick?
44. How will the first season of being a Conference USA member be remembered?
45. Can the Flames win eight games again this season?
46. Where should we be planning to visit during bowl season?
