Wednesday, December 21 is the first day Class of 2023 football prospects can make their intentions official as part of the early signing period. The Flames currently have 13 commitments in the class. Here’s an update on where things currently stand and what to expect to see on Wednesday.
VERBAL COMMITS
Liberty originally pursued multiple targets at quarterback, picking up verbals from Hank Brown and REESE MOONEY. Brown had a change of heart after the coaching change, and he is likely to end up at either Auburn with Freeze or at UAB with his high school coach Trent Dilfer who is now leading the Blazers.
The 6’1″, 200 pound Mooney remains committed to the Flames and will sign on Wednesday. From Denham Springs, Louisiana where he attends Denham Springs High School, Mooney is a two-sport star and also plans on playing baseball with the Flames. Mooney took an official visit to Liberty the first week of June. He was originally committed to Vanderbilt before having a change of heart. He has over 30 offers including Vanderbilt, Liberty, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Nebraska, Ole Miss, and Syracuse.
Liberty picked up its first commitment from a high school running back prospect in five years as Freeze never signed one, instead opting for transfers at the position. That quickly changed as Coach Chadwell got a commitment from RB VAUGHN BLUE Vaughn Blue over the weekend.
Blue is a 5’10”, 180 pound running back from Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He was originally committed to Charlotte but decommitted from the 49ers following their coaching change. Blue also had offers from Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, and several FCS schools prior to committing to Charlotte this past summer. He is rated as a three-star prospect by On3Sports. Blue visited Liberty and Coach Chadwell this past week, picking up an offer while on his visit.
The previous coaching staff had intended on signing five offensive linemen in the ’23 class. That could remain the case, but the Flames currently have three commitments from offensive linemen in AUSTIN ANDERSON, TAJH BOYD, and CAL GRUBBS, all three who are expected to sign with Liberty on Wednesday.
Anderson is a 6’4″, 290 pound offensive lineman from Bowling Green, Kentucky where he attends Bowling Green High School. In addition to his offer from the Flames, he also has offers from Air Force, Army, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, Western Kentucky, Marshall, and several FCS schools.
Boyd is a 6’5″, 320 pound offensive tackle from Chesapeake, Virginia and Oscar Smith High School. He is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals and On3 Sports, and his offer list includes Liberty, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Jackson State, Maryland, and Pitt. He had named a top four of Liberty, Maryland, Pitt, and Buffalo.
Grubbs is a 6’4″, 290 pound offensive lineman from Maryville, Tennessee where he attends Maryville High School. He was a high school teammate of current incoming Liberty freshman wide receiver Markel Fortenberry. Grubbs, who is projected as an interior offensive lineman and could end up at center, had previously announced a top three that included Liberty, Duke, and Miami Ohio. He has over 20 offers total including Air Force, Army, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Louisiana, MTSU, Navy, Ole Miss, Tulane, USF, and Virginia.
Three-star defensive lineman JAQUIZE BUYCKS is an interesting story. Shortly after Freeze left for Auburn, Buycks tweeted that he was decommitting from Liberty but he quickly deleted that tweet and has since been quiet publicly. Previously, Buycks announced a top four of Liberty, Troy, Maryland, and Memphis. He is a 6’2″, 270 pound defensive line prospect from Millbrook, Alabama where he attends Stanhope Elmore High School. He is a consensus three-star rated athlete with an offer list that includes Arizona State, Buffalo, Charlotte, Georgia State, Indiana, Jacksonville State, South Alabama, Southern Miss, USF, and Western Kentucky.
DL MAMADOU CISSOKHO is a 6’5″ 290 pound prospect is from Senegal and has yet to play a down of football. Cissokho could be either a defensive line or offensive line prospect, and he has already picked up offers from Liberty, Oregon, and Syracuse. He has heard from over 25 schools including Texas A&M, Auburn, Penn State, and Baylor. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic profiled his unique story with a feature piece on the young prospect. He was unable to make his way to the States for his final season of high school as he was still working on getting his VISA. It’s unclear where things stand with him currently.
DL DONOVAN DOZIER will sign with Liberty on Wednesday and is expected to enroll at the mid-year. Dozier is a 6’4″, 220 pound defensive lineman from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, He previously named a top three of Liberty, JMU, and Delaware. He has additional offers from Air Force and numerous FCS schools. Dozier helped lead Cardinal Gibbons to a state championship in 2021 as he racked up 63 tackles, 22 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
JUCO DT TYSHEIK GALLOWAY is a 3-star defensive tackle from Honea Path, South Carolina who just committed to Liberty and Coach Chadwell last week. The 6’2″, 295 pound product has two years of eligibility and a redshirt year remaining coming out of Coffeyville Junior College. He’s already taken an official visit to Georgia Southern, and in addition to the Flames and Eagles, he also has offers from Western Kentucky, Central Michigan, Jacksonville State, and numerous FCS schools. This past season, Galloway had 36 tackles, 4 sacks, and 5 pass breakups.
DL ELIYT NAIRNE is a 6’2″, 260 pound athlete that attends Olympic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Liberty, one of the first schools that offered him back in April, are joined by Charlotte, Georgia State, Old Dominion, Navy, Western Kentucky, Kent State, Tulane, East Carolina, among others, that have offered Nairne to this point.
LB OLAN ROBINSON is another commit that has been quiet since the coaching staff but still appears to be signed with the Flames. Robinson is a 6’1″, 220 pound linebacker from Newton, Georgia where he attends Newton High School. Liberty offered the talented athlete in February. He also has offers from Air Force, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Army, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami Ohio, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and West Virginia. He is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.
DB CHRISTIAN BODNAR is a strong commit to Liberty despite the coaching change and will sign on Wednesday. Bodnar is a 5’11”, 170 pound defensive back from Bloomingdale High School and Valrico, Florida. His offer list included Bowling Green, FIU, FAU, Georgia State, Iowa State, Maryland, Middle Tennessee, Temple, Troy, USF, and others. Liberty offered him in July.
DB JAMAL MILES is a 3-star DB from Pelham, Alabama who has been recruited by the Flames for several months, even coming to the Mountain last month. He also took an official visit to Liberty last week, committing shortly thereafter. He has offers from Vanderbilt, Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Kansas, James Madison, Appalachian State, Army, Navy, Southern Miss, Arkansas State, UAB, Tulane, West Virginia, Georgia Southern, Troy, and others.
Stay tuned to ASeaofRed.com, your #1 source for Liberty Flames recruiting info. Be sure to save our football verbal commit page for the full run down of the commits. Also, give us a follow on twitter where many times recruiting news is first broken. Just a reminder for ASOR Club members, be sure to keep tabs on the Rumor Mill this week, as always.
