Hall of Fame Weekend

Saturday’s game marks Liberty’s annual Hall of Fame weekend where the Flames will welcome five new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame. This will be the 13th class inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame, and they will be honored during special ceremonies surrounding the football game against Campbell on Saturday at Williams Stadium. The five-member class includes Kyrie (Dorn) Adams (volleyball), Pat Bussey (wrestling), Robert Karlsson (golf), Megan (Frazee) Leuzinger (women’s basketball), and James McKnight (football/track & field). With the five new members, the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame now has 68 members who have each played a key role in helping Liberty grow from an NCCAA program in 1972 to its current status as a member of the NCAA Division I and FBS in football.

Kaidon Salter working his way up the depth chart

Last week, Tennessee transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter announced on his social media accounts that he is eligible to play this season. The former top 50 national prospect and No. 6 quarterback prospect in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports, is a true freshman and has four full seasons plus a redshirt year of eligibility remaining.

Prior to being ruled immediately eligible, Salter spent much of training camp receiving limited reps behind the top three quarterbacks of Malik Willis, Johnathan Bennett and Nate Hampton. During the open portion of Tuesday’s practice earlier this week, Salter was one of four quarterbacks in uniform, joining Willis, Bennett, and Hampton, while Seaon Brown and Will Bowers were working as scout team quarterbacks.

“We only found that out last week, so he’s certainly not as ready as you would want him to be to take significant snaps,” Freeze said of Salter during his press conference on Monday. “I hope we have some more time before we throw him in the fire, for sure. We’re excited that he is eligible and we can start getting him some reps to get him ready. Hopefully Malik has a healthy year and JB will be ready to go should we need him on Saturday night.”

Heritage High School Connection

Liberty sophomore cornerback Chris Megginson played his high school ball in Lynchburg at Heritage High School. On Saturday, he will match up with a former high school teammate. Campbell redshirt-senior wide receiver Caleb Snead also played at Heritage.

Snead is one of the better wide receivers at the FCS level. He missed the 2020 season due to an injury. Snead has recorded 1,364 yards and 15 touchdowns in 20 games played over 2018 and 2019. The former teammates could line up against each other on the field Saturday.

“The area and the city is hyped up about the matchup,” Megginson said. “We don’t talk too much trash, but we’ll probably say a few words on the field.”

Freshmen Ready to Make an Impact

The Flames return most of its starters and production from the 2020 team that finished 10-1 and ranked in the top 20 at the end of the season, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any new contributors. In addition to several transfers that will make a big impact this season, Liberty also has a handful of freshmen that are ready to show out under the lights this year.

“I’m excited about that freshman class,” Freeze said. “Would you like to play them in 4 games and be able to save them? Sure. (Linebacker) Ahmad (Walker’s) going to play. He’s one of our better linebackers, he’s going to play. (Defensive end) Khristian (Zachary) can absolutely play, but we kinda have some depth there, so we will try to do what’s best. Not real concerned about whether we redshirt him or not, I think he will probably have to play. Corner, we’ll see how it goes, but Amarian (Williams) has done really well for a freshman, excited. Offensively, we have everybody returning. Could (offensive lineman) Harrison (Hayes) see some action and (offensive lineman Andrew) Adair? Yes. Will it be more than 4 games? It’s too early to tell.”

Injury Report

Liberty has been rather fortunate throughout the preseason on the injury front, not losing many guys that will miss game time. Wide receiver Noah Frith is not expected to play Saturday against Campbell as the Flames are hopeful he is ready to go by game two or three. He is recovering from surgery on a bone in his right hand. Backup center John Kourtis, who sprained his MCL, was originally thought to be ready to go by week two or three, but Coach Freeze said he wasn’t sure on his timetable at this point. Corner Daijahn Anthony suffered a meniscus injury and is still not quite ready, according to Freeze.

Other than those three, Liberty is hopeful to have everybody ready to play against Campbell. Others that have missed significant time during camp includes corner Deon Biggins, running back Frank Boyd, defensive tackle Elijah James, safety Skyler Thomas, wide receiver Ahmad Jackson, and linebacker Aaron Pierre. Boyd and Pierre were the only two of that list not at practice Tuesday. Pierre was back at practice later in the week.

Flames in the NFL update

This summer, three former Flames were working out with NFL teams in training camp with hopes of making their final 53-man roster. Antonio Gandy-Golden was with Washington, Jessie Lemonier with the Chargers, and Elijah Benton with the Browns. Unfortunately, all three were cut ahead of the 53-man deadline earlier this week. AGG was signed to Washington’s practice squad while Lemonier landed on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. Benton has not yet surfaced anywhere.