SHEDRO LOUIS’ FATHER PASSES AWAY UNEXPECTEDLY

Liberty running back Shedro Louis’ father passed away unexpectedly Wednesday night. He’s likely to miss Saturday’s game at Arkansas to be with his family.

“Shedro’s father passed away Wednesday night,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said. “That was a shock to him, he probably won’t make the trip, I totally understand that.”

Louis is second on the team with 79 rushes for 333 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also has 5 receptions for 60 yards. If he doesn’t play, the Flames will rely on starting running back Dae Dae Hunter and we could also see TJ Green and Malik Caper as part of the offensive game plan.

“We had a good package for him,” Freeze said of Louis. “I felt like, obviously, if he doesn’t make the trip, part of your plan was wasted, but totally understand that if he chooses to go be with his family.”

Green was the team’s top running back last year, but he has been slowed by an injury from training camp, having only played in two games. He’s carried the ball just 8 times for 43 yards so far this season.

“TJ is ready to play, that’s good,” said Freeze. “We have him back. For sure, if Shedro doesn’t make the trip that certainly will help us.”

LIBERTY QUICKLY BECOMING A TOP G5 PROGRAM

Ever since Hugh Freeze has been head coach at Liberty, he has not been shy about his goal of wanting to build the Flames into one of the top Group of Five programs in the country. Under Freeze, Liberty has grown to becoming one of those top G5 programs and has put together a strong resume to be included at the top of the list.

“I’ve made no bones about it since I came here I thought our goals should be one of the top G5 programs in the country,” Freeze said at his press conference earlier this week. “We’re 3-0 in bowl games, been in the top 25 our share of times, had a 10-win season, headed to our fourth straight bowl, are sitting in the top 25 now, I guess it would be arguably you could say that we’re close to being there. Certainly with the resources that the administration is willing to provide to our staff and our players and our facilities and everything, I’m not going to back track on that. I think that’s a reasonable goal.”

SEVERAL COACHING CONNECTIONS SATURDAY

Saturday’s game will feature several coaching connections. Hugh Freeze and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman coached against each other the final four years that Freeze was head coach at Ole Miss. Pittman was an assistant with the Razorbacks during this time. He was also the OL coach at Georgia in 2016 when Freeze’s Ole Miss team beat the Bulldogs, 45-14, in Oxford, Mississippi.

Current Liberty DB coach Darius Eubanks was a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2017, while current Liberty special teams coordinator Tanner Burns spent five seasons as quality control for special teams at Arkansas prior to joining the Flames.

Current Arkansas CB Coach Dominique Bowman was a senior on Freeze’s first team as head coach at Lambuth in 2008.

Current Arkansas OL Coach Cody Kennedy was on West Georgia’s coaching staff in 2014, 2016, and 2017 alongside current Liberty LB Coach and co-defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge. Kennedy also coached alongside current Liberty co-defensive coordinator Jack Curtis at Tulane in 2019 and 2020.

Freeze has also become good friends with Arkansas’ current defensive coordinator Barry Odom.

“He was really good friends with Matt Luke who was my OLine coach at Ole Miss and a dear friend,” Freeze said of how he got to know Odom. “He was the DC at Memphis, we played them both years and I said I like this guy, I like the way his kids play. Matt introduced him to me after one of the games and we just started developing a relationship. Then he went to Missouri, I think it’s fair to say he would bounce things off me from time to time. I like what he thinks about coaching. I like his philosophy, his core values, just think a lot of him.”

INJURY REPORT

The bye week has allowed Liberty to get as close to full strength as they have been in several weeks. Defensive end TreShaun Clark is expected to play this week after missing the previous few games.

At receiver, the Flames are still thin but are getting closer to full strength. CJ Yarbrough could be back after suffering a concussion in the game against Gardner-Webb that forced him to miss the BYU game. Caleb Snead has been out for several weeks with a lower leg injury. He was a late scratch prior to the BYU game but is hopeful to be able to go against Arkansas. Jaivian Lofton is in a similar boat as Yarbrough as he was a late scratch against BYU, but with an extra week he has a chance to play this week.

“Receiver, we are still thin, don’t know exactly how everybody will come a long this week getting ready,” Freeze said on Monday. “We will piece it together like we have. We’ve really been beat up at that spot this year. I hope Caleb can go, I hope Yarbrough can go, that would really help us add some quality depth to that spot.”

WR Brody Brumm and LB Jerome Jolly could also both return this week after missing several games. Brumm and Jolly are key special teams pieces for the Flames and could also help provide depth at their given position.

Others who have been out in recent games and are not expected to play this weekend include WR Ed Ogle, TE Brayden Monday, DL Marquise Brunson, and LB Kaci Seegars.