We continue our position previews today with a look at Liberty’s wide receivers.
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The Flames are looking for increased production at the wide receiver group. Behind returners Jamari Person and Darius Copeland, as well as incoming transfer Makai Jackson, wide receiver coach Tony Washington believes he has his top three guys identified. He’s focusing throughout camp to continue to develop depth while those three provide leadership as the team looks to replace seven of its top eight pass catchers from a season ago.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “”We’ve been doing a really good job this camp. A lot of young guys, a lot of unproven guys, there’s a lot of guys who are hungry. Excited about the mentality they have taken into camp. We’ve got some older guys with Jamari Person and Makai Jackson and Darius Copeland. Those have kind of been the three older guys leading this group so far through camp. We’ve had some young guys play well and just continue battling. I think we are in a good spot knowing what we will have this year, as far as guys who have played and have that experience, but it’s really going to be the next guys. You want to roll with at least a good 6-7 guys you feel comfortable with on Saturdays. Who are going to be the next guys?”
Frontrunners
2 Makai Jackson 5th Year 6’0″ 200
Jackson transferred to Indiana for the 2025 season but did not see significant playing time early in the season and left the program to redshirt and maintain his final year of eligibility. Jackson played in four games for the Hoosiers last season, who went on to win the national championship, where he caught 3 passes for 15 yards while playing 51 total snaps. He did suffer through some injuries during the preseason which may have hampered his ability to rise up the depth chart for Indiana. Prior to his time at Indiana, Jackson spent two years at Appalachian State where he had 73 catches for 1,163 yards, and 7 seven touchdowns, while also rushing 5 times for 90 yards and a score. In his final year with the Mountaineers in 2024, Jackson had 46 catches for 745 yards and 5 touchdowns. In 2022, Jackson was at the FCS level with Saint Francis. That season he recorded 85 catches for 991 yards and 9 touchdowns. He added 13 rushes for 44 yards and 3 kick returns for 90 yards and a touchdown. He has quickly emerged as a leader and one of the team’s top receivers as he looks to have a strong season and perhaps be Liberty’s leading target this fall.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “He gives us more explosion. He’s got speed. He’s got really good hands. He’s a really good route-runner. I think he provides that different level explosion that we had with Donte last year, not saying he’s as fast as a Donte Lee. He can be the same type of deep threat. He’s a three-level receiver, that’s what we talk about a lot – being able to go deep, have the intermediate and the quick game. He has all three levels. He’s been very good for us. He was very productive the last time he played at the G5 level, didn’t have the same success at Indiana, but really glad to have him and glad to see what he’s doing right now.”
3 Jamari Person SR 6’1″ 200
The only returner with any significant playing experience for the Flames at receiver is Jamari Person. The former Colorado State transfer will be expected to step into a huge role, even increasing from his production last year when he finished second on the team with 28 receptions for 315 yards. Person is a veteran receiver, having played in 13 games over two seasons for Colorado State, finishing his second year there with 36 catches for 386 yards. One area of improvement needed for Person is his ability to find the end zone as he has just one touchdown in his collegiate career.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “The biggest thing we talk about with Jamari is being more explosive. We have guys in the room that I think can really run. Jamari, he’s a really good player, really great hands, really great route-runner. Maybe he doesn’t have some of the speed some of the other guys have but he has the burst. He has that 0-60 burst. Really utilizing that early on in the route, winning off the line and being able to hold people off once you get a step. I think he’s done a good job being more explosive this season. He’s another one of those guys I think can have a big year. He’s been a leader for us vocally. He’s had the guys over. He’s making sure guys are getting jugs. He’s really taking those young guys under his wing. When you talk about leadership and you’re talking about a guy who does everything right, that’s Jamari. I think he’s going to have a big year this year.”
1 Darius Copeland SR 6’0″ 195
Darius Copeland was a big part of Liberty’s offensive plans two years ago before he was lost to injury. In the first three games of the 2024 season, Copeland had 5 receptions for 38 yards. The shifty playmaker looked like he was going to be the team’s next great slot receiver, but he did not record any receptions and only had 1 rushing attempt for a loss of one yard in 10 games played in 2025. Now, he is stepping into a big role once again on the field for the Flames.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “The sky is the limit for DC. Since he stepped foot on campus, he’s been really good. Obviously a kid, where I think in a normal year we wouldn’t have been able to recruit. Had a lot of stuff going on in high school. Hurt his ACL in high school. We got him really late when he got here. We signed him I think in like May, right before they reported. Freshman year was recovering. Came back as a redshirt-freshman, started a few games for us while Reese (Smith) had injuries. Then, he got hurt. I think he just got lost in the shuffle a little bit because we had so many older guys (last year). As a young guy trying to battle back it was just tough. I think right now he has put himself with a good foothold on his position. I think he’s done what he needs to do. I’m excited to see what kind of year he’s going to have.”
Competition
10 Jon Monteiro JR 6’2″ 200
Monteiro has played in 9 games during his career but has just one reception to his name, a 40-yard haul last season. He has been turning heads throughout camp and is pushing to be included among the top three receivers.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “When you talk about Donte Lee and the kind of speed and the kind of explosiveness that he had last year, that’s Jon. Jon has that same ability. He is probably very similar in his path to where Donte was at this point of his career. I could see him, in the right situation, have a really good year. He’s been really good for us.”
9 Bryce Randolph SO 5’11” 180
Randolph played in 1 game last season and had one catch for 18 yards. Now, in his second season, Randolph is looking to make a leap and be a more consistent producer on the field for the Flames. He is right in the mix fighting for playing time and was mentioned alongside Monteiro as the next two pushing the current starters.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington on the four freshmen and redshirt-freshmen – “Another one that has been a good surprise for us Bryce Randolph and his consistency. He’s been really good in the red zone, a 1-on-1 threat, made a lot of tough catches. He’s been a big surprise for us.”
12 Rashawn Cunningham JR 6’2″ 205
An FCS freshman All-American and first-team all-conference performer last season, Cunningham comes to Liberty after a big year at Charleston Southern with 34 receptions for 628 yards, and 7 touchdowns. As a redshirt-freshman, Cunningham was also a Jerry Rice Award finalist, the FCS level version of the Heisman Trophy. He has a little bit more playing experience than Monteiro and Randolph and is pushing them for snaps.
8 Nasir Newkirk SO 6’2″ 185
Newkirk played in one game as a true freshman last year and is pushing to be included among those that deserve playing time each and every week.
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington on Monteiro, Randolph, Cunningham, and Newkirk – “Those four guys have really been competing hard. We’re going to need probably six guys, at minimum, to be able to go in there and rotate and play to get through a whole season. It’s finding who those guys are going to be. Those are the guys who have really stuck out to me through camp.”
Depth
19 Refeno Vangates SR 5’11” 195
Vangates is originally from Hialeah, Florida and began his collegiate career at NAIA Keiser University. He had 61 catches for 984 yards and 11 touchdowns in 25 games over two seasons at Keiser, helping them to the 2024 NAIA national runner-up finish with a 12-1 record. He then transferred to the FCS level at NC Central for the 2025 season. Vangates played in 11 games in 2025, finishing with 26 receptions for 352 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He also had 16 kick returns for 390 yards, averaging 24.4 yards per kick return including a 92-yard kick return for touchdown against Morgan State.
16 Eric Smith JR 5’9″ 170
Smith played in 6 games as a true freshman last year, he did not record a reception but had 6 rushes for 22 yards as he was used in the option run game.
81 Jakobe DeJesus FR 6’2″ 190
Liberty Wide Receiver Coach Tony Washington – “He has made some plays. He’s still a ways away, but the talent is there.”
27 Clayton Shepler SR 5’11” 180
28 Andrew Ryman JR 5’10” 165
89 Nathanael Dates SO 5’9″ 165
