talbertLiberty on 3-game win streak
The Flames have now won 3 straight and 5 of 7 after knocking off High Point and Gardner-Webb this week. The Panthers were the preseason pick to win the Big South, and even after the loss are still tied for first place in the Big South at 7-3. Gardner-Webb has now lost 4 straight games after starting conference play at 5-1. The Runnin’ Bulldogs and Flames are now tied for 6th place at 5-5 in Big South play. Liberty is 7-1 this season when holding its opponents to 62 points or less. LU is 1-14 when allowing its opponents to score 63 points or more, the only win came this week against High Point when the Flames won 69-67. After losing to UNC-Asheville on January 2nd, Liberty was ranked #344 according to KenPom. Since then, the Flames have gone 5-2 and risen to #295.

Gill hires Downing
As we mentioned on twitter and in this space two weeks ago, Liberty running backs coach Jamaal Fobbs left to take the same position at Tulane. Coach Gill announced his replacement this week in Scott Downing who will be Liberty’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator. Downing spent the 2015 seasona s the special teams coordinator for the CFL Toronto Argonauts. Prior to that he spent 4 years at Tulsa as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator and 5 years as a head coach at Northern Colorado. Downing has also spent 5 years at Nebraska, 6 years at Purdue, and 10 years at Wyoming. Former offensive coordinator Aaron Stamn, who was named special teams coordinator following the 2015 season, now remains as tight ends and fullbacks coach.

Woodrum, Lunsford invited to NFL Combine, All-Star Bowl performance update
Josh Woodrum and John Lunsford have been invited to the NFL Combine where they will compete with more than 300 prospects in front of top executives, coaching staffs, player personnel departments, and medical personnel from all 32 NFL teams. The NFL Scouting Combine will be held in Indianapolis from February 23-29.  Woodrum also played in the NFLPA Bowl last Saturday where he finished the game 3/3 passing for 45 yards and 2 lost fumbles.  Meanwhile, John Lunsford played in the East-West Shrine game, where he connected on his only field goal attempt of the game, a 31-yarder. He finished the game with 2 touchbacks on his 3 kickoffs, but he did miss his one extra point attempt.

Football recruiting update
We are in the final countdown to signing day 2016 on Wednesday. So, be sure to stay update with all the latest by following @Flames_Nation on twitter and reading our frequent updates on the site.

Basketball commits update

  • Brock Gardner had a huge scoring performance Tuesday night, as he went for 38 points on 17/22 shooting from the field. He just missed out on his 6th straight double-double, finishing with 8 rebounds. He scored his 2,000th career point in a win Thursday night where he had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 blocks.
  • Signee Xzavier Barmore had 22 points and 10 assists in a win this week. The point guard from South Carolina is averaging 22 points, 5.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.6 steals per game this season.
  • Jay Barber scored 21 points in a win for LCA Thursday night over GW Danville.

Women’s basketball update
The Lady Flames picked up wins this week over Longwood and Gardner-Webb to move to 8-2 in Big South play. Liberty is tied for first place with UNC-Asheville.

Baseball picked to finish 3rd in Big South
Liberty’s baseball team was picked to finish 3rd in the Big South preseason poll released on Thursday. The Flames received 99 votes and were edged by preseason favorite Coastal Carolina and Winthrop. Liberty opens its 2016 season with a three-game series at South Florida, Feb. 19-21 in Tampa, Fla. The Flames are scheduled to begin their 29-game home schedule at Liberty Baseball Stadium with a three-game series against UConn on March 4-6.

FlameFans thread of the week
This week’s FlameFans thread of the week is 2016 election as we discuss Jerry Jr’s endorsement of Donald Trump.