Our position previews roll on as we look at the wide receivers today.
Be sure to go back and check our previous previews, if you have missed any:
Defensive Line
Linebackers
Corners
Safeties
Special Teams
Running Backs
Offensive Line
Tight Ends
Gone is Antonio Gandy-Golden as he is currently in camp with Washington after being drafted in the 4th round of the NFL draft. The Flames will have to try to replace his three consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, and it will have to be done by committee.
“I have been pleased with Noah (Frith) and him stepping up from a leadership point,” wide receivers coach Maurice Harris said. “CJ (Yarbrough) stepping up from a leadership point, DJ Stubbs stepping up from a leadership point. I do believe those three, along with some guys that we have brought in, have really stepped it up. Particularly, Jaivian Lofton, he’s going to be pretty good for us. CJ Daniels is going to be pretty good for us. With those guys ocming in and guys like Brody Brumm getting better, that creates healthy competition within our room.”
“I don’t think we have anyone right now that is as talented as AGG was for us, but we have constant competition every single day where a guy can’t just come in and rest on his laurels He has to play and compete every single play, every singe snap, in order to hold his spot.”
Frontrunners
X WR 13 CJ Yarbrough R-FR 6’3″ 205
Yarbrough will be one of the first names Liberty turns to in looking to close that vacancy left by Gandy-Golden’s departure. CJ played in 4 games last season to preserve his year of eligibility and he had 6 receptions for 124 yards during his time on the field. Coach Freeze spoke very highly of him as the season wore on, even saying he had star potential. Yarbrough has been fighting through a Jones fracture to his right foot during camp, but the coaching staff says he will be ready to go against Western Kentucky.
H WR 5 DJ Stubbs SR 5’9″ 185
It’s no question that Stubbs is the most experienced wide receiver in Liberty’s room as he has been a significant part of Liberty’s offense throughout his first three seasons on the field. For each of the past two seasons, he’s ranked second on the team (behind AGG) in receiving, including last season’s 32 receptions for 401 yards and 3 touchdowns. Playing in the slot, it’s unlikely Stubbs will see a significant increase in targets due to AGG’s absence, especially considering there are a couple freshmen nipping at his heels for playing time.
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “DJ has played a lot of football, so there’s not a whole lot he hasn’t seen. So, he can navigate whatever is going on out there on the field, adjust, and also he can teach those two younger guys how to adjust as well, the Demario Douglas’ and CJ Daniels’ of the world.”
Z WR 81 Noah Frith R-SO 6’4″ 195
Like Yarbrough, Frith’s role is expected to increase significantly in 2020. He had a solid redshirt-freshman campaign with 15 receptions for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. He will see a pronounced increase in targets this year.
Competition
X WR 2 Kevin Shaa R-SR 5’11” 165
Shaa was a surprise in 2019 with 26 receptions for 346 yards and 2 touchdowns. The JUCO transfer was redshirted in 2018, and he has split his time in the slot and on the outside. He will continue to serve in that dual role in 2020 and can see spot starts if anyone is injured.
H WR 3 Demario Douglas R-FR 5’8″ 165
Douglas is in the same class as Yarbrough, and if it wasn’t for Stubbs’ experience in front of him, he would be another name we would be mentioning in the same breath as we are with CJ’s. Douglas showed his potential in his 4 games on the field before redshirting last season, catching 9 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown. The coaching staff will make sure the dynamic athlete has his fair share of opportunities as he’s a threat to take the ball the distance anytime he touches it.
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “Demario has a very unique skillset. I have yet to see the first guy get him down. Over and over he has proven that he can make the first guy miss. With Shaa, he’s one of our fastest receivers. What he brings to the table, now you can stretch the guys vertically from the slot. So, I’m excited about what he brings to the table.”
Z WR 11 Jaivian Lofton JR 6’2″ 205
It’s been mentioned before, but Lofton was at the top of Liberty’s recruiting board for this past class. The JUCO wide receiver is pushing for a starting spot on the outside and will have his opportunities on the field this fall.
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris- “One thing about Jaivian, he can run. He and Shaa will probably be our fastest outside guys. He can run. Being a Junior College kid, he’s a little bit more mature than some of our freshmen. He understands that he doesn’t have the time that some of our freshmen have, so he’s in the meeting room, he’s asking questions, he’s going over the script prior to us practicing, going through it after us getting through practicing. He’s preparing himself a little differently than some of our freshmen right now. I’ve been pleased with him, his progression. He’s a very mature kid.”
X WR 80 Brody Brumm R-JR 6’0″ 200
Brumm was an afterthought in the wide receiver room coming into this season, but during the offseason he has improved enough to earn a scholarship and is fighting to be in the rotation at receiver this season.
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “Brody is a very technical guy. He understands his limitations. He’s not as fast as a lot of the other guys, but what he is able to do is use good technique from all the drills that we do. He really is our best technician. We talk all the time about if we want to use drill tape to go show other coaches, we’re going to use (Brody’s) drill tape because he’s very technical. He’s a great kid. He works hard. He’s a great leader in our room and he can catch the football. We’ve been very pleased with Brody ever since we’ve been here, but ever since the spring, that’s when we started to see him starting to take the next step to compete with those outside guys, not just traveling but some valuable reps on the field.”
H WR 4 CJ Daniels FR 6’1″ 195
The true freshman might not have been the highest rated recruit on Liberty’s board, but he quickly made a name for himself and will see the playing field this fall in the slot.
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “He brings something different to the table, he’s taller than those (other guys in the slot). He’s a bigger body guy where we may have had trouble with catching some of those 50/50 balls, with a bigger body guy, he can just outbody those guys. I’m trying to think who has better hands than CJ Daniels right now. He can catch the football anywhere you put it. We call him ‘Sticky’ around here. He can catch the football. Right now, he’s still learning the offense, learning how we do things, but we like what we’ve seen out of him so far.”
WR 17 Khaleb Coleman R-JR 6’2″ 215
Coleman fought through injuries most of last season, limiting his production on the field. Unfortunately, he’s suffered another shoulder injury during camp. No word yet as to the severity.
Depth
WR 18 Ahmad Jackson FR 6’1″ 210
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “He’s a big body kid that runs fast enough to get open. He’s still getting adjusted to how we do things. I think that’s been the biggest adjustment, the speed of the game. It’s a little bit faster than what (the freshmen) are used to. He’s a big physical kid, he can catch the football.”
WR Treon Sibley R-FR 6’0″ 210
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “Sibley started out last spring with us in the receiver room and then he went to running back and then he came back. I see him more outside (at receiver), but as he learns what we’re doing, I think he can play some inside for us One thing about Sibley, Sibley, Shaa, and Jaivian, those guys can run. Sibley is a little more compact than those other guys. Those other two guys are probably a little more elusive than Sibley is, but Sibley, he can knock the top off the defense. He can really run, and he’s been doing well from a knowledge standpoint, getting better at his technique and he can catch the football.”
WR 82 D’Wayne Crawford R-FR 5’6″ 175
Wide receivers coach Maurice Harris – “He does have a unique skillset – in and out of breaks, great shifty individual. He’s a little banged up right now, so he hasn’t had the opportunity to practice like some of those other guys have, but that’s another guy that can bring some quality depth once he gets back healthy.”
