Backs Against the Wall

Justin Sizemore's home run helped Liberty advance to today's semifinals

Since the Flames' opening game loss to Radford on Tuesday, they have had their backs against the wall facing elimination with one more loss. On Wednesday, they were able to take the lead in the bottom of the 8th before beating Charleston Southern 2-1. On Thursday, the Flames trailed Radford 2-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth before Justin Sizemore's two-run home run. The Flames won 3-2.

Now the Flames must face the hurdle that they have yet to overcome, Coastal Carolina. Today's game is scheduled for 1pm, and Liberty must beat the Chanticleers twice in order to advance to Saturday's Championship. The Flames have lost 20 consecutive games to the Chanticleers dating back to the 2008 Big South Tournament. Coastal has ended Liberty's season 3 times during that stretch. Coastal has won the Big South Baseball Championship 6 consecutive seasons and 10 of the past 12. Not to mention their current 17 game Big South Tournament win streak.

Talk about having your back against the wall.

2014 Football Prospect: ATH Nick Tubbs

Nick Tubbs
Huntington, West VA
Huntington High School
Athlete
6'0" 165 lbs
Class of 2014

Tubbs has received interest from Liberty, Coastal Carolina, JMU, Marshall, VMI, West Virginia, and others. He could end up as a wide receiver or running back at the DI level.

97 Days to Kickoff!

97 days until kickoff!

#97 is Jibrille Fewell. The 6'0" 300lb defensive tackle is a senior. He came to Liberty directly from Butte College and was previously at Buffalo under Coach Gill. Fewell is expected to be a starter on the defensive line, and improve on his 21 tackle and 1.5 tackle for a loss stat line from 2012.

2014 Football Prospect: WR David Carlisle

David Carlisle
Ijamsville, Maryland
Oakdale High School
WR
6'3" 195 lbs
Class of 2014

Rivals is reporting numerous schools who have expressed interest in Carlisle including Liberty, Lehigh, Maine, Monmouth, Towson, Villanova, and William & Mary.

98 Days to Kickoff!

We're now 98 days away from kickoff at Kent State on Thursday, August 29th, and #98 is Roger Bryan. Bryan is a walk-on defensive lineman from Columbia, Maryland. The 6'1" 270lb freshman comes to Liberty from Hammond High School.

Sun Belt Staying at 11 Teams

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson confirmed today that the conference will "more than likely" be staying at 11 football playing teams, putting to bed the possibility of Liberty possibly joining for the 2014 season. Benson held a press conference following the conclusion of the Sun Belt's spring meetings in Destin, Florida. Benson said "at this time there will be no further additions to the Sun Belt Conference," and that there is "no urgency to add teams" at this point in time.

Of course, this could all change with further depletion of Sun Belt teams, but perhaps the best thing for FlamesNation to do now is to forget about the Sun Belt. They obviously don't want Liberty.

Grant Jones Back on Team

As we had heard, Grant Jones is back on the football team:

@libertyfootball Grant Jones just told me that he is back with the team. He said he had differences w OL coach Dennis Wagner @lcabulldogs
— Justin Feldkamp (@JustinABC13) May 22, 2013

@libertyfootball Grant Jones said he has built a better relationship with the coaching staff and he and team are better off now.
— Justin Feldkamp (@JustinABC13) May 22, 2013

Jones redshirted in 2012 after appearing in just 8 games as a true freshman in 2011. He came to Liberty from LCA, and is one of the highest rated football recruits the Flames have ever signed. He was rated by the Roanoke Times as the #33 prospect in the state coming out of high school. Both Rivals and ESPN had Grant as a 3 star, and Rivals had him with offers from Duke, East Carolina, Marshall, and Stanford.

Could Liberty Be Headed to the Sun Belt Today?

As the Sun Belt Conference's spring meetings wrap up today, could they announce the addition of Liberty as the 12th football-playing member in the league?

According to one report, if it happens for the 2014 season expect an announcement today. Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson said prior to the meetings beginning on Sunday, that he expects "any announcement involving Sun Belt membership would happen Wednesday when the meetings wrap up."

The Sun Belt needs to fill a vacancy left by Western Kentucky who is going to the Conference USA to fulfill its plans for two six-team divisions and a league championship game for 2014.

The Sun Belt & Commissioner Benson are scheduled for a 12:30 media teleconference today, but don't get your hopes up.

















 

                     

99 days to Kickoff!

Just 99 days until Liberty takes the field against Kent State on August 29th! Yeah... that still seems like a long ways from now. To help get through the summer doldrums we'll countdown the days leading up to kickoff with a player snapshot.

Today is #99 Cory Freeman. Cory is a redshirt-senior defensive lineman, 3-year starter, and team captain. Last season he led the team in quarterback hurries with 5. The 6'4" 265lb native of Raeford, North Carolina looks to become an anchor on the defensive line for his final season in a Liberty uniform.

Check back tomorrow for #98!

VMI to the SoCon, What of the Big South?

Big South Commissioner Kyle Kallander (Right)

As VMI head basketball coach Duggar Baucom stated at the Roanoke Sports Club, the Keydets are all but gone to the Southern Conference. While Liberty wanders in the wilderness waiting for an FBS invitation, the Flames are still in the Big South. With VMI's departure coming on the heels of Stony Brook's jump to the CAA, where does this leave the Big South?

In order to keep the auto-bid to the FCS playoffs the Big South currently has, the conference must maintain a minimum of 6 football playing teams. In 2013, the conference will have exactly 6 (Liberty, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, VMI, Presbyterian, and Charleston Southern). The conference did announce earlier this year the addition of Monmouth for the 2014 football season. Now with VMI set to be in the SoCon for the 2014 season, the Big South is back at 6.

With both Liberty and Coastal having a wandering eye, it seems it's just a matter of time before that number falls below 6. Who else can be added? Not much other than start-ups and Division II programs like Kennesaw State and West Georgia. Not too exciting.

For our sake, let's hope Liberty's out of the Big South prior to its demise.