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.

2014 Football Prospect: QB Gray Baker

Gray Baker

Richlands, VA
Richlands High School
QB
6'3" 190 lbs
4.68 - 40
Class of 2014

Baker was invited to and attended Liberty's Junior Day during the 2013 Spring Game. He has received interest from Richmond as well. Through 7 games played last season, Baker threw for 1,497 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. His season was cut short due to an ACL tear.

 

 

2014 Basketball Prospect: SG Matthew Fisher-Davis

Matthew Fisher-Davis
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte Christian School
Shooting Guard
6'4" 175 lbs
Class of 2014

Matthew Fisher-Davis holds offers from Liberty, Gardner-Webb, & Mercer. Northern Kentucky and Elon have been showing him interest recently. According to his MaxPreps profile, he averaged 17.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game this past season.  He is a shooter as he shot nearly 40% on 3-pointers over the past 2 years. Matthew's sister is on Liberty's women's basketball team, Jaymee Fisher-Davis. Both of his parents earned basketball scholarships to UNC-Wilmington.

You may be familiar with another recent Charlotte Christian guard who came to Liberty, and Matthew's twitter profile states "@sydelcurry is my lady." Sydel Curry, another of Dell's offspring, has signed to play volleyball with Elon beginning this Fall.

2014 G Matthew Fisher-Davis of Charlotte Christian & Charlotte Nets has offers from Liberty & Mercer after strong spring.
— Justin Byerly (@Justinbyerly) May 15, 2013

Charlotte Observer Article on Matthew

Big South Baseball Tournament Preview

The 2013 Big South Baseball Championship gets underway tomorrow morning at 9:30. All games will be played inside of Liberty's brand new on campus stadium. Coastal Carolina, this year's #2 seed, has won the Big South Baseball Championship the past 6 seasons and 10 out of the past 12.

#1 Campbell
#2 Coastal Carolina
#3 High Point
#4 Radford
#5 Liberty
#6 Gardner-Webb
#7 Longwood
#8 Charleston Southern

Tuesday, May 21
Game 1: #2 Coastal Carolina vs #7 Longwood, 9:30 AM
Game 2: #3 High Point vs #6 Gardner-Webb, 45 minutes after Game 1
Game 3: #1 Campbell vs #8 Charleston Southern, 4:30 PM
Game 4: #4 Radford vs #5 Liberty, 45 minutes after Game 3

Wednesday, May 22
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2, 9:30 AM
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4, 45 minutes after Game 5
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2, 4:30 PM
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4, 45 minutes after Game 7

Thursday, May 23
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs Loser Game 7, 3:00 PM
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs Loser Game 8, 45 minutes after Game 9

Friday, May 24
Game 11: Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 9, 10:00 AM
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 10, 45 minutes after Game 11
Game 13: if necessary, 5:00 PM
Game 14: if necessary, 45 minutes after Game 13

Saturday, May 25
Championship 4:00 PM ESPN3

2013 Women's Basketball Commit: Tesha Hanson

UPDATE: Hanson has signed with the Lady Flames.

The Lady Flames have picked up a commitment from Tesha Hanson. Hanson is from Tampa, Florida where she attended Seffner Christian. Hanson is 5'10" and averaged 17.3 points per game her senior season. She helped guide Seffner Christian to the State Final Four twice in the past three seasons.

She is the daughter of Reggie Hanson, the former basketball player, who played at Kentucky and with the Boston Celtics. He was recently an assistant for the men's basketball team at the University of South Florida.

Baseball Weekly Roundup 5/20/13

Week in Review:
5/14 - L, 13-4 JMU
5/16 - L, 6-3 Radford
5/17 - W, 3-1 Radford
5/18 - W, 2-1 Radford

The Flames wrapped up their regular season by taking 2 of 3 from Radford. Liberty finished the season 29-26 overall and 13-11 in conference play.

Player of the Week:

Photo Courtesy: Liberty.edu

Pitcher Brooks Roy
The senior starter went 7 innings giving up just 1 run on 5 hits while recording 4 strikeouts in Friday's win over Radford. The win clinched a spot in the Big South Tournament for the Flames. Roy is 7-5 on the season.

Next Up:
The Flames have concluded their regular season and now look forward to the Big South Tournament which begins on Tuesday. All games will be played inside of Liberty's new stadium. The Flames are the #5 seed and will face #4 Radford Tuesday at approximately 8PM.

Be sure to stay tuned to LibertyFlamesNation.com and be sure to follow us on twitter @Flames_Nation to keep up with the Big South Tournament this week.

2014 Football Prospect: LB Justin Hughes

Justin Hughes
Tucker, Georgia
Tucker High School
LB
6'1" 206 lbs
Class of 2014

Rivals reports Hughes has offers from Liberty, Buffalo, Furman, Jacksonville State, and TCU, and ranks him as a 2 star prospect.