Tag: liberty

Jaguars reportedly hiring Auburn’s Jeremy Garrett as DL coach

The Jaguars are reportedly hiring Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly pulling from the collegiate ranks to fill their defensive line coach vacancy. According to 247Sports, the Jaguars have tabbed Auburn coach Jeremy Garrett to fill the position.

Garrett isn’t completely new to the NFL after spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons as an assistant defensive line coach with the Cleveland Browns. He joined Liberty in 2022 as defensive line coach and then took the same position at Auburn in 2023.

During his only season with the Tigers, the team finished with 31 sacks (42nd most in the country) and allowed 4.35 yards per rush attempt (85th best). While those numbers aren’t much special, they were an improvement from the 2022 season when the team finished 78th and 105th in those stats, respectively.

In his one year at Liberty, the team finished first in the nation in tackles for loss (121) and was third in sacks (45).

The Jaguars’ defensive line was stout against the run for much of the 2023 season, but struggled late in the year. Three of Jacksonville’s last six opponents racked up more than 150 rushing yards, including the Tennessee Titans in Week 18.

Jacksonville also struggled to find much pass rush from the interior. Roy Robertson-Harris recorded 3.5 sacks and Adam Gotsis notched one.

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Lady Vols defeat Liberty for third consecutive victory

Lady Vols defeat Liberty for third consecutive victory.

Tennessee (7-5) defeated Liberty (5-10), 90-55, Sunday at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Lady Vols led, 43-24, at halftime. 2,155. Sunday’s win is Tennessee’s third consecutive.

Rickea Jackson recorded 21 points and seven rebounds for Tennessee. She was one of four Lady Vol players to score 10-plus points.

Tess Darby finished with 18 points and made a career-high six 3-point field goals in the contest. Kaiya Wynn scored a career-high 12 points, while recording seven assists and four rebounds. Karoline Striplin scored 10 points and Tamari Key finished with five points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Emma Hess led the Flames with 12 points, while Asia Boone scored 11 points.

Alabama basketball rolls Liberty 101-56 to finish out-of-conference schedule

Alabama basketball smokes Liberty 101-56

Since taking over as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Nate Oats has prioritized playing the most challenging out-of-conference schedule possible. In 2022, the Tide took on teams like Michigan State, UConn, North Carolina, Houston, Memphis and Gonzaga among others. The schedule has been just as difficult in 2023 having already played Ohio State, Oregon, Clemson, Purdue, Creighton and Arizona.

The Tide concluded out-of-conference play today against the 10-3 Liberty Flames in the C.M. Newton Classic in Tuscaloosa. Alabama was dominant all day long as they picked up their biggest resume boost of the season with an emphatic 101-56 victory. The Flames will be dancing in March, so not a bad day for Oats to pick up his 100th career win with the program.

Alabama is shooting lights out as they have hit 33 three-pointers over the last two games. Latrell Wrightsell was the man leading the charge today as he was 5/7 from beyond the arc. Coming off the bench, Wrightsell led all Alabama scorers with 19 points while Aaron Estrada exploded for 13 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

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Bucky Irving to play in the Fiesta Bowl

Head coach Dan Lanning announced RB Bucky Irving will play in the Fiesta Bowl despite declaring for the NFL draft.

With all of the transfer portal and NFL declaration news, some good, some bad, the Oregon Ducks football team got some good news on this front Friday afternoon.

In his first press conference during bowl prep, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning announced running back Bucky Irving was practicing and will play in the Fiesta Bowl against Liberty on New Year’s Day.

It was just earlier this week that Irving announced on Instagram that he was declaring for the NFL draft. Seemingly those plans have been postponed until the bowl game is over.

It’s good news for the Ducks as they were going to be down three tailbacks with Irving, Noah Whittington out with an injury and Dante Dowdell entering the transfer portal. Jordan James was going to be the only experienced tailback for the bowl, but having Irving also in the backfield will lighten the load for quarterback Bo Nix.

Irving is Oregon’s leading rusher with 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Along with Irving, it looks as if defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus will not opt out of the bowl game. Lanning said his nose tackle is practicing with the team.

In today’s environment, every player you can retain for the bowl game the better and it sounds like Oregon just kept two really big pieces to their 2023 puzzle.

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Alabama basketball announces details for 2023 matchup against Liberty University

Alabama basketball announces details for matchup with Liberty University

The Alabama Crimson Tide added another game to their 2023 men’s basketball schedule as they will take on Liberty University in the C.M. Newton Classic on Dec. 30, 2023, at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL. On top of playing a grueling SEC schedule, Nate Oats has made it a top priority to find competitive out-of-conference matchups as well.

Last season, Liberty went 27-9 and won the Conference USA regular season title before being upset by Kennesaw State in the conference tournament. The loss removed their automatic bid from the NCAA Tournament hopes and they wound up playing in the NIT. In the first round, they knocked off Villanova but ultimately came up short against Wisconsin in Round 2.

Alabama and Liberty actually met last season when the Tide defeated the Flames 95-59 in the second game of the year.

As of right now, the Tide already have matchups with Purdue, Clemson, Arizona, Ohio State and Creighton among others to make up one of the toughest schedules in the country.

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SEC coach says ‘special’ WR Demario Douglas could start for his team

SEC coach shuts down anyone questioning Demario Douglas’ talent over his school background.

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Rookie sixth-round draft pick Kayshon Boutte isn’t the only New England Patriots receiver with a chance to prove himself as one of the biggest steals in the 2023 NFL draft. Don’t sleep on the possibility of Demario Douglas, another sixth-round pick by New England, doing the same.

Douglas has mostly flown under the radar due to being undersized and coming from Liberty University.

But anyone with a true knowledge of Patriots history knows the team has done wonders with smart, undersized receivers that are reliable with great hands.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, who coached Douglas through his entire college tenure at Liberty, has some major praise for his former player.

“Y’all [the Patriots] have been great at moving those guys around and putting them in iso situations. I think that is his strength,” said Freeze, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “He could play for me right now at Auburn and start for us. He is the best, most quick-twitched kid at getting in and out of breaks that I’ve ever coached.

“He’s not the burner 4.27 guy [in the 40-yard dash], but his … short-area quickness and his hands are phenomenal. If you watch the way he rolls out of breaks, it’s pretty darn special.”

The fact that Freeze said Douglas could start at an SEC powerhouse school like Auburn is noteworthy. Douglas proved to be a high volume receiver for the Flames in his final season with a career-high 79 receptions for 993 yards and six touchdowns.

The Patriots have excelled at finding players with similar skill sets, like Julian Edelman, Wes Welker and Danny Amendola to fit a certain mold in the offense.

If anything, it means Douglas landed in the perfect spot to maximize his potential and opportunities as a young NFL receiver.

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Patriots rookie WR Demario Douglas led NCAA in this category

Don’t sleep on Demario Douglas’ potential as a future game-breaker for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots tested their luck on wide receivers in the later rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, and there’s one in particular that could have some high-end potential.

That’s Liberty receiver Demario Douglas.

Douglas had a successful statistical career at the collegiate level. He recorded 79 catches for 993 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. He has the ability to stretch the field, as he averaged at least 10 yards per reception in each of his four seasons with the Flames.

All told, he recorded 172 catches for 2,193 yards and 16 touchdowns in four years of college football.

Analytically, his skillset was one of the best in the entire NCAA. A new graphic put out Tuesday indicated he had the highest career grade among all draft eligible wide receivers, per Pro Football Focus.

Although Douglas was a later-round selection, he does have the potential to find his role on the roster with his speed and playmaking ability. He is a bit on the smaller side at 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, but his potential and speed make him worthy of keeping an eye on.

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Caleb Williams commits to Tennessee

Caleb Williams commits to Tennessee.

Linebacker Caleb Williams announced his opportunity to play for Tennessee on Friday.

“Excited and blessed to announce I have received the opportunity to play for my dream school Vol football as a PWO,” Williams announced.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Williams played at Liberty in 2022. He came to Liberty from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Great first college football season,” Williams announced in December. “Thank you to all of the coaches that pushed and poured into us every day.”

The Vols will kick off their 2023 season on Sept. 2 against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Josh Heupel has compiled an 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record in two seasons as the Vols’ head coach.

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Tigers hire linebackers coach from Hugh Freeze’s Liberty staff

Aldridge served as Liberty’s interim HC after Freeze left at the end of the regular season.

It may be national signing day, but that doesn’t mean that Auburn is only adding players to the team.

Coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is still putting together his staff on the Plains, and it looks as if he’s added one more member. Nathan King of 247Sports reported on Wednesday that the Tigers are adding coach Josh Aldridge as the team’s linebackers coach, who will come to Auburn from Freeze’s liberty staff.

Aldridge served as Liberty’s interim head coach for the Boca Raton Bowl when Freeze left for Auburn, overseeing a losing effort against Toledo 21-19. He served in a few different places, first coaching the defensive line from 2019-21 before serving as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the team during the fall season. While defensive coordinator duties

will fall to the newly-hired Ron Roberts, Aldridge will once again be by Freeze’s side in the linebackers coach position he’d been overseeing at Liberty in 2022.

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Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction Game Preview

Liberty vs Toledo game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday, December 20

Liberty vs Toledo prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, Tuesday, December 20

Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction Game Preview

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Liberty vs Toledo How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, December 20
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Liberty (8-4), Toledo (8-5)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

Liberty vs Toledo RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl 5 Things To Know

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– Liberty is in a transitional phase. It ended the regular season with a thud after starting 8-1, losing its last three games including an embarrassing 49-14 home whacking from New Mexico State.

Head coach Hugh Freeze bolted for Auburn, and now the program is waiting to get the former Coastal Carolina head man Jamey Chadwell’s era going. Josh Aldridge will be the interim head coach, there are plenty of great parts in place, and there’s still firepower.

– Toledo wasn’t perfect, it had a whole lot of turnover problems, and it struggled late in the regular season as it limped into the MAC Championship. One terrific defensive performance against Ohio later in a 17-7 win, and head coach Jason Candle has his second conference title in six season. Now …

– He and Toledo need to win a bowl game. Candle stepped in as an interim head man in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl, and Toledo pulled off the 32-17 win over Temple. That’s been it for the bowl fun going 0-4 since then including a 31-24 Bahamas loss to Middle Tennessee last year. The team was able to keep it close in three of the losses, but that’s not enough – winning this matters.

– Liberty has been perfect in the bowls. Hugh Freeze took the Flames to three straight bowls and it won all three, with last year’s LendingTree 56-20 win over Eastern Michigan the most dominant of the group. Again, this season’s bowl version is going through some changes, but the program knows how to get up for these.

– If nothing else, the Boca Raton bowls have put on some great offensive shows. They haven’t been all that close – none of the eight were decided by fewer than 15 points – but the winning side hung up 50 points or more four times and 32 or more in the other four.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27

Why Liberty Will Win The RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

The pass rush continues to be devastating.

The offense might have slipped late, and the team completely lost its focus, but it’s still bringing one of the nation’s most dangerous defensive fronts that leads the nation in tackles for loss and is fourth in sacks. That’s a huge problem for Toledo.

The Rocket offensive line isn’t awful in pass protection, but it allows close to seven tackles for loss per game. That’s a concern, and the bigger one is a case of the turnovers that almost crushed the end of the regular season.

Toledo didn’t turn it over in the MAC Championship win over Ohio, but before that it gave it away 16 times in the previous five games.

That’s all fine, but what’s the problem with Liberty? There were a whole lot of injures, but the passing game still managed to finish with 200 yards or more in ever game but a win over Akron, the rushing attack is good enough to get to 200, and …

Why Toledo Will Win The RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

Liberty has bigger turnover problems than Toledo.

The Rocket miscues came in a late flurry, but Liberty has cranked out a steady stream of screwups with two or more in nine of the 12 games. They haven’t always been lethal – the mistakes are baked into the cake – but the defense doesn’t come up with a ton of takeaways.

At the very least, Toledo probably won’t get hurt if it starts giving the ball away, especially if its secondary can come up with its usual pick or two.

Offensively, the Rockets need to run well. They have a good group to work into the rotation, QB Dequan Finn is dangerous no matter what he does, and the team is 5-0 when running for 225 yards or more.

What was Liberty’s biggest problem over the rough last stretch? The run defense went bye-bye – allowing almost 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in the last three games.

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Liberty vs Toledo Prediction, RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl History

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