Latest news with #JameyChadwell
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Liberty Football Preview 2025: The Flames Will Keep Winning
The bar is set a whole lot higher for Liberty than it is for most school has only been doing the FBS thing for seven seasons. In that time, it hasn't had a losing season, has gone to six bowl games, a Fiesta Bowl, and has a conference title - it was an independent for the first five in Conference USA, it's not a given to win lots of games every year. Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and Western Kentucky have known success, but no one has been able to establish a solid run like Liberty has. And right now, in CUSA, no one has the ho-hum-just-win-at-least-eight-games expectations. It helps that the Flames play schedules that you and ten friends could win six games against, but that's partly because the 2022 team screwed everything up. When you lose at Wake Forest and Virginia Tech by a total of two points, blow out BYU, and leave Arkansas with a big paycheck and a win, programs aren't going to want to play you. And that's not the worst thing in the world. The Liberty schedule might be full of scrimmages, but that's the deal. The 2025 team, unlike the 2024 version, has to be able to take advantage of the lost a ton of key parts - especially on the D line - to the transfer portal, but the program does a decent job of quickly filling gaps. This is the most talented team in CUSA, Jamey Chadwell is a right-coach-right-program fit, and it should be another don't-take-routine-success-for-granted great year. Liberty Flames Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- Liberty Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season- It was a strange year for the Flame offense. It was fourth in the nation in rushing, but it had a hard time completing passes. It moved the ball and led Conference USA in third down conversions, but stalled way too often. Star quarterback Kaidon Salter is gone to Colorado, but …- Ethan Vasko (Coastal Carolina) is good, but he doesn't solve the accuracy issues. He can run, and he'll get hot, but he gave away nine picks for the Chanticleers. Ryan Burger was the No. 2 man last year - he knows the system. - Star receiver Treon Sibley are gone, but this is CUSA's best receiving corps. Elijah Canion is a dangerous veteran on the outside, Reese Smith is a big play target inside, and Tyson Mobley should do even more. Starting tight end Jacob Jenkins is back after catching ten passes with two scores. - The line isn't a rock, but it's good enough. The team's best blockers are gone - Xavior Gray to Northwestern and Jordan White to Vanderbilt - but Aaron Fenimore is the league's best center, Jack Tucker is back at left tackle, and there's decent depth to push for the other three spots.- Leading rushers Quinton Cooley and Billy Lucas combined for close to 2,200 yards and 18 touchdowns, and Kaidon Salter's 579 yards are gone, too. Julian Gray has been more of a return man than a runner, but he'll be dangerous along with Caden Williams to pound away. Liberty Flames Preview 2025: Defense - There wasn't enough of a pass rush, and there were issues taking the ball away, but the defense was solid. The transfer portal dropped a hammer on certain parts, though, especially on the line.- Jay Hardy would've been a main man at tackle, but he took off for Auburn. TJ Bush was the leading playmaker behind the line, but he's gone to Cal. Landing Aaron Hester (Florida State) will help on the outside, but CJ Bazile will be the star of the pass rushing inside is the concern, though, with Hardy done along with Chris Boti (Arkansas State). No pressure, Bryce Dixon, but hold up as the anchor of the line. - Joseph Carter led the team with 88 tackles and will once again be among the best linebackers in CUSA. The options are limited around him, but Deuce Spurlock (Florida) has the pressure on his shoulders to be a statistical star.- It'll be disappointing if the corners aren't one of the team's biggest strengths. The starting combination of Dexter Ricks and Amarian Williams is back after coming up with five picks. There are plenty of options and good depth, but they're the safeties are just as strong - A'Khori Jones and Quinton Reese are All-CUSA veterans who can hit. Eldric Griffin is about to bust out as the full-time free safety.- Liberty Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
College football coaches discussing plan to add NFL-style OTAs to spring practice calendar
A new proposal circulating among coaches aims to expand spring practice into NFL-style organized team activities (OTAs), in response to the increase in spring transfers and roster turnover, along with the possibility that college football moves to a single transfer portal window. The OTA idea, which was formed by the American Football Coaches Association board of trustees last month, is now being socialized at conference spring meetings. It would add six non-padded workouts to the existing 15 spring practices, but those 21 allotted days could be split across two different five-week windows for a total of seven weeks. There must be at least three weeks between the two sessions, which could span from anywhere between January and June. Advertisement 'If you're a Clemson who doesn't lose anybody, you can have a traditional spring and get six extra opportunities in the summer,' said Liberty head coach and AFCA board member Jamey Chadwell. 'Or if you're like us that loses a lot every year and you don't have the majority of your team until May, then you can practice more in May or June.' Remaking the spring calendar has been a frequent point of discussion by the sport's leaders. In January, the AFCA proposed moving from two transfer portal windows in December and April to a single 10-day window in January. The AFCA is not a governing body, but executive director Craig Bohl is a non-voting member of the FBS football oversight committee, which is looking into making the ideas into official proposals. The oversight committee's work has been at a standstill for months, waiting for full approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, which would establish a system of revenue sharing with athletes up to a cap of around $20.5 million. An oversight committee subgroup has been working behind the scenes on the single-window vision for the transfer portal, which could take place as early as January or later in March or April. Coaches and conferences have mixed opinions on the best timing. Some want to have their rosters in place heading into spring. Others don't want to force players who are disgruntled after spring ball to stick around. A decision on a single portal window is likely to come before any OTA decision. But the flexibility of the OTAs' scheduling would help avoid the issue, which is why the AFCA is putting it out before any portal decision is finalized. 'It's been met with positive appetite from the initial rollouts,' said Bohl, the former head coach at Wyoming and North Dakota State. College football programs were basically forced into a OTA calendar during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Spring football was pushed back, and COVID restrictions moved schedules around and put more activities outside. Some programs in the ensuing years adjusted their format to match it. This idea could expand the concept. Advertisement 'It certainly helped me,' Bohl said of the 2020 experience. 'What became apparent was you had to look at preparing a team differently because of the restraints. We saw great value in taking guys out on the field for a learning experience. Our world's changing, the schedule's have changed. Coaches wanted to have a plan to adapt, and we think this addresses it.'
