Liberty Flames College Football Postgame Quote, 01/01/2024

QUESTIONS FOR HEAD COACH JAMEY CHADWELL, KAIDON SLATER AND TYREN DUPREE

COACH CHADWELL: First of all, obviously a lot of credit goes to Oregon. They have a fine team, and they obviously laid it on us today. We knew we would have to play really well to compete and have a chance to win the game, and they did a lot of things that made it challenging on us. So hats off to them.

I’m proud of our team. We kept fighting. We had some opportunities there, especially in the first half and some things going our way, to maybe keep it closer and have a chance. But we kept playing through four quarters. That’s hard to do when you’re getting beat like the way we were.

But I’m not going to let today, and our team is not going to let today, diminish what they were able to accomplish over 13 weeks. We wish we would have played better today, no doubt. I think the biggest lesson that we as a team and a program have to learn is when you play in these big stages, big moments, what do you have to do consistently, what do you have to give up to make sure that you can play your best.

Because our chance was to play our best game. We didn’t play our best game. A couple of turnovers and dropped passes and penalties. We didn’t play our best game. We needed to, to have a chance today.

So that’s my takeaway, is what do we need to do as a coach to make sure our guys play their best game leading up to it from a preparation standpoint.

Q. I was wondering if you could talk about what it was like to play in this game. Obviously not the result you wanted. But what was it like playing in the Fiesta Bowl?

COACH CHADWELL: It was a great opportunity. It was a special moment. It was a fantastic – however many days we were here – five, six days. The hosts were tremendous. Our players had a wonderful experience, from helping with the Girl Scouts to just the practice and the different things we were able to do here.

I think also from a standpoint, just the extra bonding that you get with your team and doing something special like. This is hard to come by at our level, so we didn’t take that for granted. It was a wonderful week, except for the last 60 minutes.

Q. Tyren, you said before that there were times when you felt like maybe throwing in the towel, but you’ve come back year after year. You’re one of the older guys here. What was it like for you, especially going on to the field? And then, Kaidon, given your background and getting that starting job kind of late compared to some guys, what was it like for you today to cap this kind of crazy season for you here?

TYREN DUPREE: We don’t usually base things on results. The process is what I can be grateful for and blessed to be able to say that I was able to persevere with the help of my parents and God.

It was amazing to be able to close off your senior year in the Fiesta Bowl where nobody thought you should be there. Of course, it didn’t turn out how we wanted to. But we had our opportunity, and that’s all we can thank God for, is that we had our chance.

KAIDON SALTER: Yeah, when I got this spot, I just knew that the team was going to be on my back and I had to do everything that I could do to put us in the best positions on the field. I knew that the team would move how I move. If I go out and execute and keep my head up, the whole team keep their head up and just keep fighting.

That was the plan today, just keep on fighting, win or lose. We just wanted to fight. We came out, and it didn’t end how we wanted it to, but nobody gave up. That’s what made me so happy. I’m proud of our team for not giving up. That’s just what made me happy. Nobody gave up and that showed that me being a leader, and me keep bringing the juice showed that everybody was feeding off of me and nobody gave up.

Q. Jamey, you guys had that point late first quarter where it’s 4th-and-2 right in your midfield, and you elected to punt the ball. Is that something you wanted to have? Is that something that made sense formationally in the moment? Take us through that decision.

COACH CHADWELL: It was more about 4th-and-3 ‚Äì and-2 is normally our window to decide to go for it. They said it was 4th-and3. I think it was 6-3 at that time, if I’m not mistaken.

Looking back, maybe you wish you had went for it there, the way the game went. I thought at the time, you pin them back and maybe you get a chance to get a stop and get the ball back there.

But hindsight, for sure, I probably would have went for it, even if it was 4th-and-3 or plus. That’s something we’ve done quite a bit of.

And yeah, I would have done it again and we would have went for it.

Q. Coach Chadwell, and also for the players, as you look back on the season, obviously you guys accomplished a lot this year, 13-1 and making it to the Fiesta Bowl. What will be kind of your main takeaway that you will remember from this season?

TYREN DUPREE: Just the bond and the growth it took for us to be able to stay together through everything that we’ve been through. It’s not easy to get a new coach in January and then flip the whole roster before fall camp.

So just congrats ‚Äì or hats off to these coaches, hats off to the teammates that bought in. It doesn’t go without everyone buying in and trusting us. So congrats to them guys, too.

KAIDON SALTER: Yeah, basically like he said, just the bond we were able to build so quickly. Coaches came in, in January. Half our roster transferred. We were bringing in players that were coming from all over the world. Just being able to bond with them and getting to know a lot of our players.

That was very important for us. I feel like that’s what got us here today.

Q. Coach, for you, it seems like a lot of plays were going to [Aaron] Bedgood early in the game, those first two drives. Did you see something that you liked in preparation that you thought you could exploit there?

COACH CHADWELL: I think we actually had a good plan, and he was part of that, and just some different formations and things that they had shown. The first drive, obviously, worked well. We had some things there. We had some other ones there, especially in the first half.

You look at it there, we had a great drive. And then we went three-and-out. We had a dropped pass on the third down that could have extended the drive.

Right before halftime, it’s 24-6 and we’re down there inside the 30-something yard line, and we tip a pass up and they pick it off. Who knows, you score right there, you’re down ‚Äì you’re in the ball game.

So I thought we had a good plan early on. But then when they got up so much, now you’re just trying to make sure you can stay in it. You might have to come away from it a little bit and put us in some situations that we didn’t want to be in.

But again, that was what I was more disappointed in, some of the things that we did ourselves that we hadn’t done all year, really.

Again, would that have made the difference in the whole scheme? I don’t know that. But you don’t drop that pass, who knows what happens. We had the momentum early. We had some momentum. It was 6-3 in the second quarter and then they scored 28, and we didn’t do much.

Q. Kaidon, when you’re coming off the field, there was a lot of support and cheering and praise for you from the Liberty fans. Take us through what you noticed and what that meant for you.

KAIDON SALTER: That just showed us how much love that our fans mean to us. I mean, they love us, win or lose. And that just showed right there, just walking off the field and hearing my name and all the screams, knowing that we just lost, that brought more cheer to me.

I mean, I never had my head down after the game. I knew that our team did everything we could do to go out there and try to win this game. So I had no reason to walk off the field with my head down. Walking off the field, just hearing the crowd yelling my name and giving me the cheers and the praise, that felt amazing.

But still, I just wish we could have finished the season better and that’s that, yes, sir.

Q. Question for both Tyren and Kaidon. You’re both in different spots right now. Tyren, you’re a senior. This was your last game. Kaidon, this was your first year as a starter. How excited are you to look forward to the future? Tyren, even just watching this team as an outsider, just knowing all the turnovers that happened Tyren, you’ve seen this program develop over the last couple years to get to this point. How excited are you to look towards the future and build off of this?

TYREN DUPREE: I’m more than excited. I just told them in the locker room, I was like, Do not have your heads down. This is not the last time you guys are going to be here. We’ve done this in a short amount of time that we’ve been an FBS program.

I’m so excited to see what God and Coach [Chadwell] has to bring to this university. We’re not done.

Q. Coach, what made life difficult running the football today? I think it was your lowest total of the season.

COACH CHADWELL: Yeah, well, the challenge was they’re big in the box and sometimes we can hand it off and get some big yards. We weren’t able to do that.

Secondly, when you get behind, you get away from it, right? So you’re not really able to grind on people and some of those things. So there’s a combination of that.

They’re the best defense we played. You have to really scheme them up to make some things happen. When you get behind the chains, get behind the sticks, you’re not able to maybe do things that you would like to do to keep the clock running and get the yardage that you need.

We had some big plays that happened, but they’re few and far between. There were a couple of times on drives early, 2nd-and-4, 2nd-and-5, you get a good first down and then you don’t get nothing on second, now you’re at third and medium. That’s a challenge with the way they can cover. That was one of the things.

It wasn’t the scheme they were doing. Our guys will tell you, we knew where they were at. There wasn’t anything they didn’t show us that we weren’t prepared for. But you have to be able to buckle in, and we weren’t able to do that consistently.

Q. Coach and Kaidon, CJ Daniels hit his 1,000-yard benchmark today. Could you just kind of speak to the difference he made today. He had some big catches out there and the hard work he’s been in throughout the entire season.

KAIDON SALTER: Yeah, CJ, that’s my roommate. Our bond is a little bit stronger than me and the other guys. Just with CJ, I mean, he’s like my man in the back pocket. When I know I’m in trouble and things like that, I can go to CJ and I can trust that he can make the plays that need to be made.

I feel like our coaching staff understands that. They understand that he’s in the game plan a lot, running routes and things like that. But I knew it was his goal to be a 1,000-yard receiver, and we made that happen today.

I mean, I didn’t even realize until you just said it. But kudos to him. I’m very proud of him and everything he’s done this year for us.

Q. Coach Chadwell, you complete your first season here at Liberty 13-1. How much can you use this year to build off of and moving forward as you continue to build this program?

COACH CHADWELL: Well, I think from a recruiting standpoint, obviously, you have a chance to be on a national stage. You have the success. You have a chance to hoist a conference trophy. So more people know about us.

I think the challenge for us is ‚Äì and this program will be back on this stage. Mark that down. Conference USA will be back on this stage. We will be back in this. The reason why is because today, we saw how far we’re away. The guys that are returning and the guys we’re bringing in, this will be our benchmark.

We’re shooting for the College Football Playoff and today is a great motivator, because it tells us how far we are. And we’re far away right now. But we will be back on that, and I hope future recruits and people know that we’re heading in a great direction.

Q. After four weeks of really unprecedented exposure for the university and the institution of Liberty, if you had one lasting impression, one last thing to tell maybe America who doesn’t follow Conference USA as much as they ought to, what would be the one impression you would want to leave them from an institution and university level?

TYREN DUPREE: I would just hope that Conference USA had notable wins, even outside of us, other teams in the conference had this year, or the competition that they showed. I just ask that they might get a little more respect.

Conference USA is only going to get better. This team is only going to grow and get better. I’m excited to see how the conference does and how we do in the future.

KAIDON SALTER: Yeah, kind of like Tyren said, just pray that Conference USA gets more respect. Like, there’s a lot of guys that are bounce-backs that come from the P5 schools to the G5 level and things like that.

I feel like we deserve more respect. We just have to keep on bringing in the players that we need in this conference to be better and be able to compete against these P5 schools.

Q. Coach, yesterday, Rob Griffin III said that Kaidon Salter has the potential to come back next year to win the Heisman. What does that say about what he’s already been able to accomplish this year and all his untapped potential?

COACH CHADWELL: Obviously RGIII would know. He’s a winner of that. He watched a lot of video preparing to announce this game. So everybody that’s followed us knows the ability and the talent that Kaidon has and what he was able to display this year from week one all the way through tonight.

As he continues to develop, continues to buy into being a complete quarterback, buying into being the leader of this football program ‚Äì and he’s the face of the football program.

What we have returning, with him continuing to improve and working on the things he needs to do, I have no doubt that he comes and has a fantastic spring and summer, that he’ll be right up there. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in this country. We believe that. There’s no difference from a talent standpoint. There was no difference from a talent standpoint from the guy on the other sideline, if you were watching today.

So that’s the talent he has, and he knows what he has to do to continue to maximize what God’s given him. I’m excited about it because I know he’s hungry to go get even better. I’m looking forward to seeing how good he gets.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about how this changes things for your future athletics. What’s your greatest lesson playing in a game of this caliber?

KAIDON SALTER: It really wouldn’t change anything because we wouldn’t be playing a team this big unless ‚Äì with us being in Conference USA, we wouldn’t be playing a team this big unless we are in a big bowl game like this every year. Although we do wish to make this big game every year, the competition that we’re playing is ‚Äì I don’t know. I just forgot the question. I’m tired.

TYREN DUPREE: Just to piggyback off what he said.

KAIDON SALTER: I was on the right track. (Laughter)

TYREN DUPREE: I think we both understand what got us here. I really don’t think we would change anything.

I think the guys, I think they know the situation, like being here now, they have that experience. So I think they know what they have to do. I think they’re not shy of the moment anymore. I think they’re going to be more than ready to have another opportunity at this place.

KAIDON SALTER: What he said.

COACH CHADWELL: All of y’all that’s followed us, we appreciate you all writing good things about us. Thank you.