Liberty Flames College Football Pregame Quote, 09/19/2023

Obviously, we are very thankful for the win. Anytime you get a win it’s hard, especially when it is on the road. I’m pleased with being able to come out of a tough environment there against another conference, a quality opponent from the MAC conference, to get a win. A lot of good things we did, but if we look back there were a lot of things there we could definitely improve on. We’ve got to learn how to play four quarters consistently, that’s our big thing this week is just being consistent through four quarters. But, anytime you can get a win, it’s a positive.

How do you think quarterback Kaidon Salter is handling the early season success?

Well, the first two weeks went prety well. This is the first week where he had astronomical numbers, got national attention. The key for him now will be that there are a lot of things he knows he can do beter, as well, and making sure you don’t read your press clippings. I don’t think he will. I’m not saying he’s that guy. Now that you get more atention like that, that’s when you really got to dig in deeper, continue to do that. The first three weeks, every week, he has goten beter and beter with what we’re asking him to do and playing with a lot of confidence. The team around him is playing with a lot of confidence. Anytime you get your quarterback to play with a lot of confidence, it’s a good thing.

What has allowed the coaching staff to connect so quickly with Kaidon Salter?

I think Coach (Willy) Korn, Coach (Malcolm) Dixon have spent a lot of time pouring into just helping him become a complete quarterback. What that looks like, building trust with him, and lettng him know that it’s okay to make mistakes. Don’t go out there and be fearful of making mistakes. As a player, if you know your coach has confidence in you, regardless of how you’re playing, they believe in you, then that sort of frees you up to let your ability go and play. They’ve done a really good job just pouring in and investing in him. Off the field, just the things, the intangible pieces that it means to be a quarterback. I think by doing that, he’s gained confidence in himself and his team has gained confidence in him and that’s helped him continue to play beter.

The team is coming off a sizable road win at Buffalo. Do you worry about complacency after a 3-0 start to the season?

Well, we talk a lot about that all the time. Our big thing is good or bad, you flush it and move on. And so, our focus is we have not played our best game. What we are trying to accomplish, is we are trying to be our best for four quarters and let the scoreboard take care of itself. We have obviously won some games, which is great, but we have not played our best consistently. Our big push is let’s learn how to play our best, let’s learn how to practice our very best and see how good we can get. That’s been our talk. We know we have a great opponent this week and if we don’t play our best then they can beat us. They are playing well, they are playing with a lot of confidence, especially in a conference game and on the road. For us, we have no reason to be complacent because we have not played our best game. Until we play our best game, I won’t worry about that.

What do you feel is the reason behind your team struggling with penalties at Buffalo? Is there a lack of discipline?

That is part of it. Offensively we had four. We had a 12 man on the field. We had an illegal snap. I can’t remember what the other two were right now off the top of my head, but those were foolish penalties, things we can correct. Defensively, the majority of those were some pass interference calls. Those are judgment calls sometimes, so you have to judge some of those a litle bit here and there, but way too many. We’ve got to learn how to play the game the right way and adjust to how they are calling it. You don’t get upset about the ones where you are being aggressive, you get upset on the ones you can control. From an offensive standpoint, we had too many of those. That’s what we’ve got to fix and correct. We talk about that all the time. This was the worst game that we’ve had because of that. We will continue to emphasize it.

How do you assess the play of center Jordan White through the first three games?

I think he’s done well. That guy handles the ball, him and the quarterback, handle it every snap. It’s hard to snap, set and move and do all those things. He’s done a nice job through the first three weeks. He’s obviously played some college football before but never at that position, and that’s a big deal. He has earned the trust of his teammates and has done a nice job. Obviously, Kaidon has a comfort level with him which is good as well.

There were a lot of questions about the wide receivers heading into the season. Do you feel like they stepped up this week with some of the injuries you are facing at running back?

They did a nice job. What you’re seeing is they’ve goten healthier and are gettng more practice opportunities. So, our execution, the confidence level in each other has goten beter and beter. We’re still making some mistakes as far as route running and some certain things. Last couple of weeks they have definitely stepped up. And, if we can continue to do it at that pace, I’m not saying we’re throwing for 350 every game or whatever it is, but if we continue to do it at that pace and play at a high level, that gives us great balance and makes us hard to defend.

With the injury to freshman running back Vaughn Blue, what is your approach to the running back group heading into the FIU game?

It’is a challenge because Vaughn was unique among our group right now because he’s somebody that can do some inside-outside stuff for us. So, we’ve obviously got James Jointer, who you saw come in and do some nice things. Victor Venn came in. Those guys, as they’ve grown through fall camp to now, they’ve got to step up their play. Obviously, you know about (Quinton) Cooley and Billy (Lucas), but James and Victor need to really step up and take more ownership for what their role is as far as geÙÄÜ´ng themselves ready to go and building that trust with coaches. They are going to play some more. It’s going to be by commitee, but Vaughn is a big loss because he was the one that could sort of do both. It’s unfortunate for him but he will be out quite a while.

What role do you foresee Aaron Bedgood handling in the future considering your injuries at the running back position?

That’s something that we’ve used him obviously in that position. We will continue to do that. Obviously, he is a receiver and you will try to mix and match where he is at. There are certain formations and certain play calls where we could use him in some of those motion calls because he does have ability. As you guys have seen, he can get out there on the perimeter and make some things happen.

What is the prognosis for running back Vaughn Blue?

It will be very late; very late in the season.

What sticks out to you as you start to preview FIU?

Well, two – one, just their overall team speed. They can run in all three phases. They will be the most athletic team we have seen to this point. Secondly, they are playing with unbelievable confidence everywhere. You can tell they are playing for each other. With the athleticism they have and the confidence they are playing with, they are challenging. They’re not going to beat themselves. They are going to be where they are supposed to be. They are well-coached in all three phases. So this will be our biggest challenge to date.

FIU Head Coach Mike MacIntyre has had some success previously and he seems to be able to turn programs around quickly. What have you seen during his time at FIU that has allowed him to have some success?

What I think he’s done is he’s an excellent coach and a great person. I think what he’s done is he’s established the culture that he wants to have as far as those guys playing for each other and you can see that. He’s lettng them be themselves and play with the confidence and personalities they have down there. And, what I think what he’s done more than anything is he’s got the right people. In his two years there, the change they’ve made from last year to this year, just in the video and things, it’s the way they’re playing, the confidence. He’s got them believing. If you can believe, good things are going to happen. He’s done a good job. It will be a tough place for us to play. Anytime you go on the road and play it’s tough but especially in conference. I think we are Homecoming down there, as well. We know we’ve got to go play our best to be able to come out with a win.

If you have to evaluate yourself and your staff through the first three games of the season, what would that grade?

Well, I think our players have done a really good job of playing for each other and buying into what we’re trying to do. They get the credit for going out there and winning. They are doing a nice job of that. I’ve been pleased that we’re not beating ourselves for the most part. We’ve created a lot of turnovers, we’re not turning the ball over. Except for last week we weren’t having a lot of penalties. I think we are playing some disciplined football. The biggest thing for us going forward is we have to learn as a group, as a team, how to prepare consistently throughout the week so we can play consistently throughout a game for four quarters. If you look at our season, we’ve won those three games. We’ve played a half of football consistently in all three phases, the rest of them have been up and down. The offense might be playing good, the defense might be down a litle bit and vice-versa. So, that’s our big improvement. From where we started to where we are now, the players get all the credit for that with what they’ve been able to do and buy in with each other.

How close is defensive tackle Kendy Charles to getting back on the field?

I think he is close. We are hoping that you will see him this week and that is the hope. If practice goes well for him, he will travel and be ready to play.

If strength and conditioning does not work out for Chad Scott, what are the chances he has a future as a matador?

As a matador? If you saw him with his shirt off, he’s got some work to do. I think he’s going to have to get on ‚Äì is Jenny Craig still out there?

What is your feeling about the play of your special teams at Buffalo, specifically, the play of kicker Nick Brown?

Nick was huge. Obviously, from a competition standpoint, he did a nice job throughout the week and got the job. He knocked the two field goals in which was big. You get out there and you stop and you’re not able to score but you get those points it makes you feel a litle beter. He made all the extra points. More importantly, he got the ball up in the air a litle bit which was nice. That was great. He believed in himself, that was good confidence for coaches as well. Him going out there and knocking it through and that gave confidence to our offense and our defense.

What type of challenges does FIU’s quarterback Keyone Jenkins present to your team?

I don’t know if he’s lost a game. From middle school, high school, all that, he comes from a winning program down there in Miami. As he’s taken over the job here, they are undefeated since he’s taken over the job here. He’s got confidence in what they do. He’s going to atack our secondary. He can make things happen with his feet, as well. But, he is just playing with the utmost confidence in himself and belief in himself. When that happens, then you have to be, from a defensive standpoint, you have to be ready for anything. Rather something is covered or not, he believes he can get the ball in there. Which hopefully gives us opportunities, but you also have to be prepared for that. He’s really given them really a jolt of energy and you can see that by how they’re playing.