Head Coach: Jamey Chadwell is entering his 3rd season with the Flames with a 21-5 record. He’s off to a great start winning a conference championship and reaching the Fiesta Bowl in his first year. Last year represented a step back but he’s still one of the top coaches in this conference and he has Liberty as a steady force.
Program Outlook: Liberty is a program based within the Appalachian mountains of Virginia but despite that humble scenery this is a program with a lot of resources at their disposal. Due to this alone, Liberty is very much the top program in the conference. It’s an intense position to be in, they’re the favorite to win it every single year and an 8 win season like last year feels like a disappointment, yet it would be a significant accomplishment for most of their conference peers.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Liberty ranks 35th in the country returning 61.5% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players starts with QB Ethan Vasko who comes in from Coastal Carolina, despite this path Vasko wasn’t at Coastal with Chadwell. He was ok for Coastal but will likely have better success in this offense if he gets in sync with the receivers. Elijah Canion and Reese Smith return at receiver and are joined by Colorado State transfer Jamari Person who will help provide more of a safety blanket for pass plays. The offensive line returns solid experience and while the running backs are inexperienced the track record of this offense tells us some guys will emerge and have some success. Liberty’s defense is going to be full of veteran players. The line is led by CJ Bazile Jr who is dominant against the run, Joseph Carter is the leader of the defense at linebacker and safety A’Khori Jones is a stud on the backend. The question marks starts with the secondary for Liberty, where they have struggled the most in recent years. Will experience be enough for that unit to improve? The pass rush is another question after TJ Bush abruptly hit the portal in the spring, they do have some portal players who could help there.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Liberty’s schedule is quietly upgraded from the last 2 years but still one of the easiest in the country. Their non-conference starts with Maine who went 5-7 at the FCS level last year. Then it heats up with a game at Eddie George’s Bowling Green team, followed by intense in-state matchups against James Madison and Old Dominion, those are two really awesome games on the schedule. Those might be games against two of the better Sun Belt teams this year. The CUSA schedule is incredibly favorable, Liberty doesn’t play Western Kentucky, Sam Houston or Mid Tennessee State and gets all of the relative newcomers. They also get Jax State early in the year. It’s definitely a schedule that sets Liberty up for success.
Final Thoughts: Liberty enters a pressure packed season. The Flames offense just didn’t have the clean operation we’re used to seeing from a Chadwell team, can they get back to that? Turnover margin will be a big key, Liberty was -3 last year…that’s not how this operation is supposed to run. If Liberty gets back to their normal function, I can’t see them missing the CUSA championship.
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