Securing new Flames: Football welcomes new additions on National Signing Day

National Signing Day has been very kind to Liberty Flames football in recent years, and this year was no different. Liberty signed 13 new players to the team Feb. 7, which brings the newly-signed-player total to 31 for the upcoming 2024 season.

Heading into his second season at the helm of one of college football’s fastest-rising programs, Head Coach Jamey Chadwell searched all over the country for his newest stars. With 15 of the new additions coming via the transfer portal and 16 from high school, the Flames have 31 new reasons to look forward to the upcoming season.

“It’s speed dating,” Chadwell said when asked about the transfer portal. “It’s hard to get to know people in a short amount of time. With the high school guys, you get a lot of chances to develop relationships with them. With the transfer portal guys, it’s a much shorter window. You’re trying to get to know them, and they’re trying to get to know us. You think you have an understanding, but you really might not.”

While Chadwell is impressed with the talent of his new team members, he is more impressed with the guys themselves. 

“We didn’t just hit on good players,” Chadwell said. “We hit on some guys who are really good people who fit what we are trying to do here at Liberty.”

Of the 31 new signees, five of them are linebackers, a position the Flames were thin at last season.

“The linebacker room is probably our most challenging as far as depth goes,” Chadwell said. “Jahmar (Brown) and Teylor (Jackson) both have played a good amount of football already. We lost some guys that played quite a bit, so it was good to bring in some guys with experience at the college level.”

Brown is a transfer from Coastal Carolina, and Jackson is a transfer from East Carolina.

“We are trying to build some depth in there,” Chadwell said. “Hopefully, guys will come in and push for playing time but also have multiple years left. With the way the transfer portal is right now, you can have guys leave after just one semester. If you have some guys that have multiple years left who maybe aren’t quite where they need to be with their game, it helps tremendously to stay with one program and develop your game.”

While the linebacker room got bigger, the Flames also found a way to get much-needed depth pieces at other positions. The brand-new Flames include five linebackers, five offensive linemen, five defensive linemen, four defensive backs, four wide receivers, three specialists, two quarterbacks, two tight ends and one running back. 

While the Flames have only been out of action for just over a month, they are ready to get back to work. Liberty football’s first spring practice of the year took place Friday, Feb. 9.

“I want to know what we are not good at,” Chadwell said. “Then we can really focus in on what we need to improve on. From a development standpoint, I believe that you develop better when you know what you need to work at instead of just doing it, figuring out what needs work in late April, then break for a month. Also, if there ever is an injury, you get a strong chance of getting someone back sooner rather than later, and maybe there is even a chance for them to play a few games in the season.”

Out of all the position groups, Chadwell is looking forward to watching his new quarterbacks, wide receivers, linebackers and cornerbacks the most.

“That’s where the biggest development needs to happen,” Chadwell said. “We really need those guys to step up. If they do, then maybe we won’t have to go shopping in May. Maybe we can just cook with what we have.” 

In his first year as head coach, Chadwell challenged the players to embrace the change and the mission. This year, he is challenging the team to pursue.

“Our word for the year is ‘pursue,’” Chadwell said. “We are pursuing each other, pursuing connection, pursuing Jesus, pursuing excellence, pursuing greatness and pursuing being a champion. I have to make sure that we aren’t content. We need to be hungry. We need to be pursuing something special.”

The Flames wrap up their spring festivities with their annual Spring Football Game at Williams Stadium March 2. Admission will be free to the public.

Weissinger is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X