Flames notes

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: September 11, 2008

Liberty football coach Danny Rocco was willing to give Jamal Giddens a pass last Saturday night against Glenville State.

The freshman linebacker made his season debut a memorable one after missing the opener with a leg injury. Giddens led the Flames with eight tackles, including one tackle for loss and half a sack.

But, Rocco noted, Giddens was out of position on a number of defensive plays. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Norfolk made up for the lack of positioning with instinct.

“I thought I was doing pretty well out there,” Giddens said. “But then I looked back on film and realized I really wasn’t doing what I was taught and what I was coached.

“So this week, and in the future, I’m just going to work on technique.”

If Giddens develops quickly, he could be a valuable member of a linebacking corps that has been decimated by injuries this season. Nick Hursky, Kyle O’Donnell and Pierre Tinsley have all missed games.

“He has got a motor and he will hunt the ball down,” Rocco said. “He was out of position a number of times, and he hurt us when he was out of position. But you cannot be critical of his energy, enthusiasm, his excitement for the game and his ability to make plays.”

Giddens’ development may be stunted by another leg injury, though. He missed practice Thursday and will be a game-time decision Saturday at Western Carolina.

Hursky, who was hoping to return Saturday, re-injured his right knee Tuesday at practice and didn’t participate Wednesday or Thursday. He’ll also be a game-time decision.

Jitters gone

There was little pressure attached to Matt Bevins’ first collegiate field goal. The freshman from Newport News connected on a 38 yarder in the third quarter of the Glenville State game, putting the Flames ahead 37-7.

Still, it was nice to get the first kick out of the way, Bevins said.

“I just went out there and was confident about it,” Bevins said. “You can’t go out there doubting yourself. I felt really good about it. Once I saw it go through the uprights, it kind of lifted me up.”

Bevins said he never was charged with kicking a game-winning or tying field goal during his career at Warwick High School, but he finds ways at practice to keep himself prepared in case the scenario occurs at Liberty.

“Just kind of relax and do your normal thing,” Bevins said. “You can’t change anything up. Visualize the kick before you actually kick the ball, and be confident. You can’t be low. You have to say, ‘I’m going to make this. I’m going to drill it. We’re going to win the game.’”

With Paul Young out at least six weeks with a broken kicking leg, Bevins and Ben Shipps will split kicking duties. Bevins will handle kickoffs and long field goals. Shipps will kick extra points and short field goals. Rocco wants to keep Bevins’ leg fresh for the longer kicks, thus the sharing of duties.

Change in culture

Dennis Wagner, Western Carolina’s first-year head coach, is finding that changing a losing mindset is not an easy thing to do.

The Catamounts are 3-19 in their last two seasons, with the only Division I victory coming against Eastern Kentucky in 2006. When he arrived in Cullowhee after a stint as the offensive line coach at Nebraska, he realized he had to instill a sense of discipline and accountability in his players.

For Wagner, Saturday’s game against Liberty presents the first true test of his short tenure. The Catamounts beat NAIA Shorter 35-0 before collecting a paycheck and a hide-whooping in last week’s 69-0 loss at Florida State.

“I think we’ve got to keep talking about mental toughness, our mentality and not accepting failure,” Wagner said. “Whenever you have that for such a long time, it’s like a disease. We had to cut out a lot of things that were wrong and we are still in the process of building the foundation to make this thing work.”