Liberty Football Notebook

By Chris Lang

Published: April 19, 2008

Each spring, Liberty polls its players to decide its team captains for the upcoming season.
Danny Rocco, the team’s head coach and a Pennsylvania guy through and through, swears he has no bearing on the results of the voting. Still, when four of the six team captains for the 2008 season hail from the Keystone State, one has to wonder if the coach had some sort of hand in the voting.
“It’s a little bit of bragging rights for the locker room right now,” said linebacker Nick Hursky, one of the four Keystone captains. “Everyone’s like F-L-A or Virginia or Ohio. But four captains from Pa., that’s pretty cool.”
Quarterback Brock Smith, a Hershey native, is another offensive captain. The other two defensive captains are nose guard Colin Dugan (Springdale, Pa.) and safety Ryan Greiser (Quakertown, Pa.). Hursky is from Carnegie.
“I don’t know what that has to say about anything, but it’s cool,” Smith said.
Tailback Rashad Jennings and center Mike Godsil were named the other two offensive captains.
Rocco also announced the winners of two annual spring awards during halftime of Saturday’s spring game. Wide receiver Jonathan Crawford and defensive back Donald Manns earned the Samkon Gado Award, given to the team’s most improved players of offense and defense.
Steven Ackley, a departing senior, earned the Luke 2:52 Award, a whole-person development honor.
Feats of strength
Godsil broke his leg in last season’s finale at Gardner-Webb, so when he first hit the weight room in the winter, he had to bench press with both feet off the floor.
He still put up 475 pounds with ease.
Once he was able to put pressure on the leg, Godsil broke his own program record in the bench, maxing out at 530, bettering his old mark by five pounds.
“When I was in the boot, I did a lot of stuff,” Godsil said. “Once I got out of it, I kind of worked my way back.”
Listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 285 pounds, Godsil put up more impressive numbers when in one of the NFL Combine’s most hallowed tests. He completed 47 reps at 225 pounds.
“I was pretty pleased with that,” Godsil said.
The center had a screw removed from the affected leg in early March but was back to full speed by the time spring practice began in late March.
New number
Jennings wore his old No. 3 in Saturday’s spring game but will switch to No. 23 next fall. The reason? No NFL running backs wear single-digit jerseys.
“Going into my senior year, I’m trying to focus on doing everything professional,” Jennings said. “As a running back, you’ve got to have a double-digit number.”
Jennings is as trim as he’s ever been, checking in during the spring between 229 and 231 pounds. He ran a personal-best 4.39 in 40-yard dash at Liberty’s pro timing day March 11.
Extra points
Five players missed the spring game with injuries: DB Tim Torrence (hamstring), OL Alex Stadler (knee), DB Alfonso Bailey (knee), FB Derek Bishop (appendicitis) and OL Zach Davis (foot). … Chad Brown led the defense with nine tackles Saturday. … Brandon Saunders and Chuck Duffey each had interceptions.
— Chris Lang