Kyle O’Donnell was only on the field for a handful of plays Saturday at Williams Stadium, but it was enough to help the sophomore linebacker shake off the some rust after a seven-week absence from the field.

Liberty quarterback Brock Smith didn’t lose faith in tight end Corey Rasberry

The number that raised the most eyebrows on the stat sheet after Liberty beat Coastal Carolina 43-38 Saturday night was 534.
As in, the Chanticleers outgained the Flames 534-531. Liberty defensive coordinator Tom Clark said he can live with that, especially considering Liberty won the game to improve to 5-0. But after the game, LU coach Danny Rocco acknowledged that the defense needed to be addressed and that changes in scheme and personnel would be made as necessary.

CONWAY, S.C. — When Zach Terrell left Liberty’s game with Coastal Carolina on Saturday night with an apparent left knee injury, it opened the door for one of the Flames’ more intriguing players — redshirt freshman A-back B.J. Hayes.

CONWAY, S.C. — When Danny Rocco took over Liberty’s football program in December 2005, the Flames were on a 10-game losing streak, the worst skid in school history. Confidence needed to be rebuilt. Baby steps needed to be taken.
The Flames were competitive in Rocco’s first year. Of their five losses, four were by seven points or less. Rocco reflected on that year after his team beat Coastal Carolina 43-38 Saturday night in Conway, and how the fortunes of a once-moribund program had completely changed.
The win gave Liberty a school-record-tying 10th straight victory.

When Alex Stadler accepted a scholarship offer to play football at Alabama after his senior year at Bealeton’s Liberty High School, he chose the Crimson Tide over 25 other offers.

To inspire Rashad Jennings last week, Liberty football coach Danny Rocco showed his senior tailback video of the second half of the Youngstown State-North Dakota State game. Specifically, he wanted Jennings to watch North Dakota State tailback Tyler Roehl, who had missed the first half nursing an ankle injury.

Nick Hursky quietly left the practice field the Thursday before Liberty played Western Carolina. He didn’t practice that day, and his right knee was wrapped in a soft brace. He walked with a noticeable limp, and Flames coach Danny Rocco shook his head when asked about Hursky’s status for the upcoming game.

Following his dominating performance in Liberty’s victory over No. 23 Youngstown State, the honors continue to roll in for the Flames’ Rashad Jennings.
On Monday, the senior was named the Sports Network’s FCS National Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Liberty football coach Danny Rocco had little to say to freshman kicker Matt Bevins in the waning moments of Saturday night’s game at Youngstown State. At Warwick High School in Newport News, Bevins had never been in position to attempt a game-winning field goal. And Liberty’s short field-goal operation hadn’t really been smooth in the first three games of the season.

Zach Terrell was one of Virginia’s most decorated prep quarterbacks while at Manassas Park High School. He came to Liberty as a quarterback before making the transition to running back and receiver as his career unfolded.
That doesn’t mean the Flames senior has forgotten how to throw the football.

Daryl Robertson has spent his entire career as an interior lineman, from his time at Liberty High School to his brief stint at Virginia Tech.

Liberty football coach Danny Rocco is being careful with how much emphasis he puts on the Flames’ game Saturday at No. 23 Youngstown State.

Chad Wilt racked his brain Monday evening, trying to remember Dan Pope’s last bad snap.

Alex Dixon’s first collegiate goal didn’t come with a whole lot of fanfare. The second one was an entirely different story.

Liberty football coach Danny Rocco has generally been a proponent of scheduling the team’s bye week closer to the true mid-point of the season.

CULLOWHEE, N.C. — Nick Hursky sat out of Liberty’s practice Thursday, his swollen right knee wrapped in ice. As the team left the field after practice ended, Hursky limped along to the locker room. He certainly didn’t have the look of a player who would make an impact two days later at Western Carolina.
But after having fluid drained from the knee again, Hursky felt better Saturday. In pre-game warm-ups, he made all of the requisite cuts and moves with no residual pain. He didn’t start — Doncel Bolt did — but Hursky still played a big role in the Flames’ 19-16 victory. He had five tackles, including one for a loss.
Hursky, a captain, missed last week’s game against Glenville State, and his teammates welcomed his leadership back to the field.

CULLOWHEE, N.C. — With an offense as potent as any in FCS football, Liberty didn’t figure to be in many defensive struggles this season, but that was the case Saturday night at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Flames’ offense sat on the sideline in the final two minutes, watching and waiting to see if the defense could make a game-saving play.
Then on 4th-and-6 with 1:40 to play, it happened. Western Carolina’s Andy Horn took the snap and made his regular drop. As he was scanning for an open receiver, Liberty nose guard Colin Dugan pushed his way up the middle, allowing defensive end Kevin Richard to get one hand on Horn’s shoulder. Though Horn had spotted an open man — Adam Hearns — the contact was enough to force Horn to hurry the throw.

The history is not kind to Liberty, and Danny Rocco recognizes that. He knows that since joining the Big South Conference in 2002, the Flames have won only two non-conference road games in 20 tries, in 2004 at Chattanooga and in 2006 at Savannah State.
He also realizes that if Liberty wants to capitalize on the respect it has gained by entering The Sports Network Top 25, it can ill afford a loss tonight at Western Carolina.

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

Pat Calvary has seen the look enough times, the knowing grin of a taller wide receiver who takes one glance at Liberty’s 5-foot-9 cornerback and says to himself, “I’m gonna flat own this dude.”

When tailback Rashad Jennings initially broke the pinkie finger on his right hand, Liberty coach Danny Rocco had flashbacks to the fractured wrist that sidelined tailback Zach Terrell for parts of 2007.
The biggest worry was that Jennings would have to wear the same sort of bulky cast that hampered Terrell’s ability to secure the football and catch passes. But after doing some research, Rocco’s fears were alleviated.

For the first time in 10 years, Liberty’s football program has earned a spot in one of the major FCS national rankings.

When Liberty football coach Danny Rocco began to discuss his team’s 44-27 victory over Glenville State Saturday night at Williams Stadium, he was careful to break the discussion into two distinct segments.

Spencer Hodges and his father were driving down Timberlake Road last Sunday night when they saw the smoke. As they approached Heritage High School, Hodges noticed one motorcycle strewn across the roadway and another stuck in a ditch.

With Nick Hursky out for Saturday’s game with Glenville State, Liberty’s already muddled linebacker situation has turned even messier.
Hursky had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday. At practice Wednesday, Hursky looked to be walking fine and was wearing only a soft brace on the knee. He said last week that he hopes to return for the Sept. 13 game at Western Carolina, and Liberty coach Danny Rocco confirmed that timeline Tuesday.

When Brock Smith was a Liberty freshman in 2005, the quarterback was surrounded by several top-notch receivers, including Brandon Turner, Wynton Jackson and Lauren Williams.

It started with a busted communication and ended with Liberty quarterback Brock Smith on his keister. But the damage from one blown offensive line call during the Flames’ 49-10 win over North Greenville last Saturday didn’t end there.
Trying to compensate for a Crusader defender rushing unimpeded up the middle, Flames tailback Rashad Jennings broke his right pinkie finger. He’ll have surgery to repair the fracture today and will miss Saturday’s game against Glenville State at Williams Stadium. His status for the Sept. 13 at Western Carolina, LU’s first game against a Division I opponent, is uncertain, LU coach Danny Rocco said.

Asa Chapman, Liberty’s nearly 400-pound freshman nose guard, certainly made his presence felt Saturday night in the Flames’ 49-10 season-opening victory over North Greenville.
Though he only had two tackles, he was in the Crusaders offensive backfield often, pressuring NGU quarterback Richard Harb four times. Saturday’s showing was a sign of things to come for the talented Chapman, who came to Liberty after failing to qualify academically at Virginia and West Virginia.
He spent one season at Fork Union Military Academy, where he had 94 tackles and nine sacks.

Start fast.
That’s the message Danny Rocco has preached to his team all week. He said the words during Tuesday’s weekly press conference, and he ended Thursday’s Liberty practice with another not-so-subtle reminder to his team to get out of the blocks quickly.