- August 11th, 2014, 7:10 pm
#458614
Part 2 of my look at the 2014 Liberty Flames focuses on probably the most important position battle on the offensive side of the ball heading into the season, and the guys who will be leading the way into the hole as well.
Running Back
Who's Lost
Aldreakis Allen 3 Rushes 22 Yards 0 TD
Clifton Richardson 94 Rushes 399 Yards 6 TD (Left Team)
Kendall Couamin No 2013 Stats- Moved to TE)
Who's Returning
Desmond Rice 186 Rushes 967 Yards 16 TD (Big South All-Conference Second Team
DJ Abnar 72 Rushes 411 Yards 6 TD
Austin Kaigler 23 Rushes 129 Yards 3 TD
Toddrick Macon No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Joshua Smith No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Carrington Mosley No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
The running back battle was turned on its ear following the spring football game as the prohibitive starter Rice, suffered a knee injury and is being shelved for the season. Rice, a second team honoree in 2013, had taken tremendous strides in his first season as "the man" and probably was in line for preseason all-conference before the injury. Now the questions come in...
1. How will DJ Abnar do handling an increased workload? Abnar, the speedy runner from Florida, saw an increase in his carries in 2013, but he served more as a complementary back to Rice, the "lightning" to his "thunder" (although Rice had a good bit of lightning in his game as well). He has not seen 100 carries in his career, and now is thrust into the #1 spot and will be the guy getting the lion's share of the carries this season
2. Who steps up as the backup? The only back with any experience remaining on the roster is Kaigler, who came in as a walkon in 2012, and was the likeable "garbage time" back in 2013, coming in after the game was well in hand, and he showed some real flashes, including a 40 yard run against Brevard. The three redshirt freshmen on the roster: Macon, Mosley and Smith (which sounds like a marketing firm) all have their opportunities to earn their way onto the field. Mosley, a former standout for Liberty Christian Academy, and Macon, a star out of Admiral Farragut Academy before landing on the mountain, are both bigger backs who can attack the middle of the line and push the pile, but also can eat up yards in the open field. Smith, a smaller back out of Texas, is more in the mold of Abnar when he arrived, or even that of former Flame BJ Hayes. He is someone I probably would see used more as a speedy back who lines up and takes handoffs on jet sweep or misdirection type play that can get him to the outside.
Abnar came into camp as the backup by default, and if his comments to Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News aand Advance, he has done quite a bit of work in the offseason to prepare himself to answer the first question, although according to the 2014 roster, he still only checked in at 185 pounds, so the concern will still be there, but he has very high goals for himself: First team all-conference, 1500 yards (only former Flames standout and current New York Giants RB Rashad Jennings has achieved that mark), lead the Big South in TDs (for comparison, 2014 draft pick Lorenzo Taliaferro out of Coastal Carolina led the way with 27 last year, and Jennings holds the single season record for Liberty with 17) and of course, win the Big South outright (a goal shared by the rest of the roster).
Players Incoming
None
Projected Depth Chart
DJ Abnar
Austin Kaigler
Toddrick Macon
Josh Smith
Fullback
Players Lost
None
Players Returning
Nicky Fualaau No 2013 Rushing Stats
Thomas Kennedy No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Fualaau, out of Federal Way, Washington (where Liberty alum Petey Sundheim is a manager at last check) has been the first man through for the Flames the last two seasons, and will probably be the starter again in 2014. Kennedy, a local product out of Lord Botetourt High School, will probably serve as his backup after redshirting in 2013. The fullback does not get a lot of carries (except maybe near the goal line) in the Flames offensive attack, but serves an important purpose as the bulldozer through the hole paving the way for the tailbacks mentioned above. Fualaau did play into the receiving game the last two years, accounting for 10 total catches and 2 TDs. Expect more of the same from him and even from Kennedy when he gets into the game.
Players Incoming
Daquin "Buddy" Edwards 6'0" 230 Lbs (Union County HS, Lake Butler, FL)
Kevin Grooms 5'10" 168 Lbs (South Broward HS/Marshall University, Hollywood, FL) *sitting out 2014 due to NCAA rules
Edwards, the only running back in the Flames 2014 recruiting class, is a big back, similar in body type to the aforementioned Jennings, but he is lining up at the fullback position. I expect he will redshirt in 2014 behind Kennedy and Fualaau, but I would not be surprised to see him get carries in 2015.
Projected Depth Chart
Nicky Fualaau
Thomas Kennedy
Daquin Edwards (redshirt)
Running Back
Who's Lost
Aldreakis Allen 3 Rushes 22 Yards 0 TD
Clifton Richardson 94 Rushes 399 Yards 6 TD (Left Team)
Kendall Couamin No 2013 Stats- Moved to TE)
Who's Returning
Desmond Rice 186 Rushes 967 Yards 16 TD (Big South All-Conference Second Team
DJ Abnar 72 Rushes 411 Yards 6 TD
Austin Kaigler 23 Rushes 129 Yards 3 TD
Toddrick Macon No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Joshua Smith No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Carrington Mosley No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
The running back battle was turned on its ear following the spring football game as the prohibitive starter Rice, suffered a knee injury and is being shelved for the season. Rice, a second team honoree in 2013, had taken tremendous strides in his first season as "the man" and probably was in line for preseason all-conference before the injury. Now the questions come in...
1. How will DJ Abnar do handling an increased workload? Abnar, the speedy runner from Florida, saw an increase in his carries in 2013, but he served more as a complementary back to Rice, the "lightning" to his "thunder" (although Rice had a good bit of lightning in his game as well). He has not seen 100 carries in his career, and now is thrust into the #1 spot and will be the guy getting the lion's share of the carries this season
2. Who steps up as the backup? The only back with any experience remaining on the roster is Kaigler, who came in as a walkon in 2012, and was the likeable "garbage time" back in 2013, coming in after the game was well in hand, and he showed some real flashes, including a 40 yard run against Brevard. The three redshirt freshmen on the roster: Macon, Mosley and Smith (which sounds like a marketing firm) all have their opportunities to earn their way onto the field. Mosley, a former standout for Liberty Christian Academy, and Macon, a star out of Admiral Farragut Academy before landing on the mountain, are both bigger backs who can attack the middle of the line and push the pile, but also can eat up yards in the open field. Smith, a smaller back out of Texas, is more in the mold of Abnar when he arrived, or even that of former Flame BJ Hayes. He is someone I probably would see used more as a speedy back who lines up and takes handoffs on jet sweep or misdirection type play that can get him to the outside.
Abnar came into camp as the backup by default, and if his comments to Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News aand Advance, he has done quite a bit of work in the offseason to prepare himself to answer the first question, although according to the 2014 roster, he still only checked in at 185 pounds, so the concern will still be there, but he has very high goals for himself: First team all-conference, 1500 yards (only former Flames standout and current New York Giants RB Rashad Jennings has achieved that mark), lead the Big South in TDs (for comparison, 2014 draft pick Lorenzo Taliaferro out of Coastal Carolina led the way with 27 last year, and Jennings holds the single season record for Liberty with 17) and of course, win the Big South outright (a goal shared by the rest of the roster).
Players Incoming
None
Projected Depth Chart
DJ Abnar
Austin Kaigler
Toddrick Macon
Josh Smith
Fullback
Players Lost
None
Players Returning
Nicky Fualaau No 2013 Rushing Stats
Thomas Kennedy No 2013 Stats (redshirt)
Fualaau, out of Federal Way, Washington (where Liberty alum Petey Sundheim is a manager at last check) has been the first man through for the Flames the last two seasons, and will probably be the starter again in 2014. Kennedy, a local product out of Lord Botetourt High School, will probably serve as his backup after redshirting in 2013. The fullback does not get a lot of carries (except maybe near the goal line) in the Flames offensive attack, but serves an important purpose as the bulldozer through the hole paving the way for the tailbacks mentioned above. Fualaau did play into the receiving game the last two years, accounting for 10 total catches and 2 TDs. Expect more of the same from him and even from Kennedy when he gets into the game.
Players Incoming
Daquin "Buddy" Edwards 6'0" 230 Lbs (Union County HS, Lake Butler, FL)
Kevin Grooms 5'10" 168 Lbs (South Broward HS/Marshall University, Hollywood, FL) *sitting out 2014 due to NCAA rules
Edwards, the only running back in the Flames 2014 recruiting class, is a big back, similar in body type to the aforementioned Jennings, but he is lining up at the fullback position. I expect he will redshirt in 2014 behind Kennedy and Fualaau, but I would not be surprised to see him get carries in 2015.
Projected Depth Chart
Nicky Fualaau
Thomas Kennedy
Daquin Edwards (redshirt)
Last edited by BJWilliams on August 19th, 2014, 7:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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