Anything and everything about Liberty Flames football. Your comments on games, recruiting and the direction of the program as we move into new era.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke, Class of 20Something

By elcid83
Registration Days Posts
#327278
I traveled alone to Lynchburg on a lovely Friday afternoon as Mrs. Elcid stayed home in Aiken. Our daughter's Aiken High School Volleyball team was playing in the South Carolina AAAA State Championship on Saturday at 6:00. They won 3-2! We told #44 after last week's CCU game that we would not be at the Liberty game if Aiken was in the State Championship and he told us we could not miss the State Championship. However, on Tuesday he called us to let us know that he was the #1 RB for this game. [Last week, vs. CCU, Hudson ran a couple of plays as #2 RB. The week before that, Hudson was not even mentioned as a candidate for RB. He did play FB in Aiken High's Option Offense but he was recruited to play DE at GW] Mom and Dad decided someone needed to be there. I checked into the Hilton Garden Inn [Team Hotel] about 5:00 and got situated. Very nice hotel and great staff by the way. Opened my curtains and saw this lovely picture just waiting to be taken.

Image

After a quick meal at Buffalo Wild Wings and a harrowing drive on Wards Road [that road is a mess]. I settled in for a peaceful evening to get ready for the big game. After a morning workout and checking in on the #1 son, I decided to make my towards the stadium to see what I could see. The LU marketers are obviously well paid and they also appear to have an unlimited budget. I thought this little tidbit was worthy of a few megapixels on my memory card.
Image

After a brief trip through the campus, I headed to Macados for my pre-game meal. By this time, other players' parents were getting into town and it was time to tailgate. We parked below the bookstore and had a good time talking about how our boys were going to beat the crap out of Liberty. Admittedly, I thought we had a chance to give your boys a decent game but that's just how my mind works. We enjoyed the tailgating atmosphere at Liberty. We were concerned that the morality police would be out in full force, but we were able to enjoy our beer and cigars while we enjoyed each other's company.

About 2:30, I made my way into Williams Stadium and was very favorably impressed with the place. Much of the crowd was there early and the students were very excited to be there. It's always good to see a Marine in your stands.
Image

Everything was top notch and your fans, students, and players should be proud. This is a great place to play. I watched our guys get warmed up while checking on my camera settings. The boys were giving me hope that we would have a great game today. Of course, you can't play football until there is meeting of the minds at midfield.
Image

As we got ready for the teams to take the field, I was reminded that your AD Jeff Barber used to be one of the top guys in the Athletic Dept at South Carolina. When I saw mic boy, it hit me as Carolina has a mic boy who wears a white suit and has wild hair that tries to fire the crowd up before the team comes out. At Carolina, the East side shouts "Game!" and the West side shouts back "Cocks!" You can check that out in the youtube video below that shows Carolina's version of 2001 before the Gamecocks hit the field.
Image

Your mascot also bears a striking resemblance to the Gamecocks' Cocky.
Image

Carolina also has these flags as you will see in the youtube video.
Image

The LU fans were ready for an exciting day of Flames Football.
Image

When Liberty ran back the opening kickoff, I was impressed that our sideline did not hang their heads and stayed focused on the task at hand. It was fun to watch Hudson get the first carry of the day and do well.
Image

In addition to his running duties and his defensive duties, Hudson is also the long snapper. GW managed to force a turnover on the first punt of the day, but could not capitalize.
Image

To complete the South Carolina comparisons, the Gamecocks had a QB [Syvelle Newton] who didn't like to hold the ball with the laces when he threw it.
Image

Chandler Browning got back into the mix after sitting for two weeks with a concussion. Unfortunately, your D kept him under pressure most of the day.
Image

Hudson Smith did do a pretty good job of running with power - something our smaller and faster backs just can't do. Here, it takes about 8 LU defenders to bring Hudson down.
Image

I'm confident you expected me to come to Hudson's defense on the bogus fumble call. Here is the pic just before he is down and you can see that he has firm control of the ball. Unfortunately, one of the refs saw it differently. Hudson knows he was down but that doesn't help much, does it? Oh well.
Image
And here are the DAs making a bonehead decision.
Image

Jamal Patmon made a very nice TD catch on this play. I like it when the player puts the ball in the ref's hands.
Image
Image

Hudson did get a chance to put a lick on Mike Brown.
Image

Unfortunately, Liberty shares another trait with Carolina Football. Where did everybody go?
Image

I enjoyed the LU Football experience. You guys obviously have put a lot of thought into your gameday experience. Hopefully, we can convince the GW folks to do a little more to make our gameday experience more exciting.

Go Runnin' Bulldogs!

How the Gamecocks do 2001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH9cEm0VPVI

If you like, you can look at my other pics on my Facebook pages.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 569&page=6
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 569&page=5
User avatar
By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#327280
Thanks a lot for your thoughts and sharing your great pictures. Your son is a stud, hope he does well the rest of the year.
You are a class act, glad you had a safe trip.
User avatar
By ToTheLeft
Registration Days Posts
#327284
Image

I never noticed this. Crazy. I know I like to throw sometimes without the laces, but I'm not even remotely close to NCAA DI calibre so I figured that was just something I did.
By elcid83
Registration Days Posts
#327319
Rooster Cogburn wrote:Great stuff and great to meet you. Your son is quite the player.
Thanks Rooster and I appreciate you finding me down on the field. I didn't mean to turn my post into an "I love Hudson" thread, but I do. I know that not everyone in the Big South believes this, but GW does have a bunch of kids that want to play really good football. We are close, but schools like Liberty keep raising the bar. The other schools need to find a way to keep up.

I did want to mention a couple of points about your team. First, they are obviously well coached. I like the fact that your offense goes into a huddle. It just feels better to see the players together before the play than seeing everyone looking over at 4 coaches telling them all what to do. Unfortunately, that is the current state of most of college football today. I like the way your players sprint to the line in unison [another sign of good coaching].Your team reminds me alot of Wofford's team. My alma mater, The Citadel, used to play Wofford every year for Homecoming and we beat them like a rented mule. Wofford made a very strong commitment to the move to Div. I-AA and they haven't lost to my Bulldogs in many years. I really enjoyed the halftime show and hearing the Bataan Death March survivor's story. It's hard to not walk away from that and not be thankful for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Probably one of the best trips I've made in my 2 years of following Big South football. I'm looking forward to seeing our team regroup after this season is over and beating you guys next year.

Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
User avatar
By BJWilliams
Registration Days Posts
#327326
I may have noticed you during pregame warmups elcid...I was down by the SE corner of the field and shagged a few footballs while I was down there
User avatar
By PAmedic
Registration Days Posts
#327335
posted in another thread re: ELCID - JR
PAmedic wrote:wow- I didnt put 2 & 2 together ELCID.

I cursed that kid all game- we could NOT stop him.

real talent- congrats

I remember our announcer saying something to the effect of "he was a defensive player who came in on offense last week and they like him so much that they brought him back in this week"
User avatar
By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#327344
Your son is a horse with the ball. I just wish he were a senior so we wouldn't have to see him again the next few years. You have plenty to be proud of in the way he played against us.

Great pics as always. Did you happen to get any panoramic shots in the 1st half so I can get LU4Life off my back?

:lol:
LU Campus Construction Thread

I thought years ago they thought about doing an up[…]

2027 Commits

Well played, Alabama24. I sat on a flight from OR[…]

Are we back?

Nice! Here is to hoping we can live bot free.

New Coach

He's done well with the recruits coming in.