Preview: Q&A with Liberty Flames Sports Network’s Nick Pierce

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — An almost weekly note from Rick Stockstill at the press conference podium is that Middle Tennessee's opponent is a "good football team." Some weeks, like when MTSU opened the season at Alabama, there's no second guessing. Other weeks, it's a point made about a particular strength of the opponent, an aspect of the game they do well.

This week, where MTSU preps to face an undefeated Liberty team on the road on Tuesday night, was one of the former.

"Statistically, they're the best in the conference in just about every statistical category," Stockstill said of the Flames. "Total offense, total defense, scoring offense, scoring defense."

The Blue Raiders' head coach is right about nearly every one of those categories, particularly on defense, where the Flames are the best team in Conference USA in rush defense, pass defense, total defense and scoring defense. They're the best rushing offense in CUSA as well. The only category that isn't totally exceptional is the Flames' passing attack, which is only sixth in the conference on a per game basis. But in Head Coach Jamey Chadwell's option heavy scheme, even that fact is not much of a concern.

Perhaps MTSU quarterback Nicholas Vattiato put it best: "They're not 6-0 for nothing. It's hard to win in college football. To win your first six games of the season, it means you're doing something right, and they are doing something right."

Fresh off a 31-13 dismantling of Jacksonville State on the road, the Flames showed their depth in last week's #WeekdayCUSA action, dominating the second half of the game after heading into the locker room tied 10-10. The week prior, Liberty showed their guts, holding off a late comeback from Sam Houston with a goal line stand in the final minute to secure a 21-16 win in Lynchburg.

"The biggest thing when you watch them on film is they're just great football players, and they play as a unit," Vattiato said of the Flames defense. "The D-Line is really solid, they have great players on the D-Line. Same with the linebackers, they have really smart and instinctive linebackers...And then their secondary is very athletic, they make plays all over the field."

After picking up the win last week against LA Tech, MTSU enters its final midweek game of the 2023 season with some momentum. But as safety Tra Fluellen pointed out, the margin for error for the Blue Raiders the rest of the way remains razor thin.

"This is the time that we understand it's do or die," Fluellen said. "We're going to come to work every day."

To learn more about the Flames, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton reached out to Nick Pierce, who covers the Flames as part of the Liberty Flames Sports Network radio broadcast as pre-game host and sideline reporter. Pierce talked about Year 1 under Jamey Chadwell, the emergence of Kaidon Salter at quarterback, who makes the Flames work on defense and more!

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1. I recall there was a little pushback from Flames fans at Liberty being picked so highly in the preseason Conference USA poll due to all the changes that have come to the program with a new coaching staff, namely the amount of roster turnover. But the Flames have clearly played to that potential through the halfway mark. What has been the key for new head coach Jamey Chadwell getting his first roster in Lynchburg firing on all cylinders early?

Well, to be honest I'm not sure if it was the Liberty fanbase pushing back on being picked so high as it was maybe folks like you and I in the media, haha. I think when you have a program that has a history of success and winning at the clip Liberty does, a lot of prognosticators expect that to just continue happening. Not to say it's been easy. Coach Chadwell said immediately that taking over a program that's been successful can often be harder than taking over one that stinks. When you stink, everyone is desperate for your help and they're coachable. When you've been good at doing it one way for so long, it can be hard to get players to buy in. Of the guys who stayed here, I think that's been one key to success.

The buy in rate has been high with the new offense. Treon Sibley told me a few weeks ago he's not only adapting to the offense but has started "falling in love" with the game plans each week. Also, some of the newcomers have been as good as advertised. Quinton Cooley has proven he just needed the opportunities at running back (he wasn't getting those carries at Wake Forest). Aaron Bedgood, a Coastal Carolina transfer, has stepped up at receiver and recently some at running back with the injury to Vaughn Blue. His familiarity with the offense has been valuable there. Blue had been dynamic as a freshman in that role and they hope to get him back later in the season.

I also think as each week goes by, the success continues to breed more confidence with this team, not just the offense. They've handled some injuries well to this point and showed they can play well on the road, too. It's been impressive to watch.

2. After missing some time due to injury last year, Kaidon Salter has quickly become a #WeekdayCUSA must watch with his dual-threat ability at quarterback. What has the Liberty offense done to set up Salter's success, particularly given he's not the most accurate quarterback?

Salter has put in a lot of work to mature and become 'the guy' in the quarterback room. Last year was a QB carousel for the Flames. That's not meant as indictment of the previous coaching staff, either. It was just the reality of the situation. Charlie Brewer transferred in from Utah and was meant to be the starter. He was injured in the opening game at Southern Miss. Johnathan Bennett came in and struggled before Salter came on the field and sparked the Flames to a 4 OT road win. The rest of the season it was QB by committee based on who was most effective.

With Salter having the reigns this year since fall camp and playing with more freedom, he's thrived. His completion percentage is at the bottom of the conference but he's shown he can make any throw at any given point. He leads CUSA in passing efficiency (175.65) and yards per completion (17.8). Teams have increased the pressure they've brought on him, understandably, as the year has progressed. It was a tail of two halves at Jacksonville State, though. In the first half, Salter was 4-12 for 32 yards with a sack/fumble. In the second half, he was 8-9 for 145 yards and two touchdowns, one of 27 yards and the other of 29 yards. Chadwell said after the game he thought maybe some of the calls in the first half didn't help him get settled in to the flow of the game. They did better with that putting him in positions to succeed in the second half.

3. The other engine of the Liberty rushing attack, Quinton Cooley, stands out as a true No. 1 back, only having lost five total yards on the season rushing, in addition to 597 yards gained. What led to the Wake Forest transfer winning the job and why has he found success early in his time with the Flames?

Cooley has proven himself to be durable, which is impressive considering he didn't get a lot of carries at Wake Forest. As I referenced earlier, he's shown that he can be an every down back. He runs to almost initiate contact and thrives off of it. Not surprising for a guy who came up playing linebacker in high school. I think he feels like he's valued here and has an important role on the team, thus he's motivated to do what he can to stay on the field. He's playing a little banged up but that's likely going to be the case for him as his body adjusts to the workload. He spent a lot of time in treatment between the Sam Houston and Jacksonville State games but we saw the results as he rushed for career highs at the expense of the Gamecocks. There seems to be a good vibe amongst all of the running backs in the room with Cooley as the unquestioned leader.

4. Liberty's defense has stepped its game up even further as the Flames started CUSA play, holding conference opponents to just 13.0 points per game. But among all the players that have made that unit effective, linebacker Tyren Dupree stands out to me as the breakout player on defense, already surpassing his season total in tackles from last year in just six games. What does No. 35 do for the Flames that makes him someone opposing offenses have to be keyed in on?

Dupree is one of the guys who stayed with the program after the coaching change. This team had more than 50 newcomers this year but he was one of the guys that stayed and bought in to what the new staff was selling. This isn't the first time he's been through a coaching change, though. He was recruited originally by Turner Gill and his staff back in 2018 when he was a freshman, then obviously stayed through the Hugh Freeze years. The coaching staff has tried to make itself adaptable to the players who stayed, keeping a lot of the defensive terminology the same as it was before. Dupree has told me he feels the game plans are pretty simple and that's helped him be able to fly around and not think as much. The coaches have been pleased with how well he has focused on just executing the calls and letting plays come to him.

5. When you're 6-0, it's hard to find too many flaws with a team. But Liberty did need to fend off a late rally from Sam Houston in their last CUSA home game that saw the Bearkats very nearly knock off the Flames on the mountain. What pitfalls did Liberty have in that game that they'll need to avoid against the Blue Raiders on Tuesday?

The Sam Houston game was maybe a combination of things. Sam Houston played like a team desperate to win a ballgame. Liberty wasn't quite as crisp on offense, especially in the second half. Sometimes a bye week can slow your momentum more than help out. Billy Lucas missed that game with an injury and Cooley had to leave for a time with a shoulder injury, although he did return. The rushing numbers reflected that (191 yards). That's not a bad number but it was the lowest output of the year for the Flames. However, the defense showed it was capable of winning a game for this team, too. After being called for a pass interference penalty on the last drive of the game to give Sam Houston a first down at Liberty's 15, Kobe Singleton proceeded to break up three of the final five pass attempts, including 4th and goal at the Liberty three yard line, to end the game.

In MTSU's two conference losses they've combined to turn the ball over seven times. If that trend continues at Williams Stadium next Tuesday against a Liberty team that is currently tied for the second most turnovers forced in the nation, it won't be a good night for the Blue Raiders. If the Flames are able to continue leaning on their run game and Salter makes good decisions with the ball, I think Liberty will be in good shape. However, if Nicholas Vattiato is able to get in a rhythm like he did against LA Tech the other night and MTSU's offense takes care of the ball, they've shown they can score points the last couple of weeks. It could be a fun match-up to watch.

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Players Mentioned

Tra Fluellen

Nicholas Vattiato

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics