Saturday was a beautiful day in Lynchburg.  The setup in the end zone for kid's and an on field view of the action very well received.  Overall the experience felt much more fan friendly than the last couple years.  Mid Morning and cool weather can be a bad combo which is what we had last year.  No way to be sure of this but it felt like around 5,000 folks in attendance overall.  

Defense

For at least the 2nd and probably even the 3rd year in a row it seems like the defense is significantly ahead of the offense.  In some ways that's a positive because I have no doubt Chadwell and Co. will put up points just like they have done everywhere they've been.  It may take a year or 2 to get the talent and scheme fits that they need but I'd always take the under on that bet on when that will happen.  Defensively, the Flames still looked to be big, fast, and physical even with all the defections and coaching change.  If there was one concern with Chadwell and Co. it was what kind of defensive success would come along with him.  Coastal obviously had a nasty DL under coach Magee but the rest of the defense struggled.  Retaining Jack Curtis was huge and at the time Robert Bala as well who was an up and coming star before Bama picked him off for their LB coach.  Chadwell went in and poached Josh Linam from Auburn who was another up and coming star by all accounts and it doesn't hurt that it came at Auburn's expense if we're being honest.  

Player wise I thought it looked like the DL just reloaded.  Especially at tackle where the Flames are as deep as any position with Charles, Hardy, Boti, Galloway, Dixon & Nairne and it appears the Rev has moved inside as well though he is still listed at DE on the roster (still lists Yarbrough on the roster so probably not up to date).  DE is going to be much younger and not as proven beyond Stephen Sings but there is a lot of upside there.  Pernell, Conaway and Dozier are all very young guys that came in highly touted that could step up this year.  CJ Bazile Jr was a guy that I thought flashed quite a bit at the end of the year and could be a big time player as well.  The reigning state player of the year in Virginia and CCU flip TJ Bush also was consistently in the 2 deep all spring (should be a HS senior).  The corners and safeties played well and we seem to have filled in a lot of depth at those spots.  LB has been a problem throughout our time in FBS and it looked like we had finally put that to bed but then Walker & Smith both entered the portal.  Dupree is a proven veteran and really does a great job in coverage.  Aakil Washington just does whatever the team needs and will probably still play DE and LB.  Jerome Jolly flashed a lot Saturday and was all over the field.  I think he may be a guy that pops.  Freeman has been moved to LB and Norwood came back out of the portal and both guys were highly touted coming so hopefully they can make an impact.  

Portal needs on Defense - Chadwell noted they need more help at LB and also mentioned DL.  I would expect they may be looking for one more experienced end with Juco All American Whitehead announcing he will stay in JUCO one more year and with Treshaun Clark exiting the program with a year left.  I also feel sure they will add another LB that the staff will hope can play a lot of snaps and hopefully be a 3 down LB.  Those guys are tough to find so time will tell.  Overall, I was encouraged that we may be able to keep up the same or close to the same level of defense that had been built. 

Special Teams - It's hard to read too much into Special Teams in these settings but Max Morgan was crushing his punts and did well filling in for Alves last year so it looks like there is little to no drop-off there and he was awarded a full scholarship.  Kicker has been coin toss for a long time for Liberty after having a decade or so of great kickers at the FCS level from Greenbaum to Bevins to Lunsford & Probert.  Lenderink who transferred in from UNC last year got most of the kicks (that I saw) and looked really good.  I saw 2 from 45 to 50 that he made with rush coming and they had plenty of leg.  

Offense -  I'll start with the positives.  I think we have a really good stable of RB's and TE's.  In fact I would put RB right there with DT as the best position group on the team at the moment.  Blue looks like he can be a 3 down back.  Jointer is a big burly punishing runner that still has a lot of untapped potential and Cooley is a bruiser as well that reminds me of a better Peyton Pickett which I think Liberty has missed that type of back the last couple years.  Dae Dae had an incredible year and was moving around on the sideline and with the fans pretty well so I wouldn't count him out and we all saw what he did last year.  Henderson, Jenkins & Hanshaw all looked pretty good from what I could tell and when Burklow comes in he will give the Flames the best TE recruit out of HS that they've had that I can remember.  OL play was hard to judge with X out but White from WVU was impressive and we know what we have with a lot of the returners.  I think the OL will be better this year but will need to add a little more depth.  

The QB play was very uneven as most have noted.  It honestly looked like a lot of what we saw during 2022.  There were some great plays and some really bad plays.  I thought Lowe and Salter had the best days but both still have a lot of work to do.  JB & Nate had pretty rough days and of course the highlight was really bad decision and throw by JB to the perimeter that was picked and taken back for 7.  JB's a great leader and had the best game of 22 against BYU of any of the QB's so we will see what happens there.  IMHO WR is the biggest position of need and is also making it hard to evaluate the QB's.  I didn't think our WR room was all that great last year beyond Demario and losing CJ Yarbrough really didn't help.  We should be fine in the slot with Reese Smith & Shedro.  Outside we still have some solid guys like CJ Daniels, Noah Frith & Treon Sibley but no real game busters.  Daniels is the closest thing we have to a lead WR but even he is probably best suited to play in the slot.  Kylen Austen & Errol Rogers are still around and showed some promise but the Flames will need more.  Fortenberry still doesn't appear to be ready yet.  I just didn't see much separation all day from the WR group. 

Portal Needs on Offense - Chadwell mentioned QB, 2 WR and OL.  None of those thoughts came as any great surprise to those that follow the program but it was a bit telling that he openly admitted they would still look at QB's.  The staff will probably be selective at QB and only take a guy that they feel like is a definite upgrade and not just take any kid which will further muddy the evaluation and reps.  At WR and OL the Flames have been very active.  They could use some size and difference making ability outside.  

Overall, I think things are headed in the right direction.  The players and fan base seem to be all in on the long term commitment to LU that Chadwell continues to speak and put into practice regularly.  It will take a bit to get the depth right with all the turnover and defections from the program but that's the game these days when a coaching change is made.