Liberty Football 2025 Signing Class plus Roster & Bowl implications

 

Liberty signed 14 HS seniors which has a composite ranking of #84 in the nation on 247 sports.  It's good for the 2nd Class in CUSA behind UTEP although UTEP signed 27 total players.  Liberty's average player ranking is significantly higher than UTEP.  That shouldn't come as a surprise as the coaching staff has done a good job with HS recruits each of the last 2 years including flipping 3 high end Coastal commits when the staff came over.  The Flames HS signees will typically try to mirror what they are losing in the way of graduations.  Portal additions will typically be to fill roster defections via the portal.  

Key Notes

Sam Cohen is the highlight of the class for me.  He's the 21st ranked player in the state of VA per 247.  The next highest ranked player to sign with a non P4 was #43 Ksaan Farrar from VA Beach to Uconn.  Cohen had plenty of P4 suitors, so he clearly wanted to join the Flames and joins at a position of need on the DL.  Brandon Edozie was the 45th ranked player in VA and also signed with the Flames.  

Jaylon Coleman is intriguing speed prospect with a smaller stature at just 5-8 155.  He's the 18th ranked player in the state of Louisiana and once again the highest rated G5 commit in the state.  The Flames clearly lacked home run threats this past year and that's his specialty.  I think he will settle in what Flames Nation will forever coin The Aaron Bedgood role once all is settled. 

Nasir Newkirk is a 6'2 185 WR from just over the state line in Greensboro.  The Flames won a highly contested recruiting battle with UVA and Duke for the services of Newkirk.  He comes at another huge area of need which is a WR with size.  The Flames have struggled mightily to develop HS receivers since joining the FBS era.  The Flames haven't developed a WR 1 or 2 since Demario Douglas which would be 5 signing classes ago.  Newkirk was the 30th ranked player in the state of NC and the 2nd highest rated G5 signee in the state.  

You always have to talk about the QB in the class and Houck could be the steal of the class.  Houck is 6'4 205 and has a very mature and developed body for a HS QB.  He committed to the Flames in June and had little fanfare at the time.  He really only had FCS offers and Charlotte at the time but the tape plus the measurables made me think the Flames had a steal.  He had a big senior season and his stock really took off but he held true to the Flames.  He's the 27th ranked player in the state of Maryland and again the 2nd highest G5 ranked signee in the state. 

Portal Defections

Kaidon Salter going in the portal shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone.  Rumors had been swirling all offseason and it never looked like he was as zoned in as last year.  Of course, the offense lacked playmakers aside from RB's specifically at WR where very rarely did WR's get open and when they did there were a lot of drops mixed in with some Salt overthrows.  I sat at the Jax State game with a WR coach of a D2 regional program who was astonished at the lack of outside WR talent.  He confirmed what my eyes had told me all the way back to training camp in that the Flames had a bunch of 3's and 4's at WR but no 1's or 2's.  The departures of Fortenberry and Austin will be a good thing as it will allow the Flames to take more shots on goal at the position in the portal.  You have a few nice pieces that could continue to develop in the freshman class plus Lee, Canion, Smith & Gray but the Flames need more and they can't rely on Freshman to contribute at WR.  Even the best of the WR's in the program history rarely have more than 10 catches in their freshman years.  It's one of the most difficult positions to make an impact early at.  

The OL took a lot of heat early and some rightly so.  Again, the eye ball test told me we had some serious P4 talent size & athleticism on the OL and that has proven true.  White & Gray are racking up top 25 P4 high end offers like crazy and I suspect Hall will have his share of suitors as well.  The Flames still have some talent returning such as Fenimore, Tucker & Geth that played a lot of snaps this year but they will undoubtedly need to add at least a couple impact portal OL.  It was tough to see James Jointer enter.  He looked prime to challenge for the starting role and he was always built like a mack truck and had high end speed.  I did notice he struggled to stay low on some of his runs in his limited opportunities, but I think he could be a capable 1 or 2 for somebody.  The Flames will need a portal RB to compete with Blue & Williams.  Bryce Dixon is another tough loss.  Dixon was a Freeze commit whom the Flames fought off multiple P5's to retain his pledge.  Dixon wasn't quite as dominant as we expected in the new scheme but I fully expect him to be a starter wherever he goes.  DL is another area of need.  

Bowl Game

As far as the Bowl Game goes who knows what it will look like.  Burger will get his first start at Liberty and will probably be down Cooley as well so the offense will be missing many key contributors.  Defensively, the Flames actually improved a bit statistically even though it didn't feel like it at times.  Thus far the defense has remained relatively intact.  It's hard to know what type of team and talent will show up this year.  Hopefully, some of the younger guys can make an impact and show that they are a part of the future.  Beyond that, it may be tough to really take much away from the bowl game.