Liberty University Freshman Football Program: A Foundation for Champions

Liberty University's football program has experienced a remarkable journey, marked by both triumphs and tribulations. From its humble beginnings as a small college team to its current status as a rising force in the FBS, the program has consistently striven for excellence, guided by a strong foundation of faith and a commitment to developing student-athletes. This article explores the Liberty University freshman football program, its history, key figures, recent successes, and the opportunities it provides for young athletes.

Early Years and the Vision of Jerry Falwell

The Liberty University football program began in 1973, when the school was known as Lynchburg Baptist College. It was affiliated with the National Christian College Athletic Association at the time. The program gained full varsity status in 1975, the same year in which the school became Liberty Baptist College and joined the NAIA. In 1980, the school joined NCAA Division II, while maintaining its NAIA membership; it left the NAIA in 1983. Two years later, the current name of Liberty University was adopted.

Liberty University founder Dr. Jerry Falwell envisioned a world-class athletic program that would rival the likes of USC, Notre Dame, and Alabama. He believed that music and athletics were universal languages for young people and effective means of reaching the next generation with the Gospel. This vision laid the groundwork for the program's future growth and success.

Lee "Rock" Royer served as the first head coach in the history of the Flames’ program. According to Chip Smith, who became Lynchburg Baptist College’s first scholarship football player after Dr. Falwell recruited him away from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Coach Royer was the ultimate man of God”.

Transition to Division I and FBS

The program moved to Division I FCS (known before the 2006 season as Division I-AA) in 1988, remaining at that level through the 2017 season. Since transitioning to the FBS level in 2018, Liberty has accumulated a 53-22 record including a 3-1 mark in bowl games, starting with back-to-back Cure Bowl titles in Orlando, Fla., in 2019-20 and the LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in 2021.

Read also: Liberty University Fees

Since Liberty started its football program in 1973, full box scores are available for all games, and there is no pre-modern era with incomplete statistics like there is for many college football teams. Additionally, freshmen have been eligible to play on varsity teams during Liberty's entire football history, giving all players who started their college careers at that school the chance to play for four seasons. Also, due to COVID-19 disruptions in the 2020 season, the NCAA ruled that it would not count the 2020 season against any football player's athletic eligibility, giving all players active in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four. Additionally, since 2018, players at the FBS level have been allowed to participate in as many as four games in a redshirt season; previously, playing in even one game "burned" the redshirt. Since 2024, postseason games have not counted against the four-game limit. At levels of play below FBS, regular seasons have been shorter than the FBS limit. Before a coming expansion in 2026 to 12 games, matching the FBS limit, the FCS limit is normally 11 games. In Divisions II and III, the limit remains 11 games. However, all levels of play below FBS hold official championship tournaments, providing the opportunity for more games. That said, playoff games are not necessarily included in official statistics maintained by national governing bodies-for example, the NCAA did not include playoff games in official I-AA/FCS statistics until 2002, the same year in which it first included bowl games in official FBS statistics. Additionally, before 2026, the NCAA allowed FCS programs to schedule 12 regular-season games in years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays. Liberty was thus able to play a 12-game schedule in 2008, 2013, and 2014. Also, Liberty has played in bowl games in each season since it completed its FBS transition ahead of the 2019 season, giving players in those seasons another game to amass statistics. Instead, it publishes separate lists of career, single-season, and single-game leaders in all relevant categories. Unlike many FBS schools, it generally lists only the top 5 on all relevant leaderboards. This article will generally follow Liberty's current practice, with differences as noted in each section. Liberty's list of single-season rushing leaders includes all 1,000-yard rushing seasons (16 to date), allowing a full top 10 to be compiled. D. J. Liberty includes all 1,000-yard seasons in its official leaderboards, resulting in a top 9 single-season list instead of a top 5. Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. Liberty lists all instances of 250 yards of total offense in a game on its official athletic site, allowing a full single-game top 10 to be compiled. The program's lists of total offense leaders do not break down leaders' performances by type of play (passing or rushing). "Touchdowns responsible for" is the official NCAA term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns. All-purpose yardage is the sum of all yards credited to a player who is in possession of the ball. Most recent:Amarian Williams, 2024 vs..

The Jamey Chadwell Era: A Season of Jubilation

The 50th year of Liberty University Football, and first under the direction of Head Coach Jamey Chadwell, has turned into a season of jubilation, capped by a Conference USA Championship victory over New Mexico State at Williams Stadium on Dec. That spectacular finish to Liberty’s first season in the CUSA set the stage for the spontaneous celebration that followed its selection to the program’s first New Year’s Six game, the Jan.

Chadwell, recently named the Paul “Bear” Bryant Group of 5 Coach of the Year making him one of eight finalists for the overall Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year, orchestrated the most prolific rushing attack in the nation this season with his spread option offensive formation. It produced program records of 3,938 yards (302.9 per game) and 39 touchdowns on the ground, including 1,322 yards and 16 TDs by Cooley, who ranked No.

“It’s an opportunity unlike we’ve ever had before as a university, and just the amount of positive publicity that is going to come along with it, and national brand building we can do over this month, is going to be extraordinary,” McCaw said.

Remembering Tajh Boyd

This storybook season is one of triumph born of tragedy, following the Aug. 5 death of freshman offensive lineman Tajh Boyd, 18. The Flames played the season in memory of Boyd, with red-shirt senior offensive lineman X’Zauvea Gadlin adopting his No.

Read also: History of Liberty's Flames

Key Players and Statistical Leaders

Liberty has produced a number of talented players who have gone on to professional careers, with wide receivers Fred Banks and Kelvin Edwards becoming the first two to be selected in the NFL Draft.

This season, Kaidon Salter, the HERO Sports Group of 5 Player of the Year, eclipsed current-Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis’ record-setting seasons in 2020 and 2021 - capped by MVP performances in both bowls - to post the greatest season ever by a Liberty quarterback.

The Liberty Flames football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Liberty Flames football program in various categories, including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, all-purpose yardage, defensive stats, and kicking. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders.

Facilities and Fan Support

About 38 years after Hurricane Juan flooded out Liberty Football’s training facility on Treasure Island in 1985, Flames fans flooded Williams Stadium after the Dec. Nov. What seemed like another devastating blow to the program became a blessing in disguise as it led to the Flames moving their football operations from an island located across a rickety bridge on the James River and from hosting games at Lynchburg’s City Stadium to settling on campus in the location Dr. Falwell envisioned from the beginning.

Flames fans can see Liberty’s dedication to competition excellence through our NCAA Division I and Club Sports teams. Liberty’s state-of-the-art athletic facilities also garner attention.

Recruiting and Developing Student-Athletes

Liberty University does offer athletic scholarships for Football. Need-based and academic scholarships are available for student-athletes. Athletic scholarships are available for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA and NJCAA. If you are interested in getting recruited by Liberty University Football, you should get to know more about the school, what academic programs are offered, and important members of the coaching staff - these are the people you need to connect with. It’s important you build a relationship with the coaching staff. This is one of the ways SportsRecruits can help. You can certainly start by filling out the Liberty University Football’s recruiting questionnaire and getting on their list, but that’s only the start. To get actively recruited, a college coach needs to see you compete, which is why it’s important to have an online athletic recruiting profile. High school student-athletes have a discoverability problem. And discoverability is the key to college exposure and recruitment. Just having a recruiting profile doesn’t guarantee you will get recruited. You need your profile to showcase all of your academic and athletic achievements, and be able to instantly connect to college coaches who are interested. If you can’t quickly find and message any college coach you want, then you’re not solving your biggest problem in getting recruited for Football. The Head Coach of Liberty University Football is Jamey Chadwell - make it as easy as possible for them to learn about you as an athlete, and be able to start a conversation with you. 100% of college coaches and programs are on the SportsRecruits platform.

Liberty trains Champions for Christ by providing a high-quality student-athlete experience and achieving victory with integrity in its intercollegiate athletics programs.

Campus Life and the Freshman Experience

Members of Liberty’s new freshman class cheer at the Flames Kickoff, an annual event to acclimate new students to Liberty Athletics’ game day traditions. During the Flames Kickoff on Friday night, Liberty President Dr. Dondi E. “This is one exciting - and excited - university,” he said. “Welcome to Liberty University. Part of what you get to do is be part of Flames Nation.

Flames Football Head Coach Jamey Chadwell asked students to show up to support the team in its first home matchup of the 2025 campaign on Aug. Head Football Coach Jamey Chadwell speaks to new students at the Flames Kickoff. “Congratulations. You are at the largest Christian university in the world,” she said. “I come up here to declare Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I’m here to remind you that God will give you amazing gifts in abundance.

“I feel like I’m really prepared now for the games,” said freshman Ava Webster, who is from Loudon County, Va., and plans to study elementary education. “God is at the center of it all (here),” she added. “Every football game, in class - everything is all about God. It’s so unique that at Liberty we talk about following Christ (well). Freshmen are introduced to Liberty’s favorite mascot, Sparky, during the Flames Kickoff on Friday night. The Spirit of the Mountain marching band plays traditional game day tunes during the Flames Kickoff.

Recent Season Highlights

We are just past the midway point of the 2025 season for Liberty football as the Flames are 3-4 on the season with five more games scheduled in the regular season. With the relatively new redshirt rule in effect, players can compete in up to 4 games in a season and still maintain their redshirt. Cohen has already seen his redshirt burned, playing in five of the team’s first seven games. Cullins has played in 4 games for the Flames so far this season, meaning if he plays in one more during the regular season his redshirt will be burnt, which appears likely. Houck played in two games when Ethan Vasko was injured. He rotated with Michael Merdinger who was the starter against Old Dominion. Houock got into the game on 22 snaps, completing just 1 of 6 pass attempts for 17 yards with one interception. He also rushed 7 times for 24 yards. Following the team’s first quasi-bye week with 10 days off as the team transitioned to the midweek schedule for two games in October, we have seen Jaylon Coleman become a part of the offensive game play. He has played in each of the past two games, getting on the field for a total of 19 snaps. He has 3 receptions for 41 yards. Gunn played in the season opener against Maine late in the game, seeing the field for 8 snaps. He has not played since.

tags: #liberty #university #freshman #football #program