Hopes to move up to Division I help LU in recruiting

In December, the announcement of Liberty’s plan to conduct an FBS feasibility study coincided with the school’s introduction of Turner Gill as its new head football.

So pair that with the fact that Gill is rife with experience at FBS schools, both as a player and as a head coach, and one of Gill’s selling points to recruits was easy to figure out.

As word came in over the last two weeks that players were giving Liberty verbal commitments, some of the rhetoric from the players was less than subtle.

Canon Smith, a tight end from Birmingham, Ala., committed to the Flames last week and was one of 12 players on Wednesday to sign a national letter of intent to play football for Liberty next season. When asked by a reporter from the Birmingham News, “Why Liberty?,” he was frank in his answer.

“They’re negotiating conferences and they’ll announce that in April,” Smith told the paper. “They want to build a tradition there.”

The conference affiliation business is a tricky one, and Liberty won’t be guaranteed to move up to the highest level of Division I football unless it gains an invite from an existing FBS conference. The school’s feasibility study is ongoing, and results are expected either later this month or in March. That hasn’t stopped Gill and his coaching staff from using the potential for a move up as a recruiting pitch.

“I think that was a big plus for us, knowing that it was something that was stated publicly, of what we’re doing, where we’re going and how we’re going to get those things accomplished,” Gill said. “It was definitely a plus.”

The caliber of athlete Gill was able to sign was of a bit higher level than that of Flames’ classes in the past. Of the 12 players, four were rated as three-star recruits by Rivals.com or Scout.com, and two more were two-star recruits. The class is Sun Belt heavy, with five signees from Florida, two from Alabama and one from east Texas.

Gill signed two players from Virginia, including Sterling Park View wide receiver Ryan McCarter and safety Charles Williams, a 6-foot, 190-pounder from Farmville’s Fuqua School who plays with speed and has a “wow factor,” about him, Gill said.

The three-star recruits were running back D.J. Abnar of Tallahassee, Fla.; offensive lineman Aharown Campbell of Hargrave Military Academy; wide receiver Darrin Peterson of Attalla, Ala.; and linebacker Dallas Griffiths of Tampa, Fla.

Griffiths originally committed to Maryland but switched his commitment last week, announcing it via his Twitter account. Griffiths’ brother, Chase, transferred to Liberty last season after a year at South Florida.

“If a kid decides he wants to commit to someone, we’re going to respect that,” Gill said. “But we are going to ask him. He said, ‘hey, I’d like for you guys to continue to recruit me.’ And we did. It just kind of worked out to have him be a part of our program. We’re glad it did, because he is a dynamic player.”

The same can be said for Abnar, who had offers from several BCS conference schools, including Texas Tech and Iowa State.

“We wanted to find a guy who we thought was dynamic, a guy where when you turned on the tape, you felt like he could run over people, could also make people miss and also show he’s got the speed to take it the distance,” Gill said. “Definitely, D.J. Abnar gives us that. He’s a dynamic guy.”

Gill said the biggest areas of need were at wide receiver, where Liberty loses Chris Summers, Ervin Garner and B.J. Hayes, and along the defensive line. The Flames will switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense this season, and Liberty needed more depth up front to bolster the rotation.

At wideout, Peterson is the standout. The 6-2, 190-pound Peterson visited Auburn over the weekend but chose ultimately to honor a soft commitment to Liberty. All four of the receivers in the class (including Dante’ Shells, a mid-year enrollee) are at least 6-2.

After landing junior college standout Jibrelle Fewell and German transfer Max Sommer two weeks ago, Gill bolstered the defensive front by signing Gerald Holt from Kannapolis, N.C., and Chima Uzowihe, a 6-2, 240-pound rush end from Houston.

Another big piece of the class was kicker/punter John Lunsford, who nailed a 58-yard field goal this season on a grass field in high school in Florida. Gill said Lunsford may have the opportunity to handle all three facets of the kicking game: place kicking, punting and kickoffs.

Gill didn’t shy away from selling Liberty as a school making a potentially big move in the future, and it paid off with a strong first recruiting class.

“It was brought up by everybody, there was no question about that,” Gill said. “That was something that was on everybody’s mind. It was on my mind when I took the job. That’s what I told them. Like we’ve told people here, we have an opportunity to get that done. When that happens, I don’t know. But we have faith in the Lord that it’s going to happen.

“But those guys on this list, they’re all excited to be a part of a legacy here. That’s what we tell our student-athletes here. That’s what we tell our prospects. There are going to be some great things here. Come here and be part of something special.”