Beat Writer Q&A Preview: Liberty -- Damien Sordelett

For each week of Western Kentucky's 2020 football season, Tyler Mansfield of InsideHilltopperSports.com will connect with a beat writer who covers the opposing team for a Q&A session.

For Game 2, Tyler chats with Damien Sordelett, who covers Liberty for The News & Advance in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Hilltoppers (0-1) are coming off a 35-21 loss to Louisville, while the Flames are opening their season at WKU.

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium. ESPNU is carrying the broadcast.

Mansfield: What’s your overall take on this Liberty team entering its first game of the season? Do you feel that the Flames will take another step forward this year under Hugh Freeze?

Sordelett: To be honest, it’s hard to accurately gauge this season’s Liberty team with the lack of access to the program because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s like that across the country, and Saturday will serve as my first time seeing the team in person since early March before practices were canceled. Based on everything we’ve heard from coaches and players in the past week, I’d say this team has the potential to take a step forward in Hugh Freeze’s second season at the helm. The offense has the pieces to be a bit more dynamic than last season because of dual-threat quarterback Malik Willis, and the defense has more depth off the edge which should make the pass rush more potent than it was last season when the group produced the second-most sacks in program history.

What does another step forward look like for a program entering its third season at the FBS level? It would be a second straight bowl berth, and scoring a victory over a Power Five program for the first time since the 2017 opener at Baylor. Fortunately for Liberty, it gets three chances against teams from the ACC when the Flames match up with Syracuse, Virginia Tech and N.C. State.

Mansfield: WKU and Liberty are a pair of programs that haven’t met since the mid-90s, so this is a pretty interesting game in 2020. How do you feel about this matchup — just in general?

Sordelett: This is a good matchup for both teams, even with the 24-year gap between meetings. WKU should be in the discussion among the better Group of Five programs (those discussions are overshadowed by the teams from the AAC and the Sun Belt’s Appalachian State), and Liberty’s goal is to one day be in the talks as one of the premier G5 programs. This will be a good test for the Flames to see where they stack up, especially with two more C-USA teams on the schedule (FIU and Southern Miss) this season in Lynchburg.

WKU quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome and running back Gaej Walker have been described by Liberty defensive coordinator Scott Symons as a “two-headed monster” and he added they are comparable at the Group of Five level to Louisiana-Lafayette. (That’s a major compliment.) And the offensive coaches raved nonstop about defensive end DeAngelo Malone and his game-changing ability. For a first game, it’s a good test for a Liberty team that will certainly be challenged from the opening snap.

Mansfield: Just by looking at last year’s stats, Liberty brings back quite a few guys on both sides of the ball who played big roles last season. On top of that, a former Power Five-level quarterback is going to be the Flames’ starter. What’s your breakdown on the roster in terms of who could have big games at WKU?

Sordelett: I brought up Malik Willis in the first answer, and he is the Power Five transfer from Auburn who is expected to help expand Freeze’s RPO offense playbook. Calvert was a pure pocket passer and never ventured much out of the pocket. While Liberty ran an uptempo RPO attack, the playbook was limited because there were no designed quarterback runs or RPOs where Calvert took a step toward the line of scrimmage before either pitching to a running back or running up the field. With Willis, opposing defenses have to account for his running ability, and the Liberty offense will likely mirror what was run at Ole Miss when Chad Kelly was at quarterback.

Joshua Mack served as Frankie Hickson’s backup at running back last season, and he is expected to have a bigger role this season.

It will be a committee approach to replacing Antonio Gandy-Golden at wide receiver. CJ Yarbrough and Noah Frith showed glimpses of their potential last season and both are expected to take massive steps forward this season. DJ Stubbs and DeMario Douglas in the slot could be matchup nightmares for defenses.

Speaking of defenses, TreShaun Clark, Durrell Johnson and Austin Lewis bring more depth at end that was missing last season. Jessie Lemonier, who racked up 20.5 sacks over two seasons, was asked to play far too many snaps last season because the depth was lacking, and that was addressed in the additions of Johnson and freshmen Stephen Sings and Aakil Washington.

Linebacker is the thinnest position on the roster, and Charlotte transfer Anthony Butler and redshirt sophomore Tyren Dupree will be the main catalysts there.

Safety JaVon Scruggs leads an improved secondary that features Juawan Treadwell (the younger brother of Laquon Treadwell), two-time All-American Marcus Haskins and former walk-on turned starter Ben Alexander.

Mansfield: How do you see Saturday's game playing out? Feel free to give a score prediction, too.

Sordelett: Western Kentucky was able to work out the kinks last week against Louisville and should make some big strides this week. Liberty, on the other hand, is making its season debut and will undoubtedly have some first-game mistakes with new faces at key positions. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Hilltoppers significantly improve their third-down defense while also generating some big plays on offense. Liberty will make plays on defense, because early in the season that will be the side that carries the team as Willis and the offense find their footing, and the offense should be able to hit a home run here and there. I think it will be a closer game than many are projecting, with WKU edging Liberty 27-24.