Liberty punter Max Morgan earned a nod to the preseason Conference USA watch list in July and will handle the primary punting duties for a third straight season.
Bryson Gordon
Liberty kicker Brayden Beck has taken the long way to earn an opportunity to become the Flames' primary field goal kicker again.
It hasn't been since 2021 -- Beck's freshman season under former coach Hugh Freeze -- that the Carrollton, Texas, native was the team's leader in field goals.
In between, he spent the entire 2022 season on the sidelines before being a backup on kickoff duties in each of the last two years.
A long way from being in the pressure cooker that can be the kicking game, Beck has emerged as a redshirt senior squarely in the middle of a heated kicking competition.
Liberty brought in two newcomers to challenge for the job, and Beck has already outlasted Wake Forest transfer Tyler Black to battle Jay Billingsley (Gardner-Webb) for field goal duties.
All three had strong showings in fall camp and in Saturday's fan appreciation day scrimmage. Liberty's only new position coach this season -- special teams coordinator Dylan Lewellyn -- said Thursday that Billingsley and Beck find themselves the last two standing.
The margins between the two in fall camp were razor-thin.
"We chart everything. We time everything. Jay kicked 103 balls in camp and he made 94 of them. Beck kicked 106, he made 95 of them," Lewellyn said. "So consistency is really incredible. These two [are] the best as far as kicking go that I've been a part of in my days coaching."
Black likely gives the Flames a long-term solution at kicker as a redshirt freshman. Billingsley arrives from the FCS level with a big leg, posting a program record at Gardner-Webb of 54 yards. He drilled a 52-yarder with some room to spare to cap off Saturday's scrimmage.
"He's done it in game and I trust that he can do that [here]," Lewellyn said.
"Beck, he's been here his entire career. He's bought in to Liberty. ... The lights aren't going to be too big for him. He's kicked in big games at Liberty before."
Colin Karhu (10-14 FGs) offered a slight reprieve in his only season in Lynchburg from recent kicking woes for the Flames football program. Lewellyn feels confident the Flames have the pieces this year to do even better.
"It's their last year, last go around," he said about Beck and Billingsley. "Those guys are going to be running with the ones and twos ... until Saturday and we'll let the pieces fall where they may."
Morgan sharpened by competition
Punter Max Morgan also returns for his fifth and final season and arrived to a pleasant surprise: A nod to Conference USA's preseason watch list.
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"I actually don't have social media right now. So that was passed to me through the different players," he said, "... I just take everything, whether it be criticism or praise, as a grain of salt."
He said it was "cool," but didn't change his mindset. Morgan was called out specifically by Chadwell during media availability as someone who needed to improve in the early-going.
The message was received and he was ultimately sharpened by a battle with redshirt freshman Sam Crossan.
"I texted [Lewellyn] this quote the other day, 'Pressure is a privilege.' And it's how you only experience pressure when you're doing something important. And it pushes you to get better.
"That's how I took that [challenge]. Sam's getting better, it put that pressure on me and I had to push past that pressure and elevate my game."
Last season, Morgan averaged 42.4 yards per punt while handling kickoff duties. He pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 15 times last year with had eight punts of 50-plus yards.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Manis will take over both the long- and short-snapping on special teams for Liberty, and Morgan will hold for whoever comes out of the kicking competition.
Morgan and Billingsley are from around the same area of South Carolina and share a connection through high school soccer.
"I can't say I remember playing him, but we played T.L. Hanna [S.C.] once and I'm pretty sure we played each other. So you could say that me and Jay have chemistry together, too. But they're both really good players," Morgan said.
Dynamic returners hope to break free
Liberty's kick and punt return units feature two of the most dynamic returners in the entire Group of Five.
Lewellyn confirmed on Thursday that safety Brylan Green would return to handle punt duties, while running back Juju Gray will remain on kickoffs despite the position change.
Gray flashed his uncanny speed and shiftiness on Saturday and housed the opening kickoff of the scrimmage for a touchdown. Green began last season with a 45-yard return against Campbell, and has been nominated for the Paul Hornung Award as the country's most versatile player for this upcoming season.
Lewellyn has made it hard on Green in the preseason while emphasizing the need to field punts.
"He puts boxing gloves on. He's very solid still catching punts," the coach said. "BG has the ability to take it. You see some dynamic returns last year, before he got injured. I think he's a guy that can do it for us this year."
Liberty ranked third in Conference USA last season in punt return average, with 10.6 yards per attempt. They fell to eighth in kick return average as Gray battled injuries early. He had more than his fair share of moments when he returned to the role, including a season-best 56-yard return against Western Kentucky.
"Juju, just an explosive athlete," Lewellyn said. "To me, looking at him or watching tape on him sticking his foot in the ground, getting north and south, it's scary. I hope [it does] the same thing for our opponents."
Bryson Gordon, (434) 385-5529
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