2011 Football Training Camp: DL Preview

Leading up to the Flames' season-opening football battle against N.C. State on Sept. 3, LibertyFlames.com will be previewing each position around the gridiron.

Today, we continue our position-by-position preview by taking a look at the defensive line. During today's video package, Flames Sports Network correspondent Nick Pierce had a chance to speak with defensive line coach Levern Belin, who has direct oversight of Liberty's front three defenders in the Flames' 3-4 defensive scheme.

Defensive Line
It is not often that you hear a coach excited about the losses of three players who accumulated 110 games of playing experience and finished with a combined 181 tackles and 43.5 tackles for a loss during their four-year careers.

However, head coach Danny Rocco finds himself that way coming into the 2011 season, as he feels the group behind the defensive stalwarts of Terry Adams (35 games/67.5 tackles/18.5 TFL), Patrick Bannon (43 games/73.5 tackles/14.0 TFL) and Daryl Robertson (32 games/40.5 tackles/11.0 TFL) could be that much better.

This steady trio of players has laid the groundwork and trained the next incoming class that has much more untapped talents. "I think the group that is coming has great potential and could be better than any group we have ever had on the defensive line," state Rocco.

The three-player group will be anchored by nose guard Asa Chapman, who returns for his fourth season with the program. Chapman earned fourth-team All-America honors in 2010, as he ranked third on Liberty's defensive roster with 41 tackles, four quarterback hurries, 3.5 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.

"Asa is what I call a ‘man's man.' He has been a three-year starter for our program and is an amazing athlete for a man of his size," commented Rocco. "He was recognized for his efforts this past year as an All-American and is coming off a great offseason. He is fit and in shape and I'm hoping he can be as dominant as he is capable of being."

Behind Chapman at nose guard will be Bryant Lewellyn and Matt Stokes. Lewellyn played in just two games in 2011, while Stokes was another of Rocco's greyshirted athletes.

"Bryant gives us some depth at the nose guard position, as he is a strong and physical player and brings the needed toughness to this position," stated Rocco.

Looking to fill the void left by the three-man starting rotation of Adams, Bannon and Robertson at the end positions will be Greg Schuster and Cory Freeman. Additionally, Rocco moved Francis Bah, a former tight end, to the defensive end position for the 2011 season.

"Greg is a big, strong and physical player that recently ran a 5.15 in the 40-yard dash," said Rocco. "He is strong as a bull and is going to get a chance to play at end this season after backing up Asa the past two seasons. He will see time both at end and nose guard this season because we feel he deserves to be on the field."

Schuster finished the 2010 season with 23 tackles in 11 games, and came up with his first career fumble recovery during Liberty's season finale against Stony Brook.

Freeman is one of the returning players with experience at defensive end. Despite only recording 12 tackles in 11 games, Freeman really impressed the coaching staff, and they have high expectations for the upcoming underclassman.

"Cory is a defensive end that returns and really has a chance to be an All-America caliber player," stated Rocco. "Cory played a lot for us last year and we are excited about his speed, as he ran a 4.6 40-yard dash the other day."

Joining Freeman in the category of players that will have three years left after this season is Bah. "Francis is truly a gifted athlete," stated Rocco. "He ran a 4.6 40-yard dash during the end of winter conditioning drills and already has several school weight room records."

Paco Varol, part of Liberty's Germany connection that brought the team Big South all-conference offensive lineman Soeren Wendland, had a promising spring last year, but was hampered by injuries during most of the regular season. Varol joined offensive lineman Jay Weatherington as a Samkon Gado award winner, for his most improved efforts during spring workouts.

"I really believe with Cory, Francis and Paco, who is coming off a great offseason, we are going to have a very nice rotation at end," commented Rocco.

Defensive Line at a Glance
Front Runners
Asa Chapman (NG) (Sr., 6-5, 380)
Cory Freeman (DE) (R-So., 6-4, 270)
Greg Schuster (DE) (R-Jr., 6-2, 280)
Paco Varol (DE) (R-So., 6-2, 270)

Contenders
Francis Bah (R-So., 6-3, 285)
Dylan Bowman (R-Fr., 6-3, 240)
Bryant Lewellyn (R-Jr., 6-1, 285)
Toby Onyechi (Fr., 6-2, 250)
Matt Stokes (Fr., 6-1, 255)

Up-and-Comers
Dominique Davis (So., 6-5, 240)
Luke Pingley (Fr., 6-4, 285)
Nolan Spicer (Fr., 6-4, 250)
Hunter Steward (R-So., 6-7, 285)

2011 Football Training Camp: DL Preview

Related Videos