LYNCHBURG, Va. – When it comes to Liberty Flames football, the mind quickly goes to the quarterback position--and for good reason. But their rushing attack carried quite a load in 2023 as well.
The Flames ranked first in Conference USA with 4,106 rushing yards, an average of nearly 300 per game. Quinton Cooley was a big force behind those numbers. As the teams leading rusher and the best in Conference USA with 1,401 yards and 16 touchdowns, the senior is eager to get back to work after getting the most action he’s ever seen at the college level.
“I did a lot of reps last year, but that was my first time getting a lot of reps in college football,” Cooley said. “But it doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to play. I just really love the game. I just want to play. But just keeping my body healthy.”
Cooley echos the same sentiments as many of the coaches regarding Fall camp getting off to a good start.
“What I’ll be able to gain from the team is just trying to push them with a lot of stuff and trying to be accountable and disciplined with a lot of things,” Cooley added. “We have been having a great camp, honestly. It’s been good. We’ve got a lot of people competing each and every day. But I’m just sticking on that discipline point of and practicing things. I see a lot of guys pushing each other around, but we’ve just got to learn how to stay consistent in certain things.”
The North Carolina native and Wake Forest transfer has already garnered preseason accolades having been mamed to three different watch lists including that for the Maxwell Award.
The running backs room as a whole has been working hard this Fall, including former Glenvar High School standout Kyle Hanks who’s hoping to make an impact in any way he can this season.