Rocco holds Liberty Univ. football to higher expectations

Danny Rocco’s natural inclination is to express disappointment with his football team’s inconsistency.

Then he looks down the list of offensive and defensive skill players and reminds himself just how young this particular Liberty team is.

Among the top three rushers, two are sophomores and one is a freshman. Six of the top seven receivers are either freshmen or sophomores. And though he’s a senior, the starting quarterback didn’t arrive on campus until August, so he’s a relative newcomer.

In reality, the Flames — who are off until Oct. 17, when they host Coastal Carolina — are right about where they’re supposed to be, considering the core group of seniors lost from last year’s 10-2 team. They’re 3-2 with a quality road win at Lafayette and they played CAA power James Madison to a standstill for three-plus quarters.

Still, Rocco sees room for massive improvement in the season’s final six weeks.

“What you’re seeing is that several young players are beginning to come into their own,” Rocco said. “And that’s very encouraging to me. As we get into the next phase of the season, we have a chance to really make some improvement, and I think we have to do that.

“When we play well, we’re pretty stinking good, when we play with the maturity, intensity and passion that we need to. But we haven’t been real consistent in those areas, so that’s probably my biggest concern.”

When Rocco assessed the team in late July at the Big South’s media day, he said talent wasn’t going to be the issue, only a lack of experience.

And the season, for the most part, has played out that way.

Liberty has gotten some big performances from good young players in spurts. Mike Brown had a huge game catching the ball at West Virginia, and throwing and running the ball at Lafayette.

Chris Summers had a career day catching the ball at Lafayette. B.J. Hayes (against North Carolina Central) and Aldreakis Allen (against West Virginia Wesleyan) have shown they’re capable of running the ball well, albeit against lesser opponents.

Now comes the challenge. Can these young players put it together for a six-week grind and help the Flames win their third straight Big South championship?

“We’re going to spend a lot of time here this week on those types of things — leadership, and our ability to improve in the areas of focus and execution,” Rocco said.

One of Rocco’s biggest complaints after Saturday’s sometimes uninspired performance against West Virginia Wesleyan was the void in leadership on the team. But he’s come to understand that it takes time for younger players to assume those roles.

Liberty has had a strong group of senior leaders at the skill positions in the three previous seasons. So it’s just a matter of patience and watching the freshmen and sophomores evolve into natural leaders.

The one senior among the skill group — quarterback Tommy Beecher — is still trying to feel his way around a new program after spending four years at South Carolina. So it’s taken some time for a chemistry to develop between him and his new teammates.

But Beecher said he can feel that bond evolving.

“When coach Rocco named me the starter, there was a platform set,” Beecher said. “I just needed to step up and be a leader.”

The bye week comes at a perfect time for such a young team, as it tries to process the lessons learned from the season’s first five games and apply those lessons going forward.

“I’m trying to be positive here, you know, glass half-full versus half-empty,” Rocco said. “I think this is a football team that can truly make some improvement here as some of these factors play out.”