Streeter keeps the LU offense clicking

Like the two men who interviewed before him, Brandon Streeter arrived at Liberty’s football operations last winter dressed to the nines in a suit and tie, eager to speak to Flames coach Danny Rocco for the position of offensive coordinator.

Never mind that Streeter already had a job on the Flames’ football staff. The second he broke into coaching, Streeter had one goal in mind — to become an offensive coordinator.

Rocco made Streeter one of his first hires in 2006, bringing him aboard as quarterbacks coach. As time wore on, Streeter assumed more responsibilities as he learned the trade from then-O.C. Scott Wachenheim.

After last season, Wachenheim left to take a job on Jim Zorn’s Washington Redskins staff, and Streeter was seen as a natural candidate to succeed him. But Rocco chose to bring in two other candidates, a sign that Streeter wasn’t just going to be given the post.

“I wanted to know what all was out there,” Rocco said. “I know it was hard for Brandon to sit there and watch that, but that’s part of this profession.”

Seeing this, Streeter wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. Thus, he wore the suit.

“It was obvious he was showing up here as if this was the first time he had met us,” Rocco said. “He was going to sell himself, sell his offense, sell his philosophies.”

Rocco bought it, and to date, he’s had no buyer’s remorse. Despite losing nearly every starting skill player from last season’s powerful offense, the Flames haven’t skipped a beat.

Liberty enters Saturday’s season finale at Stony Brook ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense (36.7 points per game) and 30th in total offense (373.2 yards per game). The Flames are peaking at the right time, too. Since struggling to an ugly 165-yard day at Charleston Southern Oct. 24, the Flames have broken the 50-point mark in each of their last three games.

It’s clear that Streeter, a former Clemson quarterback and son of longtime Gettysburg College coach Barry Streeter, has found a comfort zone as the Flames’ play caller.

“He’s been pretty consistent, I’d say,” Flames quarterback Tommy Beecher said. “I think his confidence in us as an offense has grown week by week, and I think his confidence in me has grown.”

The Charleston Southern game is an interesting point of demarcation, because after the Flames escaped South Carolina with a victory, Rocco noted that the offense had become too predictable.

So Rocco and Streeter began to tinker and tweak, keeping the basic offense in place while introducing a new wrinkle or two. And since then, the Flames have been nearly unstoppable.

“He’s certainly done a good job calling games this year,” Rocco said. “The kids respect him and they’re responding to him very well.”

A key difference between Streeter and Wachenheim is where they are during games. Wachenheim, who also coached the offensive line, was on the field, where it was easier to communicate with the position group.

Streeter coaches from the press box, and he likes being up there for several reasons. For one, it’s easier to concentrate, he said, as he’s able to spread play sheets and game plans in front of him and not worry about all of the emotional elements that take place on the field.

He also can get a big picture view of formations. Streeter isn’t without field-level information, though. After each drive, Beecher or Mike Brown — whomever is playing quarterback — calls up to the press box to discuss specific formations and line-of-scrimmage checks by the defense that Streeter might not pick up on from up above.

“I’ve been in the press box for most of my career as a coach,” Streeter said. “It’s a little bit calmer up there. It helps you focus a little bit more, in my opinion.”

Heading into the season, Streeter was one of the Flames’ question marks, but only because of his inexperience. He has the pedigree as a former starting quarterback in the ACC who had spent eight years coaching at Charleston Southern, Clemson and LU.

But how would the offense respond to a new man calling plays and designing game plans?

Quite well, as the statistics bear out.

Said Rocco: “The proof is always in the numbers. I get evaluated by how many wins I have. He gets evaluated by the points and the productivity and the efficiency. Right now, we’re having a pretty good year.”