LIBERTY REPORT: Scouting Western Carolina

LIKE LIBERTY, Western Carolina views Saturday's game as a measuring stick for where the Catamounts are after two weeks. The first two weeks told little. Western whitewashed NAIA foe Shorter 35-0 before losing 69-0 at Florida State a week later.

More on that from Keith Jarrett of the Asheville Citizen-Times in this story.

AFTER PARTING WAYS with former coach Kent Briggs, Western Carolina raided Nebraska's coaching staff to find its new head coach, Dennis Wagner.

Wagner spent seven years as the head coach at Wayne State University in Nebraska, leading the school in its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. He left in 1997, he left and joined Pat Hill's staff at Fresno State. Wagner was the assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the Bulldogs, and one of his players -- Logan Mankins -- found professional success with the NFL's New England Patriots. In 2004, Wagner left to become the offensive line coach at Nebraska.

Wagner's full bio can be found here.

Liberty coach Danny Rocco is familar with Wagner-coached teams. Rocco was on Al Groh's staff at Virginia in 2004 when the Cavaliers and Bulldogs met in the MPC Computers Bowl.

"I've played against his offenses before," Rocco said. "Coach Wagner has really changed the culture there at Western Carolina. He took over a roster that had like 85 or 86 players and made a number of changes. Twenty-five or so players were released from the roster for various reasons. They brought in numerous transfers and numerous signees. I think in a lot of ways, he's still settling in on his roster a little bit, and seeing what these guys can do. Some of the guys were with him in the spring, others were not."

ONCE AGAIN, LIBERTY'S secondary will face a rangy, lanky game-breaking receiver. This time it's Western Carolina sophomore Marquell Pittman, who has 11 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown in the Catamounts' first two games. Another to watch is tailback Jayson Williams, who has gained 98 yards on 18 carries and scored a touchdown this season.

"Pittman's a tall, rangy good-looking athlete," Rocco said. "He made big plays against Shorter. He made big plays against Florida State. This is something we're going to have to reckon with."

The Catamounts play two quarterbacks, with senior Andy Horn getting most of the snaps. He's started both games at QB and is more of a drop-back passer. Adam Hearns is more dynamic, and Liberty will have to keep him from hurting the Flames with his legs. Hearns has an equal number of carries and pass attempts -- 13.

WESTERN CAROLINA HAS had only one winning season since 2001, a 5-4 record in 2005. Western was stuck with a 10-game schedule that year when an opponent dropped off at the last second, and the Catamounts lost another game when Hurricane Rita forced the cancellation of a game at Nicholls State.

The Catamounts were 3-19 the last two seasons with only one win against a Division I team (Eastern Kentucky in 2006). So it's not surprising that the school chose to go in another direction. Wagner's biggest challenge has been changing the culture of losing at the school.

"I think we've got to keep talking about mental toughness, our mentality and not accepting failure," Wagner said. "Whenever you have that for such a long time, it's like a disease. We had to cut out a lot of things that were wrong and we are still in the process of building the foundation to make this thing work."

Wagner has been a disciplinarian since taking over, and 6 a.m. practices aren't uncommon.

IF THIS ALL sounds familiar to Liberty fans, it should, considering the Flames went through the same sort of experience in Rocco's first year as coach. Rocco took over a 1-10 team and helped it to a 6-5 finish in his first season.

"I've really been impressed with what coach Wagner has done since getting there, his demeanor, his approach, his philosophy," Rocco said. "I do see a lot of similarities. He's trying to change the culture and trying to do it one day at a one. He's trying to develop some toughness on the football team and trying to weed out some guys who may not want to be there. I do think they've got a really good football coach there and he can be very successful at Western Carolina. It just comes down to how quickly, how fast will they be able to make that transition, and how much of that will be done this year."

Getting to 6-5 this season won't be easy for the Catamounts. The 2006 Flames benefited from playing a pillow-soft schedule that included the likes of Savannah State, St. Paul's, Glenville State, VMI and Western Carolina, which was 2-9. Western's schedule includes Liberty, Florida State, The Citadel, Furman, Wofford, Georgia Southern, Elon and Appalachian State.

ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA
LOCATION: Cullowhee, N.C.
ENROLLMENT: 9,000
FOUNDED: 1889
COLORS: Purple and gold
CONFERENCE: Southern
STADIUM: E.J. Whitmire Stadium (13,742)
SURFACE: AstroPlay
HEAD COACH: Dennis Wagner (1-1, 1st year)
OFFENSE: Spread/Multiple
DEFENSE: 3-2-5
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST: 13/9
SERIES WITH LIBERTY: Western Carolina leads 3-2. Liberty won the last meeting, 21-0 in Lynchburg in 2006.