Josh Aldridge has done a phenomenal job with Liberty’s defensive line. During his three years, Aldridge has secured the top recruits in school history and has drastically changed the dynamic of Liberty’s defensive line. With his consistent efforts of recruiting top talent, Aldridge has been a pioneer in leading Liberty from a bottom-tier defense, to one of the best run defenses in the country. With integrity and being a perfectionist of his craft, Aldridge has been the top assistant coach on staff each of the three seasons here at Liberty. His knowledge of defensive line play and defensive schemes is apparent and has led to him being one of the top youngest coaches nationally. On top of Aldridge schematically being one of the best coaches, he also possesses a gift of getting the best version of his players. His players have thrived in the classroom and been some of the first in their families to collect a college degree while upholding the standard of integrity. His players have made strides of transforming their bodies by hard work and dedication to the nutritional aspect of college football as well as upholding the standard of their civic responsibilities in our community.
· Aldridge’s defensive linemen have played a vital role
in Liberty winning back-to-back Cure Bowl titles in 2019 and 2020.· With the pair of Cure Bowl victories, Liberty became
the second FBS transitioning team in NCAA history to win consecutive bowl games
during its first two full seasons at the FBS level.
· Liberty finished the 2020 season with a 10-1 record
and ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll, its highest
end-of-the-year national ranking in program history.
· The Flames finished the 2020 season ranked No. 11 in
the country in total defense (317.7 yards allowed per game), No. 12 in passing
yards allowed (184.0 per game) and No. 22 in scoring defense (20.5 points
allowed per game).
· Junior college transfer Durrell Johnson made an
immediate impact during his first season at Liberty in 2020 and was named to
the Phil Steele Postseason All-America team (fourth team).
· During his first two seasons at Liberty, Aldridge has
had four defensive linemen be named to the Phil Steele FBS Independent
All-Conference teams (2019 – TreShaun Clack and Jessie Lemonier; 2020 –
TreShaun Clark and Durrell Johnson).
· Lemonier finished his two-year career at Liberty with
20.5 sacks, which ranked third among FBS players nationally in total sacks
recorded during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
· Following the 2020 NFL Draft, Lemonier signed a free
agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
· During both of Liberty’s Cure Bowl wins, a defensive lineman
has been named to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team (Jessie Lemonier in 2019
and Elijah James in 2020).
· The Flames finished the 2019 season ranked No. 28 in
the country in sacks (2.69 per game) and No. 31 in interceptions (12)
“)2020 Stat National Rankings
(Top 25):·
Winning Percentage –
No. 4
·
Total Defense – No.
11
·
Passing Yards
Allowed – No. 12
·
Third Down
Conversion Percent Defense – No. 14
·
Scoring Defense –
No. 22
·
Fourth Down
Conversion Percent Defense – No. 23
·
Passes Intercepted –
No. 23
2021 Stat National Rankings
(Top 25):
·
Team Tackles for a
Loss: No. 4
·
Passing Yards
Allowed – No. 12
·
Total Defense: 13
·
Scoring Defense: No.
17
·
Team Passing
Efficiency Defense: No. 18
·
Third Down
Conversion Percent Defense – No. 21
·
Red Zone Defense –
No. 22
·
Team Sacks: No. 22”
