KLMNO
SPORTS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D
TENNIS
In the U.S. Open men’s draw, there are the Big Three.
And then there are young guns who are knocking. D3
THOMAS BOSWELL
An ode to platoon catcher Kurt Suzuki, a sneaky big
bopper, pitcher whisperer and glue guy for the Nats. D4COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Virginia’s standards have changed — and Cavaliers
are now favored to win the ACC’s Coastal Division. D6BY KENT BABBlynchburg, va. — On occasion
Liberty University will invite
members of out-of-state churches
to speak at i ts convocation, and in
January 2018, a man from Missis-
sippi stood and stepped forward.
“I’m humbled,” he said early in
remarks to a packed arena that
held more than 8,000 students,
staffers and administrators, “and
certainly unworthy.”
The new semester’s f irst convo-
cation, a twice-a-week mandatory
gathering at Vines Center, had a
theme: perseverance, though it
might as well have been about
pride. Hugh Freeze had, maybe
without realizing it, just let it
envelop and overtake him.
Freeze was as damaged as he
was accomplished, perfect for a
place expanding as rapidly as Lib-
erty, where resources outpace
need. The Flames didn’t need a
football coach at the time, but the
university president increasingly
saw opportunity in flawed but
dynamic personalities — especial-
ly when they helped advance his
expansive vision for the school.Freeze had spent five seasons
as head football coach at the Uni-
versity of Mississippi, and using
his Christian faith and the spread
offense as the program’s bed-
ro cks, his Rebels had gone to four
bowl games, upset Alabama twice
and entered the national rank-
ings’ top five in consecutive sea-
sons. This went on for years, along
with a few other things, and he
said that it was pride that even-
tually destroyed him: allowing
numerous NCAA violations, pay-
ing no mind to boosters who
broke rules, using his university-issued cellphone to call an escort
service.
“My world crumbled,” Freeze
said in a presentation featured on
the school’s YouTube channel, one
he had given many times but
never to a crowd so large, and on
the stage behind him was Jerry
Falwell Jr., the school’s president
and the son of its founder. “I had
to say to the people that I love: ‘I
am sorry. Please forgive me.’ ”
By then, Falwell was looking
into the audience, noting the
crowd’s response to one of the
SEE LIBERTY ON D7The power and the glory and football
Liberty’s evangelical president opens his school’s door to Freeze following scandal at Mississippi
LEE LUTHER JR./NEWS & ADVANCE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coach Hugh Freeze, left, speaks with Liberty President Jerry Falwell
Jr., who is working to build a football power in southwest Virginia.BY KAREEM COPELANDDwayne Haskins strode toward the corner
of the end zone with a deliberate step,
staring into the stands. He waved both arms
to the sky, then gave three demonstrative
claps and a fist pump before turning to find
fellow rookie Steven Sims Jr. for a celebra-
tory low-five.
The scene was the culmination of
Haskins’s best drive of the preseason and
gave Washington Redskins fans, teammates
and coaches another glimpse of the potential
the No. 15 pick brings during the team’s
exhibition finale, a 20-7 loss to the BaltimoreRavens.
“Felt great out there today,” Haskins said.
“Just the atmosphere of just going out there,
being a leader, talking to the guys. Just
having fun. That’s the most important thing
I had today out there, having fun.... I’m
pretty levelheaded most of the time, but
when I score a touchdown, I just let it go.”
Haskins was the center of attention
Thursday night as the Redskins sat all of
their starters, with the only stakes being the
last few roster spots when NFL teams cut
down from 90 to 53 players Saturday. There
wasn’t much pressure on the Ohio State
SEE REDSKINS ON D8Coming attraction
Michael Locksley
can still picture
his former boss
evaluating the job
Locksley was
certain h e would
take. Alabama’s
Nick Saban i s
arguably the
greatest coach i n the h istory of
college football. I f he speaks, an
aspiring head c oach has one job:
listen.
“Look,” Locksley r emembers
Saban telling him in December,
“you can get a better job t han
Maryland.”
A reasonable assessment, given
Maryland plays Ohio State,
Michigan and Penn State every
year. A reasonable assessment,
given Maryland’s f ootball
program and a thletic department
were left i n disarray f ollowing the
death of freshman lineman
Jordan McNair in t he spring of
- A reasonable assessment,
SEE SVRLUGA ON D6
Locksley says
Maryland job
is the best job.
He believes it.
Barry
Svrluga
Carli Lloyd, the
gilded soccer
legend, can finish
her brilliant
athletic career
however she
wants. Tr y NFL
place kicking?
Sure. Go for it.
She could make history. She
could miss every attempt. Some
meathead with a tough-guy
agenda could flatten her one
time. No matter how it ends,
she’s still the great Carli Lloyd.
As the 37-year-old Lloyd
considers the possibility of one
new and final challenge in
sports, the intrigue shouldn’t be
limited to the gender
experiment, to what a high-
profile woman could do in a
man’s game. That’s the obvious
hook, and if Lloyd were to
thrive, it would be a landmark
achievement for female athletic
empowerment. But after
SEE BREWER ON D3
Lloyd already
has proved
herself, NFL
or no NFL
Jerry
Brewer
RAVENS 20,
REDSKINS 7Haskins impresses
in preseason finaleWeek 1: Redskins at Eagles
Sept. 8, 1 p.m., FoxInside: Redskins have a difficult
call coming at wide receiver. D8TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST
Dwayne Haskins was 10 for 17 for 104 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Steven Sims Jr. that capped the rookie quarterback’s best drive of the preseason.Ho ward at Maryland
Tomorrow, noon, Big Te n Network
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