After drawing college interest through the region and along the East Coast, Brunswick (VA) dual-threat quarterback Ethan Houck became the newest pledge for head coach Jamey Chadwell and Liberty after announcing his decision off the heels of his official visit. Cornell, Charlotte, Georgetown and Towson are among the schools that offered the 6-foot-4 quarterback after Houck completed over 64% of his passes through his junior season. Liberty became the newest school to extend an offer in late May, but establishing a quick relationship set the stage for Houck’s early summer decision. “Two or three weeks before, I was down there for an unofficial. After the unofficial, I was ready to commit,” Houck told IBG. “After that first time I was down there, I knew it was where I wanted to be. It just felt like home. I know after the first visit and the second visit just locked it in.” Houck credited offensive coordinator Willy Korn and senior offensive quality control Malcolm Dixon through the pursuit as his early June official visit gave him a chance to get comfortable in his new home. “They're really the main two guys I was hanging around with then one of the recruiting analysts, Nate Hope. Really everyone, defensive coaches, running backs -- everyone there took me in and just treated me well,” Houck added. Learn more about QB Factory and upcoming training sessions here! “I spent time with the coaches during the unofficial but I think really spending time with them on the OV, dinner, spending time throughout the day and being around them the whole time, seeing how they are with the other coaches. It really just showed how close they are as a staff, as a team and I want to be part of that culture. Every team says they have this type of brotherhood but I can say I really feel it and it felt like something I wanted to be a part of. Houck heads to Lynchburg in January as an early enrollee where he will join a Liberty QB room that features returning starter Kaidon Salter among others, giving the dual-threat quarterback a chance to learn in an offense that fits him perfectly. “He sat me down, gone through my film with me, gone through their film with me and showed exactly how I fit in their offense, what they run. So he would show me a clip of their playbook, game clip of something they run, and then he'd show the exact same thing in my film. It really showed exactly how I fit in their offense and I thought that was great to see and locked it in even more. I had the whole football thing down. I already knew they went 13-0 last season, knew they were great at football, had a great coaching staff and obviously the whole other thing of growing as a man there really locked it in with me.” With his decision now finalized, Houck will look to guide Brunswick to a state title after finishing 7-3 in 2023 with the season ending in the state semifinals. “It's definitely a big relief to take that out of the equation, not have to worry about it.”
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