How 'Jerry's Jokers' inspired Liberty football's turnover celebration

When Chad Scott was on the staff with Jamey Chadwell at Charleston Southern University, it was common to play Liberty every year when both teams were in the Big South Conference. And if you’ve ever been to Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, you know all about “Jerry’s Jokers.”

They are a group of students who sit on the opposing sideline, right next to the visiting team, and dress up in full white body paint with their faces painted like, well, you guessed it, jokers. It’s quite the scene when you first see it. The name draws from a nickname of the school's founder, Jerry Falwell Sr. The group has become known over the years for their antics.

Scott, now the director of athletic performance for football at Liberty with Chadwell as head coach, got up close and personal with Jerry’s Jokers on those trips to Lynchburg. Despite being on the opposing side and the subject of their ridicule, Scott appreciated the passion the students had for the school. A seed was planted then, one that would grow years later on.

“I was fascinated by how much they were immersed into Liberty football, just somebody being on the opposite sideline,” Scott said on a Friday morning practice at Tempe Diablo Stadium. “I think it’s like an hour before kickoff until — it doesn’t matter what the score is —  the end of the game, they’re there. They never leave. I love the love they had for Liberty and the football team.”

Following Chadwell’s hiring in December and bringing Scott onto the staff, the strength and conditioning coaches decided that it would be a good idea to start a turnover celebration. Miami famously started the trend in 2017 with its turnover chain, which gained national attention. The Hurricanes, under coach Mario Cristobal, have since discontinued the tradition. But the concept remains alive and well across the country.

First, Scott and the coaches — Adrien Dunn, Chris Terry, Greg Goines and Jacob Saulnier — brainstormed an idea inspired by the defense’s nickname, “Red Smoke.” Red smoke bombs were tossed around as a potential idea. But the possibility of getting a delay of game penalty from the smoke outweighed it. After some other ideas were thrown out, Scott thought back to those early trips to Williams Stadium.

“It just kind of clicked — what if we do something with the Jokers?” Scott said at that meeting.

Scott also decided to add a "money" bag, where a ball would be stuffed inside after each turnover.

The next big decision: which Joker mask to choose? There’s Cesar Romero’s classic look from the 1966 "Batman" TV show. Everybody remembers Jack Nicholson’s version from the 1989 "Batman" movie, which was the one that Scott grew up with. But none probably top Heath Ledger’s portrayal from the 2008 film "The Dark Knight," which earned Ledger a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

With most of the team being of age for the 2008 film and the overall notoriety of the look, Ledger’s version was selected.

So only five days before the first game of the season against Bowling Green, Scott quickly went onto the Amazon website, selected a mask, clicked overnight shipping and waited, hoping it would arrive on time. It did, just in the nick of time.

Scott didn’t tell any of the players what he was doing until just before kickoff when he gathered the defense.

“They put it out, and I’m like, ‘What in the world? What are we doing with this?’ ” sophomore safety Brylan Green asked the first time he saw the mask.

The celebration couldn’t have gotten off to a better start when junior cornerback Kobe Singleton returned an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter against Bowling Green.

Green, who leads the team with five interceptions, quickly warmed to the idea when he saw the first teammate wear the mask.

“The first time they did it, I’m like, ‘That’s a cool idea,’” Green said. “And the rest is history. Everybody started to put it on.”

The Joker mask was a hit, and a new tradition was established in the process.

“First time we put it on, everybody went crazy,” senior safety Quinton Reese said. “So at that point, everybody wants to put it on. And it kind of trickled down to everybody wants to put it on and get picks. It turnt the whole defense up. It was awesome.”

Liberty ended that first game with five interceptions in a 34-24 win. It’s hard to ask for a better way to begin the Joker Era.

“After that first game, it just took off,” said senior defensive back Brandon Bishop, who has three interceptions on the season. “We just started getting more and more turnovers and interceptions — we lead the country in interceptions. I love it because that’s one of my favorite characters. I really do like it.”

After each turnover, the player gets to sign the ball. With 25 total turnovers, the ball has become dotted with different signatures. Liberty leads the nation for interceptions per game, averaging 1.6.

As the season went along, the mask gained more and more attention. Now, it’s a battle between the players about who is going to get to wear it in the upcoming game.

“It’s a competition aspect —  that’s one of our core values,” Reese said. “Anything we can compete in, we like. It’s another thing we can compete in, kind of talk crap about it, push each other on.”

“It’s definitely impacted the team,” Bishop added. “Everybody wants to put it on. Everybody’s always talking about who’s putting it on next.”

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Scott has even seen players go up to mask in the pregame and have a one-on-one conversation, telling the mask, “I’m going to put you on.”

Along with the Joker mask and money bag celebration, there’s also the “Splash Zone.” The zone, located just behind the home bench, was created by a group of Liberty professors. There’s a sign that reads “Splash Zone” so you know where you are. And in that zone, water is sprayed around. Athletic trainers created special custom Joker-themed water bottles for the Splash Zone.

Now when you look into the stands of Williams Stadium, you can see Joker masks.

“The Liberty fans are hands down the best fan base I’ve been around,” Scott said. “They’re phenomenal. To see them embrace that, because ultimately they’re embracing the guys, it’s been really cool.”

The mask has even gone beyond the football field. Scott’s kids now all own a pair of Joker masks, which they wear at games and even at other events outside of Williams Stadium. Defensive backs coach Dino Waites’ son also has his own Joker mask.

Skylor Magee, Liberty’s defensive coordinator, was sitting and talking with Kyle Krantz, the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach, prior to the Bowling Green game. He heard Scott ask about a turnover celebration, his mind was elsewhere. He was just trying to win the game ahead, not think about some mask.

Magee is just glad he said yes to the idea.

“The way it took off, the social media response to it, it created a little bit more juice in the guys,” Magee said. “They started attacking the ball a little bit more. It became a big deal to get turnovers, and obviously it just started snowballing. It really gave us an extra added juice for sure.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How 'Jerry's Jokers' inspired Liberty's turnover celebration