Liberty traveling to Old Dominion was probably not appointment viewing for many college football fans on Saturday, but the game did get a share of the spotlight as Flames receiver Jaivian Lofton will surely be going viral for hauling what might go down the catch of the year when all is said and done in the 2022 season.
Early in the first quarter, Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter escaped the pocket, rolled out to his right and fired a rocket toward Lofton in the end zone. The Monarchs had tight coverage on Lofton, but that didn’t matter to him. Lofton reached up with one hand and stabbed the ball out of mid-air for a 34-yard touchdown catch to give Liberty an early 7-0 lead.
Lofton was a three-star recruit and the No. 27 JUCO wide receiver in the 2020 signing class, according to the 247Sports JUCO rankings. In his first two seasons at Liberty, Lofton caught a combined two passes for 102 yards and a score.
Lofton is already well on his way to topping all of those numbers through the first few games of this season. Entering the game against Old Dominion, Lofton had five grabs for 46 yards. After the catch he made against the Monarchs on Saturday, Salter might start looking his way more often.