The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Notes For The Tulane Game
10/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2001
THE GAME: UAB vs. Tulane, Saturday, Oct. 13
KICKOFF: Set for 4:00 pm CDT at Legion Field (83,091/Grass) in Birmingham.
THE TEAMS:? UAB is 2-4 (1-2 C-USA) and coming off a 31-17 loss to Cincinnati last Saturday (Oct. 13) at Legion Field.? Tulane is 2-5 (1-2 C-USA) and coming off a 48-22 win over TCU in New Orleans on Saturday (Oct. 13).
THE COACHES: Tulane's Chris Scelfo is 12-18 in his third season as head coach of the Green Wave. UAB's Watson Brown is 33-39 in his seventh season at UAB (65-116-1 in his 17th season as a collegiate head coach).
THE SERIES:? UAB leads 1-0. In the only previous meeting between the two, UAB won a 23-20 thriller at the Louisiana Superdome (Nov. 20, 1999) as Blazer? placekicker Jake Arians nailed a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the first overtime period to clinch the victory.
TELEVISION: None.
RADIO:? The game will be broadcast live on the UAB Football Radio Network on stations throughout the state of Alabama and in Birmingham on the Blazers' flagship station, WAPI AM 1070.? Gary Sanders is in his 23rd season as the play-by-play voice of the Blazers (and his 11th broadcasting UAB football games).? Sanders will be joined in the booth by color commentator Matt Coulter (now in his fifth season with the UAB Broadcast crew), as well as producer/engineer and jack-of-all-trades Jon Gentile (now in his fourth year with UAB) and spotter/sideline reporter/legal advisor Bill Lewis. Saturday's broadcast will begin with the pre-game show at 3:30 pm CDT live from Legion Field.
UAB FOOTBALL RADIO NETWORK
Radio Affiliates?
Birmingham (Flagship) ...WAPI-AM 1070
Mobile...WKSJ AM 1270
Florence/Muscle Shoals...WZNN-AM 620
Roanoke...WELR-AM 1360
LaGrange, Ga....WLAG-AM 1240
GREAT OFFENSE vs. GREAT DEFENSE: Saturday's game will feature the NCAA Division I-A ninth-ranked team in total offense -- Tulane (averaging 461.86 yards per game) vs. the fifth-ranked? team in total defense -- UAB (allowing an average of 252.83 yards per game).
ALL-TIME AT LEGION FIELD: The Blazers are 40-17-1 (.698) in 11 seasons at Legion Field (1991-? ). UAB is 20-10 (.667) at Legion Field in the school's NCAA Division I-A era (1996-? ), and 3-5 (.375) all-time at home vs. C-USA opponents (including a 1996 non-league loss to Cincinnati).
GREEN WAVE FAMILIAR WITH LEGION FIELD: Although Saturday's game is the first ever meeting between UAB and Tulane in Birmingham, the Green Wave has played in the historic stadium before. Tulane has faced Alabama six times in Birmingham -- most recently in 1994 -- and also played in the 1980 Hall Of Fame Bowl (losing 34-15 to Arkansas).
?IN CONTRAST, cont.: UAB is in its 11th season of college football competition (and its sixth at the NCAA Division I-A level), Tulane is in its 109th season.
A STREAK ENDS, cont.:? UAB gave up its first defensive touchdowns of the 2001 season on its home field and its first to a C-USA opponent in last week's Cincinnati game (Oct. 13).? Prior to Cincinnati's touchdown early in the second quarter (an 8-yard pass from Gino Guidugli to Jon Olinger), the Blazers had gone nine (9) quarters without allowing a touchdown at home, and nine without allowing a touchdown to a C-USA team (Army and Southern Miss both successfully kicked field goals).? Prior to the Cincinnati game, the only touchdown scored vs. UAB at Legion Field this season was an interception return for a TD by Montana State's Kane Iaone (Aug. 30).
SPEAKING OF THE UAB DEFENSE: The Blazers have several high rankings this week:
Total Defense - 5th (252.83 yards per game)
Rushing Defense - 6th (60.33 yards per game)
Scoring Defense - 17th (17.17 points per game)
Pass Efficiency Defense? - 26th (104.28 opponent rating)
BLAZERS STINGY vs. C-USA OPPONENTS: The UAB defense has allowed two (2) touchdowns by C-USA opponents in three games this season -- both by Cincinnati (Oct. 13). Cincinnati also scored touchdowns on an interception return and a blocked punt, Army and Southern Miss each successfully kicked a field goal. Despite allowing Cincinnati 31 points, the Blazers are still only allowing an average of 12.3 points per game to league opponents.
BLAZERS ESPECIALLY TOUGH vs. THE RUN:? The UAB Blazer defense has traditionally been very tough vs. the run.? UAB opponents rushed for 100+ yards as a team only five times in 2000 and six times in 1999 and have done so once thus far in 2001 (Florida State's 135 net yards, Sept. 8), UAB has held opposing teams under 100 net rushing yards in seven of its last eight games, dating back to the 2000 season.? No individual opposing player has broken the 100+-yard barrier since Louisville's Frank Moreau did so vs. the Blazers during the 1999 season (Oct. 30, 1999 in Louisville) -- that's 19 straight games.? Southern Miss' Tim Blackwell came as close as anyone has since then, Blackwell finished the game with 97 net rushing yards on 24 carries (he actually had 100 yards but three negative yards brought him back to 97 for the game).
VERY TOUGH: C-USA opponents have averaged 63.3 net rushing yards in the Blazers' three league games this season.
?"THE STEEL SHIELD": A nickname that originated with Coach Watson Brown, given to the team's defensive front four -- seniors Bryan Thomas (DE), Eddie Freeman (DT), Rodney Jones (NG) and Marlon Bush (DE).? Of late, the nickname has also come to be used in reference to the entire defensive unit, which has been brilliant thus far.?
?FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTE: Although the Blazers can generally be considered a veteran team, there are several true freshmen who have worked their way into roles as either starters or significant backups.? They incude running backs Theron Dudley and Kendal Gibson, tight ends Sam Dudley and Chico Cleveland, receiver Roddy? White and defensive back Carlos Hendricks. Both Sam Dudley and Hendricks the UCF game (Oct. 6) and Sam Dudley also started vs. Cincinnati last week.
RODDY GETS ONE: Receiver Sharod "Roddy" White caught his first career touchdown pass as a collegiate player in the Cincinnati game (Oct. 13), a 24-yarder from Jeff Aaron in the third quarter.
MORE FIRSTS: Redshirt freshman placekicker Nick Hayes connected on both his first successful field goal attempt (a 44-yarder) and his first two succcessful PATs in the Cincinnati game (Oct. 13). Hayes, who has handled the kickoff duties for UAB all season, had attempted and missed two field goals at Florida State (Sept. 8) from distances of 51 and 58 yards.
BIG NUMBERS: UAB's 55 points vs. Army (Sept. 22) is the most ever by the Blazers vs. an NCAA Division I-A opponent. The UAB all-time record is 61 points vs. Knoxville College in? a I-AA game at Legion Field in 1995, the previous scoring high in the I-A era for the Blazers was 48 vs. Tennesssee-Martin (at the Hoover Met, 1998).?
DUGGER WATCH: Senior running back Jegil Dugger has 425 net rushing yards this season on 110 carries (3.9 average) and 1,565 career rushing yards (he's UAB's career leader in the Division I-A era) on 345 carries (4.5 average).? Dugger, who is UAB's all-time rushing leader in the school's Division I-A era (1996-? ) and second on the Blazers' all-time list (Pat Green leads with 2,817 yards, 1991-94) , scored two TDs vs. Army, giving him 11 for his career (ranking him second in the UAB Division I-A era and third all-time in Blazer football history).
DUGGER A DOAK WALKER AWARD CANDIDATE: Senior running back Jegil Dugger, who rushed for 852 yards and five touchdowns (including game-winners vs. Chattanooga and Memphis) on 177 carries in 2000 -- primarily as a backup to often-injured starter Carl Fair -- was among the initial 43 players named to the 2001 Doak Walker Award watch list.? The Doak Walker Award is given annually to college football's top running back.
A NOSE FOR THE BALL: Senior linebacker Rod Taylor was credited with 20 tackles in the Southern Miss game (including 17 solo), that is a UAB Division I-A era record, and ties for second all-time in Blazer history. The feat was even more remarkable considering the fact that Taylor played the game (and has done so three times in all) on a sore ankle that was badly sprained in the Florida State game (Sept.8).? Taylor leads UAB with 58 total tackles this season (37 solos), two sacks, and an interception.
HUMPHRIES BACK: Speaking of linebackers playing hurt, John Humphries, who backs up Taylor at the "mike" linebacker position, is back on the team's depth chart and ready for action. Humphries, who suffered a broken arm vs. Florida State (Sept. 8), dressed but did not play vs. UCF (Oct. 6) and saw limited action in the Cincinnati game (Oct. 13).
SPEAKING OF LINEBACKERS NAMED TAYLOR: Walk-on linebacker Darrius Taylor (Cherokee, Ala./Cherokee HS) has developed into a terror on special teams. Watch for no. 40 on kickoff and punt coverage, he's usually the one putting a big hit on the ballcarrier. Taylor has nine total tackles this season (7 solo), virtually all on special teams.
SOUTHALL IN THE RECORD BOOK: Jason Southall's 93-yard kickoff return at UCF (Oct. 6)? is indeed the longest? in UAB history, scoring or not.? Here is a partial list of the top marks in Blazer history:
93 - Jason Southall at UCF (2001)
85 - Cedric Thatch at Wake Forest (1999)
82 - Darrin Reaves at Hampden-Sydney (1991)
70 - Cedrick Buchannon vs.? Southwestern Louisiana (1995)
54 - Cedric Thatch vs. Louisville (2000)
54 - Cedric Thatch at Northeast Louisiana? (1998)
52 - Omar Parker vs. Jacksonville State (1997)
MULTIPLE INTERCEPTIONS: UAB's (four) interceptions in the Army game equals the school's I-A era record, set vs. LSU last season (Sept. 23, 2000) when the Blazers picked off four Tiger passes en route to a 13-10 victory in Baton Rouge.? The all-time UAB mark for interceptions in a single game is five (5), set vs. Morehead State in a I-AA game at Legion Field in 1999.
IT'S A FACT: UAB has intercepted at least one pass in 22 of its last 28 games (and in four of six games this season).
IT'S ALSO A FACT: UAB has blocked at least one kick in two games this season (punts vs. Montana State and Army), and in four of its last eight games dating back to the Southern Miss game at Legion Field last season.
ODDLY ENOUGH: There were two blocked kicks (both field goal attempts) in the UAB-Southern Miss game (Sept. 29), but both were apparently inadvertently blocked by the kicking teams, not the defenders.
MEMPHIS GAME TIME CHANGED: The Blazers' Oct. 27 game at Memphis has been moved from its original kickoff time of 7:00 pm CDT to 1:00 pm CDT, the game will be televised live in the Birmingham area on WABM-TV 68.
PITTSBURGH GAME RESCHEDULED: UAB will make up the game at Pittsburgh on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Heinz Field (1:30 pm EST).
STRONG SCHEDULES: The Blazers have ambitious non-conference schedules over the next few seasons that include dates at Florida (2002),? at South Carolina (2003),? at Florida State (2004), and Tennessee (2005), as well as a home game vs.? Pittsburgh (2002), and home-and-home series with Baylor (2003 in Waco, 2004 in Birmingham) and UNLV (2005 in Las Vegas, 2006 in Birmingham).
?THOMAS PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION:? Senior defensive end Bryan Thomas was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team in July.?
CLOSING IN:? Bryan Thomas led UAB with 10 sacks last season, and currently has 28.0 career sacks (including three vs. Southern Miss, Sept. 29), ranking him first among all UAB players in the NCAA Division I-A era (1996- ) and second all-time at UAB behind Rodney Foster (29, from 1991-94).
STEWART SHINES: Redshirt junior punter Ross Stewart had his finest game as a Blazer vs. Florida State (Sept. 8), the Blountsville, Ala. native punted six times for 285 yards (a 47.5 average), and had a long kick of 68 yards -- a personal best.? Stewart's season average is currently 42.69 yards per punt, good enough to rank him 33rd nationally.? Six of Stewart's 29 punts this season have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yardline.?
AARON, GALLEGO RECEIVE C-USA HONORS: UAB quarterback Jeff Aaron and placekicker Rhett Gallego were honored by Conference USA for their performances in last Saturday's 55-3 win over Army at Legion Field. Aaron, who completed 17 of 23 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score - all in just over one half of play - was named C-USA Offensive Player of The Week.? The senior from Montgomery, Ala. (Jeff Davis HS) led scoring drives on all six UAB possessions in the first half.? Gallego, a senior from Birmingham (Hueytown HS), earned C-USA Special Teams Player of The Week honors.? He made both of his field goal attempts (from 45 and 34 yards) and hit six of six PAT attempts for 11 points in the game.? Gallego was named C-USA Player of The Week three times during the 2000 season.
TEAM CAPTAINS: UAB Head Coach Watson Brown selects game captains -- always seniors -- shortly before kickoff each week. Permanent captains are designated following the season.
NUMBER CHANGES: There were several jersey number changes among veteran Blazer players between the 2000 and 2001 season, primarily among the receiver corps. Those changes include:
Player Old Number? 2001 Number
Maurice Gallery ?????? 20
(1998-00)? 1
Travis Johnson???????? 19
(1997-00)? 3
T.J. Simmons??????????? 11 (1999-00)? 9
NUMBER CHANGES, cont.:
One newcomer, junior receiver Brandon Seabrook, has changed jersey numbers? three times since the Montana State
game (Aug. 30), Seabrook, a junior college transfer from Atlanta, Ga., wore no.
40 (a duplicate number, shared with linebacker Darrius Taylor) vs. the Bobcats,
no. 8 at Florida State, was scheduled to wear no. 84 at Pittsburgh(Sept. 15),
and was assigned to no. 26 for the Army game.? Two other number changes for the Army game? (Sept. 22) included placekicker Will
"Gimp" Morthland (no. 33), and
receiver Brian Buckner?
(no. 84).
BROTHERS:? The 2001 Blazer team has no less than three (3) sets of brothers on the roster. The most high profile are freshman twins Kendal and Randal Gibson (Aliceville, Ala.). The Gibsons are not, however, the first set of twins to play for the Blazers,? Terry and Perry Collier (Munday, Texas) were members of Coach Watson Brown's first UAB team in 1995. Other brothers on the 2001 team include redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Artavious Williams and redshirt freshman noseguard Tony Williams (Montgomery, Ala.), and sophomore receiver Lynorse and sophomore defensive back Anthony Garrett (Cottonwood, Ala.). There was almost another set of brothers on the 2001 team, freshman defensive lineman Ernest Repress (Barnesville, Ga.) and brother Clarence (also a lineman) both signed with the Blazers last spring, but Clarence did not enroll this fall.
CURRENTLY ON NFL ROSTERS (as of Oct. 15):? Seven former Blazers, including:
Josh Evans (DT) * Tennessee Titans
Dainon Sidney (DB) * Tennessee Titans (injured
reserve)
Izell Reese (DB) * Dallas Cowboys
Otis Leverette (DE) * Washington Redskins
Rodregis Brooks (DB) * Indianapolis Colts
Jake Arians (PK) * Buffalo Bills
Carl Fair (RB) * Cleveland Browns (practice squad)
? UNIFORM CHANGES: The 2001 Blazers took the field for the Montana State game (Aug. 30) in re-designed uniforms. In addition to style changes on the green game jerseys, the team wore white pants for the first time during the Watson Brown era (1995-? ), and also sported green stockings. The new jerseys and pants (as well as the team's shoes) are made by adidas. UAB still has its traditional gold helmet with green stripe and "Dragon Shield" logos (a white helmet was developed but did not make it past the prototype stage). UAB will wear the green jerseys and white pants at home and its traditional white jersey and gold pants (both made by Alabama-based Russell Corp.)? in road games.
