Not Much Of An Off Week For Blazers

Nov. 1, 2001

Although it is technically an "off" week, you couldn't tell by the hard work the UAB Blazer Football team put in in four workouts this week. In fact, if not for the relatively cool temperatures and early sunsets, there were times when the practice sessions could have been mistaken for "two-a-days" in the preseason.

On Sunday evening, the players who did not participate in Saturday's win at Memphis scrimmaged for over an hour, battling with tremendous enthusiasm and egged on by the starters and reserves who did play vs. Memphis, who provided cheers, jeers and colorful commentary throughout.? Freshman quarterback Darrell Hackney took the majority of the snaps (he was relieved by redshirt freshman B.J. King toward the end).? The scrimmage, which had the intended effect of allowing players who do not normally get a lot of "reps" in practices and scrimmages to have the full attention of the coaching staff, was fiercely contested on both sides of the ball, with several players (most notably freshman running back Justin Colbert and freshman offensive lineman Taylor Britt) leaving with minor to moderate injuries.

The full squad returned to the practice field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, working in full gear twice (Tuesday, Thursday).? In addition to full-contact drills that are limited if not avoided completely during game week, there were plenty of wind sprints to go around. Many veteran players - especially on the defensive side of the ball - saw their participation limited by the coaches, but everyone broke a sweat.? Thursday's workout ended with the defensive linemen serenading their position coach, Pat Donohoe, with "Happy Birthday."

Back in action were players such as quarterback Jeff Aaron, who missed the last two weeks with a severe ankle sprain suffered in the second half of the Cincinnati game (Oct. 13),? linebacker Gaylon Black, who sprained an ankle in the win over Tulane (Oct. 20), and cornerback Dio Hill, who has been bothered by a sore knee for the past several weeks.

Senior receiver Travis Johnson gave everyone a scary moment late in Tuesday's practice, when he caught a pass and hit the ground with his neck and shoulder taking most of the force (he also had a defender on his back), team medical personnel took every precaution that is indicated for a possible neck injury, but Johnson was up and moving under his own power within a few minutes (he left the field wearing a neck collar). Johnson was evaluated by team physicians and cleared to play shortly thereafter, he returned to practice on Wednesday.

"It was the kind of week we needed," said UAB Head Coach Watson Brown.

"We wanted to work a lot of the guys who don't always get the chance when we're preparing for a game, especially on defense, where we have 14 seniors.? On the other hand, we really wanted to work our offensive guys, most of them are much less experienced.? We really needed to be able to do some fundamental things and not have to worry so much about staying fresh for a game on Saturday.? This week came at a good time, we'll do the same thing in a couple of weeks when we get the break between the Houston (Nov. 17) and Pittsburgh games (Dec. 1).

Now it's time for us to take a couple of days off and then come back for our regular Sunday meetings and practice as we get ready for the TCU game (Nov. 10)."

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

Not Much Of An Off Week For Blazers

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