The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Notes For The Pittsburgh Game
9/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2001
UAB (1-1) at PITTSBURGH (1-1)
Saturday, Sep. 15 * Heinz Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
KICKOFF: Set for 1:30 pm EDT (12:30 pm CDT) at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. (65,000/Natural Grass).
THE TEAMS: Both teams are 1-1. Pittsburgh opened its 2001 campaign with a 31-0 win over East Tennessee State at home (Sep. 1) and is coming off a 35-26 home loss to (future C-USA member) South Florida last Saturday (Sep. 8), UAB began the season with a 41-13 win over Montana State at Legion Field (Aug. 30) and is coming off a 29-7 loss at sixth-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee last Saturday.
THE COACHES: Pittsburgh's Walt Harris is 21-27 in his fifth season as head coach of the Panthers (he is 32-51 overall in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach).?? UAB's Watson Brown is 32-36 in his seventh season at UAB (64-113-1 in his 17th season as a collegiate head coach).
THE SERIES:? Saturday's game will be the first meeting between UAB and Pittsburgh on the gridiron.
TELEVISION:? Live telecast in the Birmingham viewing area on WABM-TV 68 (air time 12:30 pm CDT). The broadcast crew includes Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and former Blazer quarterback John Whitcomb (color analyst).
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.? Thursday's broadcast will begin with the pre-game show at 12 Noon CDT live from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
UAB GAME WEEK SCHEDULE, SERVICES, etc.
Interviews: Contact SID Grant Shingleton (205/934-0725) to request coach or player interviews. The best time for interviews is at the conclusion of practice (approximately 5:00 pm CDT, Tuesday-Thursday, and 6:30 pm CDT Sunday), UAB does not practice on Monday. Interviews at other times (e.g. prior to practice) will be arranged by the SID staff, time (and class/workout schedule, etc., permitting).
Sunday: Team meeting, followed by walkthrough from approximately (5:00-6:30 pm CDT)
Monday : Coach Brown will? be available at UAB Football's Weekly Media Luncheon at the Green and Gold Room in Bartow Arena from 11:30-1:00 pm CDT. Coach Brown also participates in the weekly Conference USA Coaches' Teleconference,? from 1:00-2:00 pm CDT (Coach Brown's time is usually from approximately 1:29-1:37 pm CDT). The call-in number is (847) 619-6129 (the call is replayed several times during the week, call (402/220-4791).
Tuesday:? Practice from 3:00 pm to approximately 5:00 pm CDT.
Wednesday:? Previous week's game highlights and interviews from all C-USA schools will be available on the C-USA Weekly Satellite Feed beginning at 2:40 pm CDT (KU Band, SBS 6, Transponder 8, Downlink Frequency 11900 Vertical). Practice from 3:00 pm to approximately 5:00 pm CDT. Coach Brown will participate in his weekly radio call-in show, "Inside the Dragon's Den,"on WJOX AM 690 in Birmingham from 6:00-7:00 pm CDT, live from Bob Baumhower's Wings restaurant in the Wildwood shopping center (off Lakeshore Blvd.).
Thursday: ?Practice from 3:00 pm to approximately 5:00 pm CDT.
Friday: Check with SID office for schedule.
Saturday:? Coach Brown will address the media approximately 15 minutes following the conclusion of the game, the UAB locker room and training room are closed to the media at all times, requested players will be made available following the game, time permitting.
11TH SEASON BEGINS: The UAB Blazer Football program began its 11th season of varsity competition (1991- ) and its sixth year at the NCAA I-A level (1996- ) Aug. 30 vs. Montana State. UAB actually began football competition at the? club level in 1989-90, played varsity football at the NCAA Division III level for two seasons (1991-92) and at the NCAA I-AA level for three seasons (1993-95).?
TOUGH TIME IN TALLAHASSEE: The Blazers battled sixth-ranked Florida State all evening, but fell 29-7 to the talented Seminoles before a crowd of 79,388 (the fourth largest a UAB team has ever played in front of) and a national television audience (UAB's first) on ESPN2.? The always tough Blazer defense allowed its first three touchdowns of the 2001 season and surrendered 381 total yards (135 rushing, 246 passing), but punished FSU with hard hits throughout the game. A total of 11 penalties for 106 yards hurt UAB -- all three FSU touchdowns were aided by crucial Blazer penalties, and the UAB offense and special teams were also guilty of several costly penalties that crippled potential scoring drives.
BAD NEWS: The Blazers suffered one significant injury in the FSU game, senior John Humphries,? a? backup at the "mike" linebacker position,? broke the radius bone in his right arm and underwent surgery on Sunday (9/9). UAB team physician Dr. Bill Garth and his surgical team repaired the injury with a plate and six screws, Humphries is out for an undetermined period.
BETTER NEWS: Senior Rod Taylor, the starter at the "mike" linebacker position, suffered a right ankle sprain early in the second half of the? Florida State game and spent the remainder of the evening on crutches on the sideline. Amazingly, Taylor -- the team's leading tackler through two games with 14 total stops (six solo, eight assists, six for loss) -- left the stadium under his own power Saturday night (even carrying his own equipment bag) and participated in the team's walkthrough Sunday evening (9/9). Although very sore, Taylor is day-to-day and could be available for the Pittsburgh game.
IN THE MEANTIME: True freshman Zac Woodfin and redshirt freshman Nigel Eldridge will play an enhanced role in the team's plans, backing up Taylor at the "mike" linebacker.
BLAZERS NO STRANGERS TO RANKED TEAMS:? UAB has only played football at the NCAA Division I-A level since 1996, but the Blazers have plenty of experience against teams ranked in the top 25.? Since 1996, UAB has faced eight nationally-ranked teams, including:
???????????
??????????? at #15 Auburn (L, 0-29, 8/31/96)
??????????? at #23 Virginia Tech (L, 0-37, 11/1/97)
??????????? at? #3 Nebraska (L, 7-38, 9/5/98)
??????????? vs. #21 Virginia Tech (L, 0-41, 10/24/98)
??????????? at? #2 Tennessee (L, 13-37, 11/7/98)
??????????? at #11 Virginia Tech (L, 10-31, 9/11/99)
??????????? vs. #17 East Carolina (W, 36-17, 11/6/99)
??????????? vs. #22 Southern Miss (L, 30-33/OT, 11/11/00)
??????????? at #6 Florida State (L, 7-29, 9/8/01)
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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).
BLAZERS TOUGH vs. THE RUN: Although their team rank dropped from second last week (after allowing -1 net yards vs. Montana State) to15th this week (allowing opponents an average of 67.0 yards per game), 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 last week), no individual opposing player has broken the 100+-yard barrier since Louisville's Frank Moreau did so vs. the Blazers during the 1999 season (10/30/99) -- that's 16 straight games.
"THE STEEL SHIELD": So named by Coach Watson Brown, the Blazer defensive front consists of seniors Bryan Thomas (DE), Eddie Freeman (DT), Rodney Jones (NG), and Marlon Bush (DE). All four are extremely versatile and even interchangeable, having played most of the defensive line positions during their college careers. All were either tight ends (Thomas, Bush, Freeman) or running backs (Jones) in high school and possess outstanding athletic ability and quickness.
THOMAS PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION:? Senior defensive end Bryan Thomas was named to the preseason All-Conference USA team in July.? Thomas led UAB with 10 sacks last season, and currently has 23.0 career sacks, 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).
GALLEGO ON GROZA AWARD WATCH LIST:? Senior placekicker Rhett Gallego, whose success was one of the big themes of the 2000 UAB season, is once again a candidate for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to college football's top placekicker. Gallego kicked a UAB single-season record 19? field goals in 2000, including game-winners at LSU (Sep. 23) and East Carolina (Oct. 28).
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 -- is 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.
ON TRACK: Dugger, who is very likely to become the first UAB running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season in five years (the last Blazer to do so was Carl Sanders, who compiled 1,154 rushing yards in 1996), opened the 2001 campaign with 122 yards on 25 carries, with one touchdown (a four-yarder in the first quarter) vs. Montana State.? It was his fifth career 100+-yard rushing performance (the previous four all came during the 2000 season). With a hard-earned 52 yards on 16 carries vs. Florida State last week, Dugger currently has 174 net yards this season -- 826 away from the 1,000-yard mark.
MOVING UP: Dugger currently has 1,314 career rushing yards (ranking him third all-time at UAB and second in the NCAA Divsion I-A era). Dugger's two rushing touchdowns this season give him nine (9) for his career, that ranks him third in UAB's NCAA Division I-A era and tied for fifth all-time in the Blazer record book).
STEWART SHINES: Redshirt junior punter Ross Stewart had his finest game as a Blazer vs. Florida State last week (9/8), 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 48.0 yards per punt, good enough to rank him fourth nationally this week (only 1.50 yards behind leader Brooks Barnard of Maryland). Three of Stewart's eight punts this season have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yardline.
THERE HAS TO BE ONE: Season openers haven't exactly been kind to UAB over the years, but with the victory over Montana State (Aug. 30) the Blazers are 3-8 all-time on opening day, and actually have a bit of a win streak, having also won the 2000 season-opener, 20-15 over Chattanooga at Legion Field (9/7/00).
IRONICALLY: While struggling in season-opening games throughout its brief football history, UAB has never lost a season finale (10-0).
QUINNIE LIKES OPENERS: Blazer receiver Willie Quinnie apparently likes season-opening games, in UAB's 41-13 win over Montana State, he made the most of two receptions for 65 yards. The first was a 49-yarder from QB Jeff Aaron that set up a 16-yard touchdown catch (also from Aaron) moments later. Two possessions later, Quinnie broke the game open with a 34-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse.? In the Blazers' 2000 opener vs. Chattanooga (9/7), Quinnie had just three receptions, but again made the most of them, one was a 42-yard touchdown from QB Daniel Dixon and another was a 65-yarder (also from Dixon) that helped set up Jegil Dugger's game-winning touchdown run.
DEE-FENSE: UAB held Montana State to -1 net rushing yards and 155 yards of total offense. The Blazer defense did not allow a touchdown (the Bobcats' only TD of the night came on an interception return), and intercepted two passes (one each by Torrey Hale and Chris Brown).
INTERCEPTED!: Although they did not have an interception in the Florida State game, the Blazers have intercepted at least one pass in 19 of? their last 24 games, dating back to the 1999 season. The UAB defense intercepted at least one pass in nine of 11 games in 2000, and? intercepted two or more three times (including four in the win at LSU on Sep. 23).? The team had 19 interceptions in 11 games in 1999 (again at least one in nine of 11 games).
VETERAN STAFF:? Coach Brown and? his assistants have over 200 combined years of coaching experience from the high school level to all levels of college football, to the NFL (the average is 19 years). Of the 11 assistants on the staff (including strength and conditioning coach Marcus Bush), seven came to UAB with Brown in 1995.? The continuity and cohesion among this staff are a major reason for the program's success and amazing growth.
VETERAN TEAM: Of the 103 players listed on the UAB game-day roster when the team took on Montana State last week, 40 were upperclassmen and 24 were either seniors or redshirt seniors.? All of those 40 upperclassmen were listed somewhere on the first, second or third teams on the depth chart released on Aug. 26.
HOME GROWN:? Of those same 103 players on the Aug. 30 UAB roster, 74 were from the state of Alabama and 20 from the Birmingham metropolitan area.? Of the 44 players listed as first or second team on offense or defense on the Aug. 26 depth chart, 31 were from Alabama and 10 of those players were from the metro Birmingham area (of the nine players listed as either first or second team specialists -- kickers, snappers, holders, returners -- eight were from Alabama and three were from the metro Birmingham area).
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:
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??????????? 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 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. Beginning with the Florida State game, Seabrook will wear jersey no. 8.
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.
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CURRENTLY ON NFL ROSTERS (as of Sep. 9):? Six former Blazers, including:
?
??????????? Josh
Evans (DT) * Tennessee Titans
??????????? Dainon
Sidney (DB) * Tennessee Titans
??????????? Izell
Reese (DB) * Dallas Cowboys
??????????? Otis
Leverette (DE) * Washington Redskins
??????????? Rodregis
Brooks (DB) * Indianapolis Colts
??????????? Jake Arians (PK) * Buffalo Bills
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NOT QUITE: Two former Blazers, receiver Kevin Drake (Dallas) and running back Carl Fair (Cleveland) were released prior to the beginning of the 2001 NFL regular season.? Fair was later resigned by the Browns and assigned to the practice squad.
WILD WEEK FOR ARIANS: Former Blazer placekicker Jake Arians rode the rollercoaster of emotions last week, after being released by the Atlanta Falcons in the final round of preseason roster cuts, Arians received a call from the Buffalo Bills, who had just placed kicker Steve Christie on the injured reserve list. Arians signed with Buffalo on Thursday (9/6) and was initially assigned to the practice squad, he was then activated for the season-opener vs. New Orleans (9/9) and accounted for all six of the Bills' points in the game with a pair of field goals.
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 game pants -- the team is scheduled to wear them with the white jerseys at Florida State this weekend, as well as the classic gold helmet with green stripe and "Dragon Shield" logos (a white helmet was developed but did not make it past the prototype stage).? UAB wore white jerseys and gold pants (both made by Alabama-based Russell Corp.) Saturday vs. FSU.
