The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Notes For The Southern Miss Game
9/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 25, 2001
THE
GAME: UAB
(2-1, 1-0 C-USA) at Southern Miss (2-0, 0-0 C-USA), Saturday, Sept. 29.
KICKOFF: Set for 6:00 pm CDT at M.M. Roberts
Stadium
(33,000/Grass) in Hattiesburg, Miss.
THE
TEAMS:? UAB is 2-1 (1-0 C-USA) and coming off a
55-3 C-USA victory over Army at Legion Field in Birmingham last Saturday (Sept.
22).? Southern Miss is 2-0 (0-0
C-USA) and coming off a 35-10 win at Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday (Sept. 22).
THE
COACHES: USM's Jeff Bower is 69-47-1 in his 11th season as head coach of
the Golden Eagles. UAB's Watson Brown is 33-36 in his seventh
season at UAB (65-113-1 in his 17th season as a collegiate head coach).
THE
SERIES:? Southern Miss holds a 1-0 edge in the
series. The Golden Eagles won the only previous meeting 33-30 in overtime last
season at Legion Field (Nov. 11, 2000).
TELEVISION: Live cablecast on Comcast/Charter
Sports Southeast (CSS). The broadcast crew includes Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and
former Blazer quarterback John Whitcomb (color analyst). Whitcomb, who holds
most of the? UAB ?single-game, season and career passing
records (he played for the Blazers from 1992-94), began his college playing
career at Southern Miss, he lettered for the Golden Eagles in 1990, backing up
starter Brett Favre.
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 5:30 pm CDT live from M.M. Roberts
Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.
GREAT
DEFENSES:
Saturday's game in Hattiesburg will match the nation's 11th-ranked
team in total defense -- Southern Miss -- vs. the 14th-ranked team -- UAB.
RUNNING
WILL BE TOUGH:? Southern Miss enters
the Sept. 29 game ranked no. 1 in NCAA Division I-A in rushing defense,
allowing opponents only 26.0 yards per game, UAB enters the game ranked 7th in
rushing defense, allowing opponents 60.0 yards per game.
BLAZERS
RUN WELL:
UAB enters the game vs. Southern Miss ranked 20th in the I-A statistics in
rushing offense, averaging 196.33 yards per game (that also ranks the Blazers
first in C-USA). Senior running back Jegil Dugger is currently ranked 43rd in
rushing (87.67 yards per game) and has run for four touchdowns this season
(he's ranked 59th in scoring at 8.0 points per game).? The Blazers piled up 239 rushing yards
and scored four touchdowns via the run last week vs. Army.??
AND
DEFEND THE RUN WELL:? 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), 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 17 straight games.
PREPARE
TO SAY `JEFF' A LOT:?
Both teams are led by very gifted, versatile senior quarterbacks --? both named Jeff -- Kelly (Southern
Miss)
and Aaron (UAB).
BIG
NUMBERS:
UAB's 55 points vs. Army last Saturday 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).? The Blazers' previous
high score vs. a C-USA team?...30 vs. Southern Miss at Legion Field last
season (Nov. 11).
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
GOOD TO BE HOME: UAB is now 2-0 at Legion Field this season. The Blazer defense
has not allowed a touchdown in eight quarters at home in 2001.? The only touchdown scored by a UAB
opponent at Legion Field? to date
this season was an interception return by Montana State's Kane Iaone
(Aug. 30).
IT'S
A FACT: UAB
has intercepted at least one pass in 20 of its last 25 games (and in two
of? three games this season).
IT'S
ALSO A FACT: UAB has blocked at least one kick in two of three games this
season (punts vs. Montana State and Army), and in four of its last five games
dating back to the Southern Miss game at Legion Field last season.
DUGGER
WATCH:
Senior running back Jegil Dugger rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries, scoring on
runs of three and 28 yards.? Dugger
now has 263 yards this season on 58 carries (4.53 average) and 1,403 career
rushing yards on 293 carries (4.8 average).? Dugger scored two TDs vs. Army, giving him at least one in
each of the Blazers' games this season and 11 for his career (ranking him
second in the UAB Division I-A era and third all-time in Blazer football
history).
AARON'S
BIG DAY:? Before giving way to backup Thomas Cox
early in the third quarter vs. Army, UAB quarterback? Jeff Aaron passed for 187 yards, rushed for 66 yards and was
responsible for three touchdowns (2 passing, one rushing).
PITTSBURGH
GAME RESCHEDULED: UAB will make up the game at Pittsburgh on Saturday, Dec. 1 at
Heinz Field (time TBA).
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).
"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.
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 47.91 yards per punt, good enough to rank him fourth nationally (only
1.45 yards behind leader Craig Jarrett of Michigan State). Four of
Stewart's 11 punts this season have been downed inside the
opponents' 20-yardline.?
Stewart currently leads Conference USA? in punting.
AARON,
GALLEGO RECEIVE C-USA HONORS: UAB quarterback Jeff Aaron and placekicker Rhett Gallego have both been 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:
Maurice Gallery (wore no. 20, 1998-00', now wears no. 1)
??????????? Travis
Johnson (wore no. 19,
1997-00, now wears no. 3)
??????????? T.J.
Simmons (wore no.11, 1999-00, now wears no. 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 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 Sep. 23):?
Seven 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
??????????? Carl
Fair (RB) * Cleveland Browns
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.
