The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Team Holds Final Scrimmage Before Spring Break
3/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 27, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team went through its final scrimmage before spring break here Thursday and Blazer head coach Watson Brown said his team has progressed quicker the past 10 days than he had anticipated, especially on defense where his team is adjusting in a new scheme (4-3).
"I really like the new defense," said Brown, whose team has completed 7-of-15 spring practices thus far. "I think our players have really embraced coach (Wayne) Bolt. I think they like what we're doing. There is a lot of penetration, a lot of blitzes. I am excited about it.
"We've got three solid linebackers. Gaylon (Black) is out here and I really wasn't expecting that (after knee injury last fall), but we've got to find three backups. We have to improve our depth at linebacker."
Both sides had their moments in Thursday's scrimmage, but it was the offense that made most of the big plays.
Sophomore quarterback Darrell Hackney, who is expected to be one of Conference USA's top signal-callers this fall, was outstanding in the scrimmage, hitting 21-of-28 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target on the afternoon was junior wideout Roddy White who caught 10 passes for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 55-yarder.
Also seeing action at quarterback were a pair of redshirt freshmen, Curtis Falany and Chris Williams. Falany hit 3-of-7 passes for 38 yards while Williams connected on 4-of-10 for 34 yards.
"I saw a lot of good individual things," said Brown. "I thought there were a lot of big plays by our offense in the scrimmage. We didn't have a lot of drops. Our pass protection was pretty good, not very many offensive penalties."
Among the other receiver numbers in the scrimmage: Jhun Cook (2 catches, 44 yards), Lance Rhodes (3 catches, 42 yards), Bradley Chavez (1 catch, 20 yards), Chico Cleveland (1 catch, 14 yards) and RB Kendal Gibson (2 catches, 29 yards).
Sophomore Dan Burks was the top rusher in the scrimmage as he ran for 70 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Bo Moncur had 26 yards on 14 carries.
"Defensively, really I thought we did pretty well with a brand-new defense," said Brown. "Our No. 1 defense started a little slow, but they got better as the scrimmage went along. I was also pleased that we did not get anybody hurt. For us, after last year, that's a plus in itself."
Senior cornerback Dio Hill and linebacker Nigel Eldridge both recorded interceptions in the scrimmage, each picking off a pass from Williams.
"It's a total different process on defense," Brown said. "They're all back, but it's a new defense. Hopefully, that will keep getting better, and really it was better today than I thought it would be, to be honest. We've been in the same defense here for six years.
The Blazers will take next week off for spring break before resuming practice on Monday, April 7. The annual Blazer Day will be held on Saturday, April 12 at West Campus Field. The spring football game will start at 1:30 p.m.
