The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Discuss Tennessee Game With Media
8/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB head football coach Watson Brown and several members of the Blazers met with the media on Monday afternoon in Bartow Arena's Green and Gold Room as UAB prepares for its season opener at Tennessee on Saturday. The game is slated for an 11:30 a.m. CT start and will be televised throughout the Southeast by Jefferson Pilot.
Tennessee defeated UAB by a score of 37-13 on Nov. 7, 1998 in Neyland Stadium, in the only other meeting between the two teams. The Blazers are coming off a 7-5 finish in 2004, including their first ever bowl appearance. The Volunteers finished last season 10-3, including a 38-7 victory over Texas A&M in the SBC Cotton Bowl.
Head coach Watson Brown
On the start of the 2005 season:
"I've always said college football is the toughest sport because you don't get to play any exhibition games before you start to actually play, so you really don't know what you're doing when you walk out there. But we're ready to go. We're a little concerned about the weather this week and what we might get out of this. But we don't' have any major problems like the people south of us. Hopefully we can still get one more pad day this afternoon and have one more hard-hitting practice before we back off of our guys completely. "
On UAB's schedule:
"We look forward to starting the year. We've got a tough schedule and a difficult start going to Knoxville and then going to Troy. Plus there are four Saturdays during the season where we don't play a game, so our players have got to be able to handle the offs and ons that we'll have through the season. We have a lot of games at home early before finishing with two away games late in the year, so its obvious we need to have a good team early in the year."
On Tennessee's team:
"Looking at Tennessee on paper, they're physically the best team we've played in the 11 years I've been here. The only other time we played Tennessee was the year they won the national championship and I think this team is physically better than that one."
On Neyland Stadium:
"They have things at Tennessee that our kids are going to enjoy. They've got large crowds and nice atmosphere. We like playing in games like that and most of the time we've been very competitive in games against big-time foorball programs. We've done a lot of this and I don't think our players will be intimidated. I think they'll look forward to it."
On Tennessee's gameplan:
"I worry about Tennessee taking the ball right at us with our three new linebackers. I like our linebackers, and I think they're going to play well but they'll have a lot of heat on them right out of the gate with the style that Tennessee plays. Our defense has got to be prepared. I don't see a weakness in their defense. They have eight starters back and they're very solid. Moving Jason Allen to corner has strengthened them, giving them one very solid cornerback. They had some secondary issues last year, and if those are corrected this year, they'll have an unbelievably strong defense."
On the Blazers' attitude:
"I think our kids are confident. They look forward to playing and they think they can win. That's not cocky at all. We're not predicting victory by any means, but I think we'll be confident. We won't be shocked at what we line up and see when we walk on the field. After the game, win or lose, we'll know a lot about ourselves. This will be the best team we play all year long by far, so we'll know our strengths and weaknesses and what we need to improve and how we need to utilize those strengths even more. That's the good thing about playing such a good team early in the year."
Quarterback Darrell Hackney
On Saturday's opener at Tennessee:
"I think we have an excellent chance if we go out there and make plays. People around Birmingham know about us, but this is our chance to let people around the nation realize that we can play."
On UAB's offensive line:
"We just need to stay calm. Our offensive line is much improved and they're ready to show people what they can do against top-notch teams like Tennessee. I've got my weight down now so hopefully I can avoid some of the sacks we took last year. We're just ready to play. I'm trying to get the ball away quicker this season. I'm doing my best to get quicker reads and deeper drops."
On the UAB defense:
"It helped me a lot this summer when I went against our defense in practice. Our defense is no joke. People think just because our linebackers are new, they're not as good. But they can play."
Cornerback Carlos Hendricks
On opening the season at Neyland Stadium against Tennessee:
"We look at this game as an opportunity. We're going to be playing in front of 107 thousand fans on regional television; this is an opportunity to show everyone what we can do. Even if we don't win, we want to show people that we can play. It's a big opportunity for UAB to show everyone that we can play with these top-five teams."
On Tennessee's team:
"This is going to be the toughest team we play this season. Tennessee is a powerhouse team and they have been one for years and years."
On last year's Florida State loss helping prepare UAB for Tennessee:
"The Florida State game last year really helped prepare us for what we're going to see Saturday. You can't simulate something like that in practice, so that game really helped us. The offensive line, for example, seemed to struggle last year against Florida State, but they know what to expect now and they're ready for it."
Linebacker Mastaki Smith
On opening the season against Tennessee on a big stage:
"This is what you dream of when you're a little kid. You want to play in front of big crowds, and as a Division I player this is what you expect, to play in hostile environments against good teams."
On whether the linebackers are ready for the game:
"We've talked and we think we're ready for this game. We're tired of going against our own office. We're ready to go out there and show everybody that we're ready to play some good football."
On UAB playing at the level it needs to succeed:
"I think the offense and defense look good right now. I think we're ready to go against Tennessee. Like coach Brown said, we're as far as we can come going against each other, now its time to play."
Center Matt Batusic
On UAB's approach against Tennessee:
"I don't think we're going to go up there and throw the whole kitchen sink at them. We're trying to go up there and play a similar game plan to what they usually do, which is to do limited things very well and not make a lot of mistakes. Hopefully we'll be able to do the same thing we did against LSU and Georgia, which is to stay in the game and hopefully have a chance to win."
On the experience of the team helping to prepare for Tennessee:
"Because we're older on the offensive line and as a team, we've learned to keep our composure. We've learned to keep doing what we need to do instead of panic so that things start to go downhill."
On staying on top of the Tennessee defenders:
"They're awesome, athletically, and up-front they're great. All of their defensive guys are great at staying on the play, which makes it tough as an offensive lineman. We can't be satisfied with keeping them off the play. We have to make sure we stay on the block and don't let up."
