The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Focus on Halloween Game at SMU During Media Luncheon
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB head football coach Watson Brown and a trio of Blazers were among those in attendance at the weekly football media luncheon Thursday afternoon. UAB is preparing for its upcoming game at SMU on Tuesday, October 31 in a Halloween night matchup in Dallas, Texas.
The talk throughout the afternoon was about how the Blazers can turn the season around and still finish among the top in the conference and become bowl eligable, but it must begin with the upcoming SMU game. UAB is currently 3-5 overall and 2-2 against Conference USA teams.
Blazers in attendance were seniors Orlandus King (LB), Marculus Elliott (RB) and Jordan Erwin (TE).
Head Coach Watson Brown
On what went wrong in the Marshall game:
"It was just a bad game. It was not UAB football. It all starts with our defense. I feel like we lost our toughness. But we are getting it back this week and we will have our fight back."
On the Blazers still being only one game back in the standings:
"There is definitely still a whole lot to play for. I have no doubt that the winner in our league will have two losses and maybe even three. Nobody has taken over the conference, everyone has been going up and down all year. We cannot go 2-2 in the next four games and expect to win the division. This is sort of like playoff time for us, so we have to win these games."
On having a few extra days to prepare for SMU:
"We have two nationally televised games. Weekday games are very important. We have been playing them and we know how important they are. We have not had an open date, and now we have a couple of extra days. I think it came at a very important time. We were able to heel mentally a little bit, and physically a little bit to."
If Coach Brown realized in 1995, when he took the UAB job, how far this program had to go:
"I think I was naïve enough to not know anything at that point. When I took the job everyone was laughing at us, wondering why UAB was going to Division 1-A, they will never get into a conference, now if we lose one everyone is after your throat. That is fantastic, we have come a long way, and now we have a sense of urgency to take it even further."
Senior Running Back Marculus Elliott
On running behind Dan Burks and Corey White:
"It is a good thing, but at the same time we want to get out there and contribute to the game in our own way. Dan has power and speed, Corey bring a lot of power to the table. When I get in there, I just try to make the most of the opportunity and do a good job for the team."
On the strength of UAB's running backs:
"I think we have the best running back combination in the league. There are some real good backs out there, but us four (Burks, White, Elliott and Trey Chaney) all bring a little something different when we get on the field."
On coming off of tough losses to Rice and Marshall:
"Our mindset is to get back to where we were at the beginning of the season. We want everyone to get back together and on the same page and that starts with us seniors. We want to lead by example and have the underclassmen follow our lead and show them it is not over with. We still have a chance to win this conference and get to a bowl game."
Senior Tight End Jordan Erwin
On having extra time off in between games:
"It's been great for the team. It has given us a chance to come together as a team and feed off one another to realize what we need to do to get things back on the right track. There is no panic and we can still go to the bowl. If we win out, we could win the conference, so there is still a lot to play for."
On the upcoming game at SMU:
"We know what we have to do this week. It is almost a must win for us. We have come together and realize what we have been doing and how to change it and hopefully that will start this week. The game will be televised on national television and that makes it a lot more exciting for everyone."
Senior Linebacker Orlandus King
On his frustration of being injured:
"This is my senior year and I couldn't do anything but yell and scream to help my team win, so that's the most frustrating part about it. I couldn't be in there to help my teammates on the field. The way our defense has played the last couple of weeks is not our defense. We are going to bring back UAB defense starting this week. We will have almost everyone back and healthy. We are going to try to be physical like we were during the first part of the season."
On where the team stands entering the SMU game after two tough losses:
"It's not time to panic yet. We still have a lot of football games to be played. The last four games are going to determine everything. All of the goals we set at the beginning of the season are still reachable, so we are going to go out on the field Tuesday and hopefully take a step towards reaching those goals."
