The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Opens Spring Practice Wednesday
2/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 27, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team will begin its 2006 spring practice drills on Wednesday, March 1 and while the Blazers will welcome back a large contingent of letterwinners and seniors for the coming season, head coach Watson Brown will be looking to fill the voids left by key losses at quarterback and wide receiver.
UAB did not enjoy the 2005 season it had hoped for as the Blazers finished with a 5-6 record and missed out on making a second-consecutive bowl trip. But there is reason for optimism for the 2006 campaign, as Brown will have one of his most experienced squads. Fifty lettermen return, including six starters on both sides of the ball.
Still, replacing the likes of record-setting quarterback Darrell Hackney will be no easy task. Hackney, who started 38 games and threw for 9,886 yards and 71 touchdowns in his career, finished his Blazer career as one of the most prolific signal-callers in Conference USA history.
Of the three quarterbacks vying this spring to emerge as the No. 1 QB, only senior Chris Williams has experience as a Blazer and it's limited. Sam Hunt, a 6-3 sophomore who sat out last season after transferring from Middle Tennessee State, and Joseph Webb, a 6-4 redshirt freshman who also sat out 2005, will compete with Williams for the job.
UAB will also be looking for replacements at wide receiver after losing a pair of starters -- Reggie Lindsey and Jhun Cook -- from last season's roster. Lindsey was especially productive as he caught 53 passes with 11 touchdowns on his way to earning second-team all-conference honors.
"Quarterback and wide receiver are the two inexperienced positions on this team," said Brown, who will be entering his 12th season as the head coach. "Without Darrell, we will be revamping our offense. We'll be working hard to find ways to get two running backs on the field at the same time."
One of the Blazers' strengths will be at running back where four seniors (Corey White, Dan Burks, Marculus Elliott and Trey Chaney) all return. White was last season's leading ground gainer with 632 yards and seven touchdowns. UAB also has the benefit of the return of four of its five starters on the offense line.
Defensively, Brown and Co. will be looking for improvement from a unit that yielded 24 points and 372 yards per contest. The Blazers also had difficulty stopping their opponent on third down as their foes converted 45 percent of their third down attempts in 2005.
The Blazers are scheduled to finish their spring drills on March 23 with their spring game set for Saturday, March 18.
