The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Three Blazers Named First-Team All-Conference USA
12/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 9, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- A trio of UAB seniors have been named as first-team selections to the 2008 All-Conference USA football team, the league announced Tuesday.
Cornerback Kevin Sanders, linebacker Joe Henderson and kicker Swayze Waters were all tabbed by the C-USA coaches for first-team honors. Waters earned the accolade as the first-team punter. He also was named as an all-conference placekicker, picking up second-team recognition. Senior Jeff Hamby was named to the all-conference second team as a long snapper.
UAB tied four other schools (Rice, Southern Miss, Tulsa and UTEP) for having the most players named to the first-team unit with three.
Sanders turned in his finest season as a Blazer as the Pell City, Ala. native led the nation in interceptions with seven to increase his career total at UAB to 15. Sanders, who registered four interceptions in his last three games, also recorded 38 tackles. This is the first all-conference honor for Sanders.
For Henderson, this is the third consecutive season that the Birmingham product has earned all-league accolades but the first time he has been tabbed to the postseason first-team. He was named third-team all-conference as a sophomore in 2006 and was selected second-team in 2007 following his junior season. Henderson was a 2008 preseason first-team choice as well.
Henderson paced the Blazers in tackles this fall with 87 stops and ranked among C-USA's leaders in tackles for loss with a career-high 12.5. Henderson finished his UAB career with 294 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
Waters is All-Conference USA for the second year in a row and becomes the first kicker in conference history to earn all-conference honors as both a punter and placekicker in the same season.
Twice named C-USA's Special Teams Player of the Week this season, the senior from Jackson, Miss. ranked among the nation's top punters for most of the campaign and finished with a 43.6 yards average. He also helped UAB to a No. 1 rank among league schools in net punting and a No. 10 rank nationally in that category.
As a kicker, Waters also leaves his mark as one of C-USA's best at the position in league history. He finished the 2008 season with 19 field goals in 24 attempts for a league-best 79.2 accuracy mark. He capped off the year with his best performance of the season as he connected on 5-of-5 three-pointers in the Blazers' 15-0 win.
Waters concluded his career at UAB with 50 field goals in 64 tries for 78.1 percent, a considerable feat when realizing Waters did not become the Blazers' regular placekicker until the ninth game of his sophomore season in 2006.
His 50 field goals rank No. 8 all-time in Conference USA history and are second at UAB behind Nick Hayes who kicked 57 from 2001-04. Waters' accuracy mark of 78.1 is first all-time at UAB and No. 6 in C-USA history.
Hamby, picking up his first all-conference honor, has been a nearly flawless snapper for the Blazers for each of his four seasons. From nearby Vestavia Hills, Ala. Hamby has held down the short and long snapper duties for UAB for three consecutive years.
UAB also had four other players named honorable mention All-Conference USA. Offensive linemen Terence Edge and Jake Seitz were tabbed as were Frantrell Forrest as both a WR and kick returner, and Bryant Turner who was listed at defensive lineman.
