The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Looking Toward Homecoming Game Against FAU
11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Coming off a 38-33 win this past Saturday at UTEP, the UAB football team is beginning preparations for its final non-conference game of the season.
UAB (3-5) will host Florida Atlantic (2-5) on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in the Blazers' homecoming game at Legion Field.
UAB head coach Neil Callaway met with members of the media Monday at his weekly press conference. Joining Callaway were offensive lineman Caleb Thomas, wide receiver Mario Wright, defensive back Marquis Coleman and defensive lineman D.J. Reese.
Coleman had a school-record, 99-yard interception return for a touchdown and Wright added his first touchdown grab of the year in the win over UTEP. Quarterback Joe Webb accounted for four touchdowns in the victory as he became just the second player in the country this season to record touchdowns passing, rushing and receiving in the same game.
"It was a great win for us," Callaway said. "I was really proud of our guys, the way they competed and found a way to win. We did a lot of good things, but we made a lot of mistakes, too. But the bottom line is we found a way to win."
Florida Atlantic had a two-game winning streak snapped in its last outing with a 27-20 loss at home to Middle Tennessee this past Saturday. The Owls boast a passing attack that is averaging 301 yards per game through the air.
"They're a different style of offense (than we faced last week), but they're still a very good offensive football team," Callaway said. "They do a nice job throwing the football."
Saturday's game will be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network and can be heard in the Birmingham area on flagship station WUHT-FM 107.7 with David Crane (play-by-play) and Jake Arians (color) on the call. The pregame show will begin 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
Head Coach Neil Callaway
On the win over UTEP
"It was a great win for us. I was really proud of our guys, the way they competed and found a way to win. We did a lot of good things, but we made a lot of mistakes, too. But the bottom line is we found a way to win.
"Offensively, we had a lot of big plays. The most disappointing things, offensively, were that we didn't score on the kickoff they fumbled and that we weren't able to finish the game offensively, get a first down and kill the clock. But we had a lot of good things, offensively.
"Defensively, I thought the guys played hard. We had a lot of big plays. We knew going in they were very athletic. We made some big plays, but we gave up too many big plays. We have to continue to work on that and hopefully we'll get better. Part of our problem defensively is we still have some personnel issues, particularly in the secondary, that we're just going to have to deal with day to day."
On Saturday's homecoming game against Florida Atlantic
"Homecoming is this week. Florida Atlantic is coming to town. They're a different style of offense, but they're still a very good offensive football team. They do a nice job throwing the football. It's more along the lines of a pro-style offense. Coming from Coach (Howard) Schnellenberger and the things he has implemented over the years, they do a tremendous job offensively.
"Defensively, they're a physical front. They're not a real complicated defensive football team. They do bring a couple blitzes, but basically they're just going to line up and play and challenge you to come get them. So we have to make sure we're ready to go.
"We haven't won back-to-back games since I've been here, so we need to do that. It will be a big day for all of us. It's homecoming, and hopefully our fans and alumni and student body will enjoy it."
On whether or not homecoming is a distraction
"I think it can be a distraction if you let it. But that's up to us. We can't let it be. There's a lot more going on than a normal football game, but again we have to stay focused and concentrate on what we're supposed to do and let everybody else enjoy all the festivities."
On the decrease in the number of penalties from the previous week
"From a penalty standpoint, we had a few more penalties than I would have liked. You don't want any, don't get me wrong. Offensively, we only had one penalty this football game, whereas the game before I think we had 11. Every time against Marshall we made a play, it got called back. That was the biggest thing in this football game. The penalties we had, most of them came defensively. I think our kids realize where we're at, and they played hard and found a way."
On Marquis Coleman's 99-yard interception return for a touchdown
"It was a great boost for us, there's no question. Marquis (Coleman) did a good job and picked it off, and it was a big play for us. It kind of helped set the tone, but we knew by no means was it over because we knew they were explosive offensively. We had another interception by Elliott McGaskin that was big too and gave us good field position."
On trying to limit the yardage for opposing offenses
"I looked at UTEP and they're stacking up yards against whoever they play. We're in a situation where we finally thought we had the personnel we need defensively going into this year, particularly in the secondary, and about the time we started to get everybody on the same page, they started to get hurt. So we have some people that are having to fill in, but that's part of it this time of year. The main thing is we just have to have guys come in and step up."
Sophomore OL Caleb Thomas
On the momentum boost from defeating UTEP
"I think it was huge, especially for us trying to achieve our goals of winning the conference and going to a bowl game. Also as an offensive lineman, blocking for Joe Webb is a boost on its own because of what we can do and how he helps our team."
On how the team feels after the win and heading into homecoming
"It's huge for us and hopefully we'll get that second win and that will boost us into our next conference game, which is at Memphis. A big win this week and a big win at Memphis would help us a lot in terms of reaching our goals."
On what it would mean to win back-to-back games
"I came in when coach Callaway came in and I think it would be huge for the program and help our fan base. It would get people more interested in what we're doing."
Sophomore DB Marquis Coleman
On his 99-yard interception return for a touchdown
"It feels good but at the moment it was like, I'm tired. But when you get back you're more confident and want to make another play every time. It happened so fast, but I just reacted."
On his thoughts about issues in the defensive secondary
"I just feel like we're still young. All the corners are sophomores and we have first-year players. We are all making plays together, but people have injuries so others just have to fill in those spots. We're still winning though."
On the importance of the win over UTEP
"We felt like we shouldn't have lost at Marshall, so we felt like losing wasn't an option at UTEP. Everybody was playing hard every down. As long as we keep playing hard, even if we have problems on one side of the ball, we can make up for it."
On not letting up after a win
"I think now that we've won, everybody wants to win. People will get more intense at practice and be more focused on their assignments so that we can keep playing hard and winning."
Junior WR Mario Wright
On the momentum carrying over from defeating UTEP
"That was a big win for us going all the way across the country and beating UTEP. UTEP beat Houston, which was a big win. This win should be a big momentum changer for us. "
On homecoming
"We try not to focus on homecoming; we just see it as another game. There are a lot of festivities going on around campus, but we try not to get too involved because we still have a football game. All the festivities go to waste if we lose the game so we're trying to just focus on winning the game."
On Joe Webb's touchdown run Saturday
"We went back and watched the film and it seemed like the guy was right there in his hip pocket, but Joe just took two steps and pulled away from him within three yards. That was pretty amazing. He does something pretty amazing every game."
On what the team wants to accomplish in its last four games
"Well the season's still not over. We can still accomplish all the goals that we set out from the start. We can still go to the conference championship and be bowl-eligible. The season is not lost; we can still accomplish all our goals."
Junior DT D.J. Reese
On the importance of the defense putting a complete game together Saturday
"It's important because although we know our offense is going to score, we still need to go out there and do a good job. FAU has a good offense and will come out throwing the ball. If we put in a full game, with our offense scoring, it should be a big game for us."
On how the defensive line needs to put pressure on the ball to help everyone else out
"I know we haven't been doing a good job, but we try. Every time I put my helmet on, I think, alright we need to put pressure on the ball so that we can help [the secondary] out because I know if [the other team] gets the ball off, you never know what's going to happen. We try to get there as fast as we can and knock them down."
On how important it is to the team to get back-to-back wins
"It's very important and we use it as motivation. If we win two games back-to-back, I think we'll be even more motivated and that will help us finish out our conference games. If we win the last four games, we'll have seven wins, so that might help us win our conference, and we'll be bowl-eligible."
