The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Hold Second Scrimmage Of Preseason
8/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 22, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team held its second scrimmage of the preseason Saturday afternoon at Legion Field and head coach Neil Callaway said following the two-hour workout that he "saw a lot of good individual effort" but that he thought his team was too sloppy.
"I saw a lot of great plays on both sides of the ball," said Callaway, whose team opens the 2009 season two weeks from Saturday when it hosts Conference USA foe Rice. "Individually, defensively, I couldn't help but notice (DT) Elliott Henigan. I thought (DE) Bryant Turner really got great pressure all day on the quarterback. I saw some of those young linebackers make some good plays.
"Offensively, I thought Joe Webb made some good plays, the receivers made some good plays," Callaway said. "But I thought the biggest disappointment was we were very sloppy offensively and defensively as a team. We had too many people on the field, we couldn't get lined up right. We got a couple delay of game calls. We've got execute better as a football team and eliminate the mistakes to not beat ourselves."
With Henigan and Turner leading the way, the defensive line performed much better than a week ago when the Blazers held their first scrimmage. Early in the scrimmage, Henigan, a sophomore from Atlanta, tipped a David Isabelle pass at the line and then made a diving interception off his own deflection.
"I thought the defensive line really got it after it today overall," Callaway said. "They gave up some plays, nobody's perfect, but I thought they took it to them pretty good. We did give some plays on the back end. I want to look at the tape to get a better idea, but overall, I thought it was a good day for the defense."
Though Callaway was more pleased with the defense than he was last Saturday, the UAB offense had its share of big plays in the scrimmage.
Quarterback Joe Webb only saw limited action but finished 6-for-9 passing for 141 yards and one touchdown, a 49-yard strike to WR Frantrell Forrest. Webb also rushed four times for 27 yards with two touchdowns.
Isabelle was 12-for-15 for 256 yards with a 63-yard touchdown to Forrest. QB Bryan Ellis hit 5-of-12 for 75 yards while Joe Bento completed 7-of-11 passes for 93 yards with one touchdown.
Forrest was one of two UAB receivers with more than 100 yards on the day. The junior from Mobile had 148 yards on three catches while senior Sylvester Mencer caught four balls for 106 yards. WR Mario Wright had three receptions for 67 yards while tight end Justin Harris caught three passes for 59 yards, including a 41-yard catch.
The defensive line's play was evident in the fact that the Blazer running backs did not have as productive a day as in last Saturday's scrimmage.
Isabelle had the most rushing yards (73) on the day on seven attempts, including a 31-yard TD run. Among the running backs, Nick Anderson had 39 yards on six attempts while Justin Brooks had 32 yards on six carries with one touchdown. RB Jim Mitchell ran for 25 yards on five carries.
Freshman kicker Josh Zahn attempted only two field goals in the scrimmage, connecting from 45 yards out and just missing on a 50-yarder as his attempt hit the crossbar and fell short.
The Blazers will return to practice Monday as they continue preparations for the Sept. 5 opener against Rice.
Scrimmage Stats Leaders
Passing: Webb 6-9, 141 yards, 1 TD; Isabelle 12-15, 256 yards, 2 TD; Ellis 5-12, 75 yards; Bento 7-11, 93 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: Isabelle 7-73, 1 TD; N. Anderson 6-39; Brooks 6-32 Mitchell 5-27; Webb 4-27; Adams 2-13
Receiving: Forrest 3-148, 2 TD; Mencer 4-106; Wright 3-67; M. Jones 2-26, 1 TD; J. Harris 3-59; J. Anderson 3-41, 1TD; Adams 1-24; M. Jones 2-26, 1 TD
