The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Hold Situational Scrimmage Thursday
8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 27, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB football team held a dress-rehearsal scrimmage at Legion Field on Thursday, practicing for approximately 90 minutes in full pads. Head coach Neil Callaway's squad ran through game day routines and situational work to prepare for its season-opening contest against Rice on Sept. 5.
The Blazers ran through pre-game rituals both in the locker room and on the field to acclimate the newcomers before transitioning into 12-minute quarters and situational work.
"We tried to play it like a game and created a few situations," Callaway said. "When you're playing the best against the rest, it's not as productive as a real live game is going to be. So we did some things to put a little more pressure on the defense, but other than that we tried to play it like a normal game."
Although there were mistakes made on both ends, Callaway was particularly concerned with the lack of precision in the offense. He was satisfied, however, with the performances by freshman kicker Josh Zahn and sophomore kicker Trey Ragland.
"Offensively we weren't as sharp as we'd like to be, throwing the ball or catching," Callaway said. "We made some plays but we still had some miscues on both ends. Defensively the front seven did really well stopping the runs, but the secondary gave up a few plays that they didn't need to give up.
"I thought the kickers did really well," Callaway said. "Trey [Ragland] did a nice job punting and Josh [Zahn] had a couple of field goals that were in the 40-45 yard range. He kicked for both teams so he got a few more reps, which he needed. I thought both guys did a nice job."
With the season-opener against Conference USA foe Rice 10 days away, the Blazers aren't ready for game day just yet. Although the team has continued to improve throughout fall camp, Callaway believes there are still a lot of preparations to be made.
"It's funny how you start camp and particularly the players think you work and it's never going to be over," Callaway said. "But then all of the sudden, a week before the game, you're realizing we still have a lot of work to do. We are at that point. We are trying to make sure that we have everything covered, and we are trying to work and create all the situations that could possibly happen. We still have a lot of work to do."
