The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Team Holds First Spring Scrimmage
4/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 2, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team held its first spring scrimmage Friday and head coach Neil Callaway said he saw positives on both sides of the ball.
The Blazer defense controlled play in the early part of the scrimmage, holding the offensive unit without a score for the first 45 plays of the workout.
But as the scrimmage progressed, the offense began to assert itself.
"For the first scrimmage, I was pleased with the effort and attitude," said Callaway. "It was a long day with a lot of snaps. We gave out of gas a little bit at the end, but I was pleased with the work.
"At the first of the scrimmage, I thought the defense did a lot of good things. The offense was struggling and the defense stopped them pretty well. But the longer it went, the more the defense wore down. We have to learn how to finish defensively."
It was the Blazers' running game that jump-started the offense in the scrimmage as the tandem of newcomer Pat Shed and Daniel Borne combined for 225 yards on 28 carries.
Shed, a product of Starkville, Miss. who transferred to UAB in January from East Mississippi Community College, made several impressive runs on his way to a 135-yard effort on only 16 attempts (8.4 average). Shed had a 60-yard touchdown run, in addition to rushes of 28 and 20 yards.
Borne finished the day with 90 yards on 12 rushes. Justin Brooks also was a factor in the rushing effort as he ran for 65 yards on 16 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
"Obviously, he (Shed) made a lot of things happen," Callaway said. "He made more plays out here at the running back spot than anybody since I've been here. He's still learning some things as far as the offense and protection, but with the ball in his hands, he's exciting to watch.
"The longer the scrimmage went, the more productive the offense got. Pat was a big part of that, making the plays he made. And (Daniel) Borne had some good runs. Those two were exciting."
Just as Callaway had said coming into the scrimmage, all four Blazer quarterbacks saw plenty of action. He said the slow start for the offense Friday probably had something to with the signal-callers' lack of significant experience.
"Having a new face at quarterback, whoever that is, the offense will be different for us. Joe (Webb) was our leader and a great playmaker. Not having him out there, I think it probably took us a little while to get going. But overall, it was a good first scrimmage and I was excited about what I saw."
The quarterbacks who excelled the most statistically were junior Bryan Ellis and sophomore Joe Bento.
Ellis hit 9-of-17 passes for 131 yards, connecting with tight end Sam Accursio for a 16-yard touchdown. He ran four times for 11 yards. Bento was 6-of-9 for 139 yards with a pair of TD passes.
The most impressive rusher among the quarterbacks Friday was redshirt freshman Jonathan Perry who ran for 41 yards on seven carries. Perry was 1-for-8 passing for 15 yards. David Isabelle threw for 47 yards as he was 4-for-21.
The leading receivers in the scrimmage were Accursio (4 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD), Roddell Carter (3 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD) and Shed (3 receptions, 40 yards). Nick Adams (2 catches, 38 yards, 1 TD), Mike Jones (2 catches, 37 yards) and Ed Pruitt (2 catches, 21 yards, 1 TD) also had good receiving performances.
There were plenty of outstanding defensive plays in the scrimmage as well. Callaway mentioned LB Darrion Wilson and defensive tackles Elliott Henigan and D.J. Reese catching his eye.
Henigan had eight tackles to tie linebackers Drew Luker and Marvin Burdette for the high mark in the scrimmage. Henigan also had a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a sack. Wilson had seven tackles and a sack.
Other tackle leaders for the Blazers were DT David Decordova (6), SAF Jamie Bender (5), SAF Jamie Bender and CB Cornelius Richards (5).
With Friday's scrimmage complete, the Blazers have now gone through seven practices during spring drills with eight remaining. The team will be back on the field Monday morning for its next practice.
