The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Conference USA Holds Football Media Day In Memphis
7/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 25, 2010
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ----- The 2010 Conference USA Football Kickoff was held Sunday as the league's head coaches and players gathered to talk about the upcoming season.
Head coach Neil Callaway and senior defensive end Bryant Turner represented UAB at the event. The Blazers will report for preseason camp next weekend and hold their first practice on Monday, Aug. 2. UAB opens the 2010 season on Thursday, Sept. 2 when Florida Atlantic comes to Legion Field for a 7:00 p.m. CT kickoff.
Without question, the most popular question for Callaway was how the Blazers were preparing for a season without quarterback Joe Webb, last year's C-USA Offensive Player-of-the-Year who passed for 2,299 yards and rushed for 1,427 in 2009.
"Certainly we're going to miss Joe," said Callaway. "He meant an awful lot to us in a lot of ways. Joe brought a lot of energy and got us going every day."
COMMENTS FROM MEDIA DAY
Head Coach Neil Callaway
(On Quarterback Competition Entering Camp)
"I'm not sure if it will be (David) Isabelle or Bryan Ellis. Or a JC player we have coming in, Emmanuel Taylor, or Jonathan Perry. We're just going to keep the competition going and probably, 10 days or two weeks before the first ballgame, we will make some kind of declaration which way we're going to go."
(On Being One of Four FBS Schools Nationally That Has Its Entire Coaching Staff Back For Fourth Straight Season)
"It's very important. You've been together for four years as coaches, you know how to relate to your players, they know how to relate to the coaches. And it's not just our coaches, it's our strength staff and some others. That's been big for us. Our coaches are good family men, they believe in doing things the right way. We are demanding on our players, but at the same time, we are very loving and caring about them, too."
(On Having So Many Returning Players This Season)
"That is big for us. I'm also happy that we will be playing with pretty much a full deck this time as far as scholarship players. We'll see how it works out if we end up with 85, or it's 82 or 83, but it's certainly going to be better than 63, 68 and 73 which is where we've been the last three years. We're excited about getting everybody in there. The guys have worked hard this summer and we're ready to go."
(Replacing Four-Year Starter Jake Seitz)
"Jake started all four years for us and that's almost unheard of in college football, especially for an offensive lineman. I have coached the offensive line for a long time and I can't say that I have seen that happen before. We'll miss Jake. He brought a lot to the table for us. But we've got a good group of offensive linemen coming back. We return four starters, but with some people who were held out and some JC guys, I'm not really sure who is going to start. It will be good competition, but I think we have 8 to maybe 10 guys who I feel good about on the line."
Defensive End Bryant Turner
(On Prospects For Defense)
"I believe this is the best defense we have had since I've been here. Everybody's working hard. There has been a lot of dedication during the offseason. I'm just excited to see what's going to happen once we put the pads on. "
(On 7-On-7 Drills That Have Become Popular)
"7-on-7 is pretty much for skill players. It's good for the offense with quarterbacks and receivers getting their timing down. For the defense, we have some JUCO guys who get to learn the defense. I think it really helps build the connection and the chemistry with the team."
