The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Kicks Off Season With Annual Media Day
8/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 2, 2010
Press Conference Audio | 
2010 Media Day Photos
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB football team held its annual preseason media day on Monday prior to its first practice of the 2010 season.
Head coach Neil Callaway joined four senior football players - WR Roddell Carter, LB Darrion Wilson, TE Jeffery Anderson, DE Bryant Turner - to discuss preparations for the upcoming season with members of the local media.
"It is an exciting time of the year for us," Callaway said. "It's something that we have been looking forward to for quite sometime now. Going into camp I expect there to be good competition in every spot."
The Blazers take to the practice field for the first time on Monday afternoon.
UAB begins its 2010 campaign on Thursday, Sept. 2, hosting the Florida Atlantic Owls. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT at Legion Field.
UAB Head Coach Neil Callaway
Opening Statement:
"We have 84 scholarship football players this year which is a far cry from where we started three years ago. We are excited about not only the numbers, but also the quality of guys and the quality of young men we have in the program. I am looking forward to getting those guys out there along with the other walk-ons to get us started with practice this afternoon."
"Everyone wants to talk to about the quarterback spot, and rightfully so, but I believe that we will have really good competition at every spot on this football team. Going back to the 84 scholarship football players - in the past, we have had to play some guys out of necessity because we didn't have a choice. That will not be the case now."
On offensive positions:
"There are a few spots that are locked down but not many. Offensively, everyone wants to know who the quarterback is going to be and so do we. I do have a pecking order in my mind, but we will not disclose that until two to three weeks down the road. Ideally, anywhere from 10 days to two weeks before the first ballgame we will have who our starter is, who our number two guy is and who our number three guy is. That will be the goal."
"We do have five guys that we are going to look at, and it is hard to look at five guys. We have our working order worked out in practice, but we do need to move quickly to get that thing narrowed down to at least two to three guys to be fair to this football team."
"I really like our situation at running back. We have three guys. I am not sure who will start, but I feel comfortable with any of the three of them. Justin Brooks and Daniel Borne are seniors. Pat Shed is a junior. He added a lot of excitement to the field offensively. Being realistic, we will need all three of them to get through this fall."
On the goals of this year:
"It's a lot different than what he we have had in the past. We have competition in almost every spot. We do have four to five guys that we can say are our guys. That being said, there still will be competition in those spots. We have made a lot of progress here. We had building in the first three seasons and we have come a long way. At the same time, I know we have a lot of work to do. Our goal is to win every game. Our goal is to win a championship, and our goal is to win a bowl game. Obviously, we have not accomplished that yet, and we have not really come close. But, I do think for the first time, we have the people on this football that we can achieve those goals."
Senior Wide Receiver Roddell Carter
On adjusting to catching passes from another quarterback besides Joe Webb:
"We've worked very hard in the offseason. It's not uncomfortable to me. When you are coming into a program, you have the opportunity to work with a lot of different quarterbacks, so now it's time for a new guy to step in. At first it might be a little hard to deal with, but if we trust him and trust each other, then we'll move in the right direction."
On having to declare the starting quarterback right now:
"I think that's overstated because of the fact that we still have time to work. Every practice is important, and like Coach said, we're going to tailor our game to the quarterback. So, I don't feel like its necessary for us to pick a guy right now."
On confidence in the team this season:
"Now more than ever, we do believe in the guys on the offensive side of the ball. I'm not saying that we didn't believe in the guys in the past, but right now we have depth. Now that we have depth on defense and offense, we trust each other. Our job as the senior class is to give our fans something to look forward to."
Senior Linebacker Darrion Wilson
On getting back to work this season:
"We're already working hard and just getting ready for this season coming up. Right now, everybody is trying to get in a groove and make sure everything is right. This year, we have a lot more people depth-wise, and everybody is really good."
On the attitude of the team going into this season:
"We're going to compete, work hard and we really are ready to win. We're more positive, and I'm not saying that the leaders before us were negative, but we are more positive this year and we really want to do better."
On possibly winning a bowl game this season:
"I feel like the reason we are more able to do it this year is because we all have to come together as one this season."
Senior Tight End Jeffery Anderson
On the look of the offense without graduated quarterback Joe Webb:
"That means more people have to step up now and take care of the yards that Joe had. That's going to make the level of competition higher."
On whether the loss of Webb has brought the players together:
"We really were together when he was here, but as offensive players we knew Joe was going to take care of most of the big plays for us. Now, everyone is saying we're together because we know as a team we have to step up and take care of most of the yards Joe had."
On increased competition with a full allotment of scholarships:
"The competition level is going to be raised. The last couple years players had to play, so the competition level wasn't there because they knew they had to play. This year, since we have more players, that's going to make everyone have to compete harder."
On the state of the program entering the 2010 season:
"I was here when Coach Callaway first got here, and I can tell now that people are buying into what he's trying to do. He brought all of us together, disciplined us and we feel like we're a team now, so hopefully that means we'll win more games."
Senior Defensive End Bryant Turner
On the first day of fall practice:
"I was actually anxious for this first practice because of the chance to see the whole team out there together at once. During the summer everyone is spread out between different times, so I was happy about today."
On the excitement level for this season:
"We have all the players and the talent on the team to get where we want to be. Knowing that and seeing everybody at work is exciting. Not only is the talent level way up, but there's also more depth at every position."
On the team's increased depth:
"I've been here five years, and this year reminds me of my redshirt freshman year. We had a lot of numbers, a lot of depth on the defensive line and I see that a lot this year with the whole defense."
On the differences between this year's team and previous teams:
"The leadership has changed a lot. There are a lot more leaders. There's a lot more dedication to football because of hope. Our hope is higher because we know we have the talent, we know we have the depth. It's pretty much up to us to make this happen."
