The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Welcome Two-Day Hiatus Following Wednesday's Practice
9/29/2010 12:00:00β―AM | Football
Sept. 29, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB football team worked out for approximately 90 minutes on Wednesday morning in shoulder pads and shorts, as it continues making preparations for a Conference USA matchup at UCF next Wednesday night, Oct. 6. The contest against the Knights will be televised live to a national audience on ESPN.
"It was a good day," UAB head coach Neil Callaway said. "We are still implementing the stuff for the UCF gameplan. It was a normal Wednesday-type tempo for us. We just shortened it up a little."
With no game on Saturday, the coaching staff decided to give the players Thursday and Friday off from practice, but both days will remain busy during the time off the practice field.
"The players will have to lift and run tomorrow, but they'll be off on Friday," Callaway said. "The coaches will be out recruiting and we'll start back up on Saturday, which will be our normal Tuesday-type of practice. We got some good out of the last two days. We are going to give them a little time off to get rested and be ready to go.
"I think it's good to have a little change of pace from a typical week. You get into a season and get grinding and do the same thing over and over, so change is good."
One focus for Callaway is preparing his offense for a match up against arguably the top defense in the conference. UCF ranks among the league leaders in nearly every defensive category and leads C-USA in points allowed (15.5), total yards allowed (264.2), pass defense (147.0) and passing defense efficiency (96.4).
"They do a very good job defensively," Callaway said. "They have a good secondary, but they really set the tone with their front seven. We have to make sure we're ready to go, challenge our guys and see how we do."
The Oct. 6 contest will kickoff at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Beth Mowins, David Norrie and Robert Smith will have the call for ESPN. The game will also be carried live on the Blazers ISP Sports Network and can be heard in Birmingham on 107.7 WUHT-FM. David Crane, John Whitcomb and Otis Leverette will call the action with the pregame show beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT.
