The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Show Excitement In Second Spring Session
3/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 30, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB football team held its second of 15 scheduled spring practices on Friday evening, working out for just under two hours without pads. The Blazers are gearing up for their first full-pad practice of 2012, which will take place Saturday morning.
Saturday's practice has been moved to Legion Field because of expected wet field conditions at the UAB practice facility. It will begin at 10 a.m. and is open to the public.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm and defensive coordinator Reggie Johnson met with media following Friday's session, and both were pleased with the energy their units gave on the day.
"I think all of our guys are working hard and are trying to prove themselves," Brohm said. "I think coach (Garrick) McGee has created a lot of excitement here. All the guys are fired up and willing to work. Right now it's all about attitude, effort and finishing, and the guys are doing a good job with that."
"I think it was good today for our defense," Johnson said. "There was a lot of excitement on the field and guys are extremely excited about learning and competing, and they want to win. It was a great atmosphere today and we expect that to continue."
The Blazers dodged rain drops which bookended Friday's practice session. The sun came out for practice and the rain started again as soon as it ended.
Even with spirited practices through the first two days, the coaching staff knows it will have a better feel for its team after seeing the players work out in pads.
"I think we will learn a ton (on Saturday)," Brohm said. "When you don't have pads on, it's easy to do things the right way. When you get pads on, you realize which guys are tough, which guys have courage and which guys are willing to fight, and those are the type of guys you want to play with. We will find that out tomorrow and the rest of the spring. I think we have those guys right now, but we will see (Saturday)."
"I want to see some physical play," Johnson said. "We are going to keep it simple and not do a lot schematically. We want to see them play fast and physical.
"It's early in the season, but we will know a lot more after a couple of padded practices as far as who can perform well under pressure when you have to make plays on the football."
The practices all build toward UAB's 2012 Spring Game, which is scheduled for Noon on Saturday, April 21 at West Campus Field.
