The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Blazers Preparing For Unbeaten Thundering Herd
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Irvine
uabsports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- It was a well-deserved and well-utilized break for UAB head football coach Bill Clark and his team last week. The Blazers practiced twice, took several days off and generally tried to heal up some nagging injuries in preparation for Saturday's Legion Field visit from 18th-ranked Marshall.
"Obviously, for us the open week came at a great time, (we were) pretty beat up," Clark said. "That's one of the things that we talked about when you don't have tremendous depth. It's so important to get everybody back healthy. We'll be probably about 99 percent strength."
Clark said several banged up players should be ready to go after easing through last week. Included in that list, according to Clark, are cornerbacks Lamarcus Farmer and Darius Williams and wide receiver Jamari Staples. Clark added that senior center Brian O'Leary, who was injured in the loss to Louisiana Tech, is still questionable.
"We did some shuffling last week," Clark said of his team's offensive line situation. "We're still working different guys. (True freshman) Lee Dufour came in and did a good job so he'll be included in that mix. We have some other combinations at O-line that I think were very important."
*Marshall provides multiple threats on both sides of the ball. One of the most difficult things on Saturday will be slowing down Marshall running back Devon Johnson. The 6-foot-1, 243-pound junior, who previously played tight end, leads Conference USA with 1,402 rushing yards with 16 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.
Clark said the way Marshall uses Johnson is similar to the way the Wishbone offense uses the fullback.
"I would relate it back to growing up an option guy," Clark said. "You grow up as a fan of the option and you think back to the wishbone. This guy is 6-2, 250 and runs like a tailback, runs like a sprinter. He looks like that old fullback. They kind of have that same mentality. He'll hit it for 2, he'll hit it for 3 and then he breaks and he's in your secondary."
What makes him even more effective is the Thundering Herd utilizes a spread formation and senior Rakeem Cato is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. Cato has 2,613 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
"They throw the ball so well and they spread formations," Clark said. "As you cover down on receivers, it opens up the middle. If you leave the middle open, they can throw the ball. It's not that they're giving you multiple formations it's the fact that the brilliance is in the simplicity."
*UAB honors its senior players during Senior Day festivities on Saturday. Clark said it's a special group.
"We haven't known these kids for a long time but they've made a huge impression on me and the staff," said Clark, who is in his first season at UAB. "We really want to play well for those guys."
*While he understands the difficulty of the task, Clark wants his team to play with confidence on Saturday.
"Do you play loose and let it all hang out? That's how we should play," Clark said. "We should play like we got everything to gain and nothing to lose. I think our guys have to understand just how hard we have to play. That should be something that people should say is a trademark of our team - we play with all we got."
