The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Place Record Number 14 Players on All-Conference USA Teams
12/4/2018 12:56:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM - Led by First Team All-Conference USA selections Spencer Brown and Justice Powers, 14 players from the UAB football team earned all-conference recognition as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Brown and Powers were the Blazers' representatives on First Team All-Conference USA, while offensive linemen Rishard Cook, James Davis and Malique Johnson, and defensive linemen Jamell Garcia-Williams and Anthony Rush were Second Team All-Conference USA selections.
The Blazers also had seven players receive Honorable Mention All-Conference USA in wide receiver Xavier Ubosi, and defensive players Garrett Marino, Quindarius Thagard, Chris Woolbright, Mar'Sean Diggs, Brontae Harris and Broderick Thomas.
The league's championship game MVP, Brown had yet another record-breaking season in the backfield for the Blazers. The sophomore ran for 1,149 yards and 16 touchdowns en route to setting the new school record for single-season rushing scores. His 16 touchdowns are the seventh most nationally, while his 1,149 rushing yards ranks him 20th in the country.
Brown has scored 26 touchdowns in 26 career games and ranks third all-time in both rushing yards and touchdowns at UAB. He enters the bowl game 340 yards shy of becoming UAB's all-time leading rusher.
Brown has been the beneficiary of running behind one of the top offensive lines in the country. Right tackle Justice Powers led the charge for Brown en route to joining him with first team honors. Powers started all 13 games this season and all 26 of his career dating back to the start of last season.
Left tackle James Davis, left guard Rishard Cook and right guard Malique Johnson all earned a second team nod. This unit helped UAB establish a new school record for rushing touchdowns with 32. The Blazers are heading into their bowl game ranked 28th nationally in rushing offense and need 45 more rushing yards to establish that school record as well (2,759 rushing yards set in 2009).
On the defensive side of the ball, one of the best units in the history of Conference USA landed linemen Jamell Garcia-Williams and Anthony Rush on Second Team All-Conference.
Garcia-Williams led the team in both sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (15.5), which ranked him third and sixth, respectively, in Conference USA, while adding 42 tackles to his stat line. Rush was a force at the nose tackle position, finishing the year with 38 tackles, 9.5 TFL and 1.0 sack, and was key in run defense all season long.
UAB set a program record with 43 sacks and 105 tackles for loss, while setting the league record with three shutouts. The country's 10th ranked defense is top-10 in six national statistical categories: first in fourth down defense (.278), second in third down defense (.250), fourth in sacks per game (3.31), fifth in tackles for loss per game (8.1) and 10th in scoring defense (17.3) and total defense (300.2).
An honorable mention nod was given to Xavier Ubosi on offense as the senior led the team in receiving yards (610) and was tied for the team high with five receiving touchdowns. Ubosi's 21.79 yards per reception ranks him second nationally.
Marino (6.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) and Thagard (7.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks) made up the other half of the vaunted defensive line, while Woolbright was the team's leading tackler with 74, 13.5 of which went for a loss. In the secondary, Thomas (63) and Diggs (50) combined for 113 tackles, while Harris was a lockdown corner the entire year with 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.
The Blazers (10-3) won the Conference USA title and reached 10 wins for the first time ever. UAB will play Northern Illinois in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 18 and looks to cap the best season in program history with its first-ever bowl victory.
Brown and Powers were the Blazers' representatives on First Team All-Conference USA, while offensive linemen Rishard Cook, James Davis and Malique Johnson, and defensive linemen Jamell Garcia-Williams and Anthony Rush were Second Team All-Conference USA selections.
The Blazers also had seven players receive Honorable Mention All-Conference USA in wide receiver Xavier Ubosi, and defensive players Garrett Marino, Quindarius Thagard, Chris Woolbright, Mar'Sean Diggs, Brontae Harris and Broderick Thomas.
The league's championship game MVP, Brown had yet another record-breaking season in the backfield for the Blazers. The sophomore ran for 1,149 yards and 16 touchdowns en route to setting the new school record for single-season rushing scores. His 16 touchdowns are the seventh most nationally, while his 1,149 rushing yards ranks him 20th in the country.
Brown has scored 26 touchdowns in 26 career games and ranks third all-time in both rushing yards and touchdowns at UAB. He enters the bowl game 340 yards shy of becoming UAB's all-time leading rusher.
Brown has been the beneficiary of running behind one of the top offensive lines in the country. Right tackle Justice Powers led the charge for Brown en route to joining him with first team honors. Powers started all 13 games this season and all 26 of his career dating back to the start of last season.
Left tackle James Davis, left guard Rishard Cook and right guard Malique Johnson all earned a second team nod. This unit helped UAB establish a new school record for rushing touchdowns with 32. The Blazers are heading into their bowl game ranked 28th nationally in rushing offense and need 45 more rushing yards to establish that school record as well (2,759 rushing yards set in 2009).
On the defensive side of the ball, one of the best units in the history of Conference USA landed linemen Jamell Garcia-Williams and Anthony Rush on Second Team All-Conference.
Garcia-Williams led the team in both sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (15.5), which ranked him third and sixth, respectively, in Conference USA, while adding 42 tackles to his stat line. Rush was a force at the nose tackle position, finishing the year with 38 tackles, 9.5 TFL and 1.0 sack, and was key in run defense all season long.
UAB set a program record with 43 sacks and 105 tackles for loss, while setting the league record with three shutouts. The country's 10th ranked defense is top-10 in six national statistical categories: first in fourth down defense (.278), second in third down defense (.250), fourth in sacks per game (3.31), fifth in tackles for loss per game (8.1) and 10th in scoring defense (17.3) and total defense (300.2).
An honorable mention nod was given to Xavier Ubosi on offense as the senior led the team in receiving yards (610) and was tied for the team high with five receiving touchdowns. Ubosi's 21.79 yards per reception ranks him second nationally.
Marino (6.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) and Thagard (7.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks) made up the other half of the vaunted defensive line, while Woolbright was the team's leading tackler with 74, 13.5 of which went for a loss. In the secondary, Thomas (63) and Diggs (50) combined for 113 tackles, while Harris was a lockdown corner the entire year with 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.
The Blazers (10-3) won the Conference USA title and reached 10 wins for the first time ever. UAB will play Northern Illinois in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 18 and looks to cap the best season in program history with its first-ever bowl victory.
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