The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Middle Tennessee for Children’s Harbor Homecoming Game
10/3/2022 5:05:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team returns to Protective Stadium this Saturday, Oct. 8, to host the sixth annual Children's Harbor Homecoming Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Stadium.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
COACH BRYANT VINCENT
Opening Statement:
"Obviously disappointed in the outcome at Rice. I felt like we had a chance to be able to pull it out in the end and just came up short. Felt like the two turnovers offensively, the one interception in the first half kind of swung some momentum even though we came up with a big stop. The turnover in the second half on the backwards pass obviously gave them the momentum back. We were able to respond and come back and take the lead late and then we had the opportunity to go down there and win the game but came up short and didn't execute there in the end. Kids played extremely hard. Proud of our team, proud of our coaches, just disappointed that we didn't come away with the win. We've got a long season; we've got a lot of football in front of us. I want to move forward to what I feel like, and what this town and this university feels like, is one of the best traditions in college football. It's our Children's Harbor game, it's our homecoming game, it's a tradition that was started by coach [Bill Clark] and UAB. We're going on year six. It's a game where our players wear the jersey of patients from Children's Harbor. We honor them, we play in the memory of them. It's a game and it's a tradition that we take very serious here and that we're very proud of. It's what this program is about. It's about things bigger than this team and this program. It's something that we're very excited to play this coming Saturday versus Middle Tennessee."
On moving past the Rice game:
"Obviously there was a lot of adversity throughout that game Saturday night, a lot of momentum swings, a lot of emotions going on throughout that game. It was a game that we prepared hard for, that our players and coaches prepared hard for. We played hard. At the end of the day, you've just got to be able to move forward. You've got to be able to learn from your mistakes. You've got to be able to press forward. There's a lot of football left. We had a team and locker room that was hurt. [We had] a team and locker-room that was very disappointed. We've just got to stick together and that's what this team is doing, we're sticking together. We know we're playing for something that's much bigger than us in this Children's Harbor game. It's a game that means a lot to this town, it means a lot to these families, and it means a lot to this football team. That's what we're focusing on doing. It's tough and we've got to put it behind us. We've got to move forward. We've got a really good Middle Tennessee State football team coming in. [It is] a conference game, a home game, a homecoming game, and, most importantly, a Children's Harbor game."
On what the players take away from the Children's Harbor game:
"This is a game that our players look forward to, that our program looks forward to and that we're excited about. Our players understand the importance of this game, they take pride and passion in playing for these families and playing for these patients. This is bigger than football. This is real life, and this is something that our players have created bonds with these children, created bonds with these families. It's ended up turning into a life-long relationship."
On bouncing back from a tough loss:
"At the end of the day, when you do stumble and you do fall, you've got to regroup and come back stronger. You've got to bring a great focus on rewriting from what happened the week before. Creating and fixing, really fixing the mistakes and the situations that maybe we didn't necessarily handle well. I felt like we let our emotions start to stray away from us in the second half and really got caught up. We've got to maintain our focus and we've got to work on staying the course and being able to execute the next play. That was a tough one, it was a tough one last year. Every loss is a tough loss here because that's something we're not used to doing here at UAB and its something we're not going to get accustomed to at UAB. The Children's Harbor game is a personal game for us because we play for something much bigger than us. This team has great leadership. We have a team that's driven, a team that's tight, a team that cares about each other, and we realize that we've got a lot of football in front of us. Everything is still within our reach, but there has to be a sense of urgency on this football team that's coming into town."
CHILDREN'S HARBOR PATIENT DARIYA LARRY
"This game means a lot to me because it gives me a chance to bond with all the players and the football players get to bond with us. I love Children's Harbor because it's a fun place for kids, like me, to take their mind off of being in their rooms or thinking about how sick they are and [they create] fun activities for all of us to do."
CORNER DEVODRIC BYNUM
On the meaning of the Children's Harbor game:
"I feel like this game is really the most important game because the names who we play for on the back of our jerseys mean a lot to us. Some of us have kids, I have kids. My daughter was born four months early, so she had complications as well. It touched me probably more than anyone. My grandmother, she owned a daycare, and she took in all kids, no matter what. She passed away [the day] we played Appalachian State. This game means a lot more to me because I know how she felt towards kids as well. I know, with the kids, they just want [an] opportunity. It's not fair always, but that's how the dice roll. For me to go out there and be able to perform for them means a lot to me."
On getting to know the patients and their families:
"It means a lot. It goes past football. After the game, I'm still going to be in contact. I'm still in contact with my other families that I played for as well."
On the lasting impact of the Children's Harbor game:
"The last game that we played I didn't know Lexi was in the stands. That was my last child I played for last year. She sent pictures – I was holding my daughter and her mother was taking pictures of me playing. That was my first game, well my second game, that I started for UAB, and it touched her a lot. She sent me a long paragraph after the game, just thanking me for being there for them emotionally, physically, financially, and any way that I can. We still stay in communication. I reach out to them, make sure Lexi is doing fine and she's well. Even after I leave UAB, I'll still be in contact with the families. For Christmas, Thanksgiving, things like that, I just want to make sure the kids feel loved, and their mind is just not always on what's going to happen next."
LINEBACKER KELLE SANDERS:
On playing in the Children's Harbor game:
"Any time you can play for anything that's bigger than you, it's special. Playing for something like this is truly special because knowing that you can be someone's limelight for three and a half hours. It's just, being there for somebody, for the game, it's special. I'm just at a loss for words thinking about it."
On taking pride in playing for the Children's Harbor patients:
"I guess, every play – say I go out there this Saturday and make a big play, that play is going to be a little bigger than any other play I make any other Saturday, because I know it's for a bigger cause than just me. I'm wearing somebody else's last name on my back [and] I want to represent them as well as myself and the team at the same time."
On learning the impact of the Children's Harbor game throughout his career:
"It was definitely something I learned. You know, I never knew about it coming here to UAB until the week coming up and Coach [Bill Clark], going into the team meeting, hearing about everything and then in the locker room, everybody talking about the uniform, because the uniforms are definitely cool uniforms. It's also a big deal that we're playing for somebody else other than us. It was something that I learned going through and after the game I was like wow that was a big deal. It felt special to me."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- The Blazers will once again honor Children's Harbor by wearing named of patients on the back of their alternate gray and lime jerseys. This year, 92 patients will be honored and will receive the game jersey following the contest against Middle.
- DeWayne McBride is leading the nation in rushing yards per game at a school-record pace of 173.7 per game. McBride has rushed for 521 yards in three games this season and has six touchdowns. With 121 yards at Rice, he moved into sixth place on UAB's career rushing list with 2,331 and is six yards away from fifth. Additionally, McBride leads the nation in career yards per carry average at 7.2 and looks to keep his All-America worthy season going against Middle Tennessee who has the No. 1 ranked rushing defense in Conference USA (107.8/game).
- UAB enters Saturday's game with the nation's second ranked pass defense and the 26th ranked defense overall. The Blazers are leading Conference USA in yards allowed (313), scoring defense (17.5) and passing yards allowed (647). The Blazers will be challenged by a Middle Tennessee team that averages 33 points and 379.2 yards per game.
COACH BRYANT VINCENT
Opening Statement:
"Obviously disappointed in the outcome at Rice. I felt like we had a chance to be able to pull it out in the end and just came up short. Felt like the two turnovers offensively, the one interception in the first half kind of swung some momentum even though we came up with a big stop. The turnover in the second half on the backwards pass obviously gave them the momentum back. We were able to respond and come back and take the lead late and then we had the opportunity to go down there and win the game but came up short and didn't execute there in the end. Kids played extremely hard. Proud of our team, proud of our coaches, just disappointed that we didn't come away with the win. We've got a long season; we've got a lot of football in front of us. I want to move forward to what I feel like, and what this town and this university feels like, is one of the best traditions in college football. It's our Children's Harbor game, it's our homecoming game, it's a tradition that was started by coach [Bill Clark] and UAB. We're going on year six. It's a game where our players wear the jersey of patients from Children's Harbor. We honor them, we play in the memory of them. It's a game and it's a tradition that we take very serious here and that we're very proud of. It's what this program is about. It's about things bigger than this team and this program. It's something that we're very excited to play this coming Saturday versus Middle Tennessee."
On moving past the Rice game:
"Obviously there was a lot of adversity throughout that game Saturday night, a lot of momentum swings, a lot of emotions going on throughout that game. It was a game that we prepared hard for, that our players and coaches prepared hard for. We played hard. At the end of the day, you've just got to be able to move forward. You've got to be able to learn from your mistakes. You've got to be able to press forward. There's a lot of football left. We had a team and locker room that was hurt. [We had] a team and locker-room that was very disappointed. We've just got to stick together and that's what this team is doing, we're sticking together. We know we're playing for something that's much bigger than us in this Children's Harbor game. It's a game that means a lot to this town, it means a lot to these families, and it means a lot to this football team. That's what we're focusing on doing. It's tough and we've got to put it behind us. We've got to move forward. We've got a really good Middle Tennessee State football team coming in. [It is] a conference game, a home game, a homecoming game, and, most importantly, a Children's Harbor game."
On what the players take away from the Children's Harbor game:
"This is a game that our players look forward to, that our program looks forward to and that we're excited about. Our players understand the importance of this game, they take pride and passion in playing for these families and playing for these patients. This is bigger than football. This is real life, and this is something that our players have created bonds with these children, created bonds with these families. It's ended up turning into a life-long relationship."
On bouncing back from a tough loss:
"At the end of the day, when you do stumble and you do fall, you've got to regroup and come back stronger. You've got to bring a great focus on rewriting from what happened the week before. Creating and fixing, really fixing the mistakes and the situations that maybe we didn't necessarily handle well. I felt like we let our emotions start to stray away from us in the second half and really got caught up. We've got to maintain our focus and we've got to work on staying the course and being able to execute the next play. That was a tough one, it was a tough one last year. Every loss is a tough loss here because that's something we're not used to doing here at UAB and its something we're not going to get accustomed to at UAB. The Children's Harbor game is a personal game for us because we play for something much bigger than us. This team has great leadership. We have a team that's driven, a team that's tight, a team that cares about each other, and we realize that we've got a lot of football in front of us. Everything is still within our reach, but there has to be a sense of urgency on this football team that's coming into town."
CHILDREN'S HARBOR PATIENT DARIYA LARRY
"This game means a lot to me because it gives me a chance to bond with all the players and the football players get to bond with us. I love Children's Harbor because it's a fun place for kids, like me, to take their mind off of being in their rooms or thinking about how sick they are and [they create] fun activities for all of us to do."
CORNER DEVODRIC BYNUM
On the meaning of the Children's Harbor game:
"I feel like this game is really the most important game because the names who we play for on the back of our jerseys mean a lot to us. Some of us have kids, I have kids. My daughter was born four months early, so she had complications as well. It touched me probably more than anyone. My grandmother, she owned a daycare, and she took in all kids, no matter what. She passed away [the day] we played Appalachian State. This game means a lot more to me because I know how she felt towards kids as well. I know, with the kids, they just want [an] opportunity. It's not fair always, but that's how the dice roll. For me to go out there and be able to perform for them means a lot to me."
On getting to know the patients and their families:
"It means a lot. It goes past football. After the game, I'm still going to be in contact. I'm still in contact with my other families that I played for as well."
On the lasting impact of the Children's Harbor game:
"The last game that we played I didn't know Lexi was in the stands. That was my last child I played for last year. She sent pictures – I was holding my daughter and her mother was taking pictures of me playing. That was my first game, well my second game, that I started for UAB, and it touched her a lot. She sent me a long paragraph after the game, just thanking me for being there for them emotionally, physically, financially, and any way that I can. We still stay in communication. I reach out to them, make sure Lexi is doing fine and she's well. Even after I leave UAB, I'll still be in contact with the families. For Christmas, Thanksgiving, things like that, I just want to make sure the kids feel loved, and their mind is just not always on what's going to happen next."
LINEBACKER KELLE SANDERS:
On playing in the Children's Harbor game:
"Any time you can play for anything that's bigger than you, it's special. Playing for something like this is truly special because knowing that you can be someone's limelight for three and a half hours. It's just, being there for somebody, for the game, it's special. I'm just at a loss for words thinking about it."
On taking pride in playing for the Children's Harbor patients:
"I guess, every play – say I go out there this Saturday and make a big play, that play is going to be a little bigger than any other play I make any other Saturday, because I know it's for a bigger cause than just me. I'm wearing somebody else's last name on my back [and] I want to represent them as well as myself and the team at the same time."
On learning the impact of the Children's Harbor game throughout his career:
"It was definitely something I learned. You know, I never knew about it coming here to UAB until the week coming up and Coach [Bill Clark], going into the team meeting, hearing about everything and then in the locker room, everybody talking about the uniform, because the uniforms are definitely cool uniforms. It's also a big deal that we're playing for somebody else other than us. It was something that I learned going through and after the game I was like wow that was a big deal. It felt special to me."
Players Mentioned
RB
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