2003 UAB Football Preview

Zac Woodfin

A quick glance at the 2003 UAB football roster might lead some observers to think the Blazers are pointing more toward the 2004 season than the one that looms just weeks away. After all, UAB had 23 seniors on its roster last fall and will feature but eight ? and just five on scholarship ? in 2003. On the other hand, there are 26 juniors listed on the roster for the upcoming season. But don?t tell Blazer head coach Watson Brown his team is still a year away.

Brown knows his team can?t afford to think along those lines, not with his team facing perhaps its most challenging schedule in the program?s history. At the same time, Brown is quick to point out that while his team, by class, offers a youthful look, it also has plenty of players with significant game experience.

?You look at this team and you say, ?they?re a year away,? said Brown, entering his ninth season as head coach. ?But this team can?t be a year away, not with this schedule. I think we are talented enough to be good this year. We have a lot of players who have been on the field and gotten experience.?

Interestingly, as Brown looks at his 2003 squad, what excites him is also a concern for the veteran coach. ?The excitement and the concern are the same,? said Brown. ?The excitement is that we?re young and eager and I think we?re going to have this team for a while. The concern is that we?re young and eager and I think we?re going to have this team for a while.

?What I mean by that is, ?are we ready to step up?,? he said. ?Are we big and strong enough, or do we have enough experience to take this schedule on. To win enough games to go to a bowl, to win enough games to win a conference championship, you have to be really good. You can?t be just a good team, you have to be really good.?

OFFENSE
Brown and the Blazers are fortunate to have one of Conference USA?s best at quarterback where Darrell Hackney (6-2, 235, So.) returns after bursting onto the scene last fall as he made a memorable and immediate impact in the league.

Hackney became the UAB starter in the season?s fifth game and finished the year with 1,977 passing yards and 14 touchdowns despite battling injuries the second half of the season. Hackney, with a powerful throwing arm, was the nation?s No. 3-rated freshman signal-caller in pass efficiency last season and went on to earn C-USA Freshman-of-the Year by The Sporting News.

Keeping Hackney healthy will be a priority as the Blazers? backup quarterback will be unproven and untested. A pair of redshirt freshmen, Curtis Falany (6-1, 190) and Chris Williams (6-0, 195), will compete for the No. 2 job, as could highly-touted true freshman Jake Tompkins (6-2, 210) of Russellville, Ala.

The running game should be improved, if for no other reason that the three backs who accounted for 1,333 of the team?s 1,564 total rushing yards all return.

Dan Burks (6-0, 200, So.) only made two starts as a true freshman in 2002, but down the stretch last season, he was the team?s closest to being the workhorse. Of Burks? 124 carries last fall, 90 of them came over the season?s last six games as he finished with a team-high 554 yards. Kendal Gibson (5-11, 240, Jr.) ran for 460 yards last season, but more impressively, he has scored 11 rushing touchdowns in his first two seasons.

Theron Dudley (6-0, 235, Jr.) gives the Blazer offense another option when it comes to a big back. Dudley ran for 319 yards and three TDs last season. Bo Moncur (5-11, 185, R-Fr.) could also enter the running back picture after a redshirt season in 2002.

The UAB receiving corps lost two-year starter Willie Quinnie (36 catches, 627 yards, 6 TDs in 2002) to graduation but returns its leading pass catcher in junior Roddy White (6-2, 190). White emerged last season as the Blazers? top receiver and big things are expected of the Charleston, South Carolina native in 2003. He finished last season with 39 receptions for 580 yards and three touchdowns.

Jhun Cook (5-11, 185, So.) is another Blazer who made an impact as a true freshman last fall. The Birmingham product caught 17 balls during the season, and like fellow sophomore Burks, he contributed the most in the latter half of the season. Chico Cleveland (6-2, 210, Jr.) started six games last fall and had 12 catches and a pair of touchdowns.

All five of Bradly Chavez?s (6-2, 203, Jr.) receptions came in the season?s last three games and he made the most of the opportunity to get his hands on the ball, averaging 24.2 yards per catch.

Lance Rhodes (5-11, 180, So.), a Birmingham native, also is expected to give the Blazers a weapon at receiver as he enters his first season at UAB after transferring from Arizona State. Jason Southall (5-11, 170, Jr.) has seen most of his action with the Blazers as a kick returner, but his elusiveness makes him a threat at receiver as well.

Sam Dudley (6-3, 265, Jr.) and Cedric Hampton (6-4, 270, So.) split tight end duty in 2002 with Dudley starting seven games. Look for increased production from the pair this fall from their combined six catches and one touchdown a year ago.

The Blazer offensive line could be the best and deepest since Brown became head coach. Four of five starters return, as well as tackle Artavious Williams (6-5, 340, Sr.), who sat out last season for academic reasons.

Missing, however, will be Kirk Tuck, who anchored the line the past two seasons from his starting center position and last season, was named second-team All-Conference USA.

Wilbert Hamilton (6-4, 295, Sr.) started 11 of 12 games last season at tackle while fellow senior Larry Coachman (6-1, 340) held the starting right guard position in all 12 games. Andy Galloway (6-5, 310, Jr.) has been a preseason All-Conference USA selection two straight years and has started 14 games in his first two seasons, primarily at the left guard spot. Anthony Larry (6-4, 290, So.) started six games last season, including the final five at left tackle as a redshirt freshman.

The Blazers are also hopeful for a successful comeback from Barker White (6-4, 295, Jr.) who started the season-opening game at Florida last August at right tackle. His season ended, unfortunately, that night in Gainesville when he suffered a torn ACL. He should be in the offensive line mix again in 2003.

Matt Batusic (6-2, 275, So.) is expected to take over the starting center duties with the departure of Tuck. Batusic saw a legitimate amount of action in a backup role last season and started the contest at Army when Tuck moved to guard because of injuries to the line. Rodney Outlaw (6-2, 300, Jr.), who enrolled in January after transferring from East Mississippi CC, enters fall practice listed No. 2 at center behind Batusic.

Emilio Thompson (6-8, 325, So.), Joey Horne (6-7, 300, R-Fr.), Alan Klinner (6-4, 290, So.) and Paul Linsky (6-4, 290, So.) provide depth on the offensive line, with Linsky being the only one of the four who saw any playing time last fall.

DEFENSE
Much of the attention in the spring was devoted to the UAB defense and the transition to the 4-3 scheme implemented by new defensive coordinator Wayne Bolt.

Bolt, a veteran defensive mentor, spent the past 12 seasons as defensive coordinator at Troy State after stints at Wyoming (1980), Auburn (1981-85), Clemson (1986-89) and Auburn (1990) again.

A fiery competitor, Bolt is known as an excellent gameday tactician. In his final season at Troy in 2002, his Trojan defense ranked among the nation?s finest. Last fall, Troy State ranked
No. 4 in the country in total defense (276.8 yards per game), No. 13 in rushing defense (105.3) and No. 11 in pass defense (171.6).

?Our No. 1 objective in the spring was putting in a new defense,? said Brown. ?We brought in a new defensive coordinator and a new defensive backs coach (Kevin Shirley). We are going from a 4-2-5 system to a 4-3-4, so there?s a lot of work to be done.?

Though overall the Blazers return seven defensive starters, three of those losses were suffered on the line. Trying to replace James Malone, Hassan McKeithan and Deijon Hart who had replaced 2002 NFL first-round draft pick Bryan Thomas and second-round choice Eddie Freeman from a year before will be a concern.

Shamar Abrams (6-2, 330, Jr.) is the only returning starter on the defensive front after starting 10 games and making 84 tackles in 2002.

Anthony Garrett (6-5, 225, So.) and Sam Kendrick (6-5, 245, So.) are expected to contend for one of the starting defensive end jobs after each saw limited action last season. Sam Williamson (6-5, 280, So.) and redshirt freshman Quinton Harris (6-6, 330) will handle the tackle spot with Tony Williams (6-2, 340, So.) and Randal Gibson (6-0, 285, Jr.) also in the picture at nose tackle.

Chris Mason (6-3, 235, So.) was moved from linebacker to defensive end last season and saw a respectable amount of action, recording 31 tackles. He?ll get help at end from Shane Pearson (6-6, 260, Sr.).

?Even though we?re young on the line, I feel fine about the group,? Brown said. ?It?s a question of whether they are ready to become bonifide defensive linemen yet. It think the defensive line is the epitome of our whole team. This is a young and experienced team. Are we physically ready to step up and take this league on??

The Blazers look to have quality at linebacker, though Brown hopes to improve the position?s depth as the new season nears.

With the new scheme, UAB will put three ?backers on the field and it?s a good bet that the trio will consist of Zac Woodfin (6-2, 235, Jr.), Nigel Eldridge (6-2, 230, Jr.) and Gaylon Black (6-1, 225, Jr.).

Woodfin is quickly emerging as one of the top linebackers in Conference USA. He set a UAB record for tackles in a season with 120 and ranked among the national leaders in tackles for loss with 18 en route to picking up second-team all-conference honors. Woodfin has already been tabbed a preseason first-team all-conference selection for the 2003 season.

Eldridge was thrust into prominent duty last season after Black was lost with a knee injury three games into the fall. Eldridge finished No. 2 on the team in tackles with 104 and also had seven tackles for a loss and a pair of sacks. Black?s return from injury fits nicely to the Blazers? move to the 4-3. At the time of his injury, he was the team?s top tackler and in limited duty through two-and-a-half games, he had 32 tackles, two sacks and a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.

DeMarcus Rodgers (6-2, 230, Jr.) and Darrius Taylor (6-0, 230, So.) saw backup duty last year and will enter the 2003 season in the same role. It will also be interesting to see how Kyle Bissinger (6-3, 225, R-Fr.) adjusts after moving to linebacker from quarterback prior to spring practice.

Brown and his defensive staff may also look for some linebacker help from his recruiting class.

?We have to develop some depth there (at linebacker),? said Brown. ?There?s a little bit of a concern because we are not loaded with an abundance of numbers at that position. We have recruited to a two-linebacker system. I think we fixed that with the class that we signed.?

One of the signees who could factor into the mix is Vincent Pollard (6-3, 225, Jr.). Pollard enrolled last January and participated in spring practice after attending Middle Georgia College.

The secondary returns four players who saw significant starting duty last season but will be without the unit?s best player, All-Conference USA performer Chris Brown, a four-year starter.

Dio Hill (5-11, 185, Jr.) started all 12 games at cornerback in 2002 and finished with 54 tackles and a team-leading 13 pass breakups. He?ll get help from Warren Butler (5-11, 185, Sr.) who played his first year at UAB last fall, coming from the junior college ranks. Carlos Hendricks (5-10, 185, Jr.) saw action at both corner and safety last season and is listed No. 1 at right cornerback entering fall drills. He had 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and three interceptions in 2002.

The safeties look to be in solid shape with the return of Thurman Pearson (6-1, 185, Sr.) and Julius Wainwright (6-0, 190, So.). Pearson started 11 games and had 99 tackles, including seven for loss. Wainwright made seven starts and had 40 tackles, earning a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.

Bobby Keyes (6-0, 175, Jr.) enrolled in January and participated in spring practice after transferring from Jones County (Miss.) Junior College. Keyes showed signs that he could make an impact as well in the Blazer secondary this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS
The Blazers return one of the country?s top placekickers in junior Nick Hayes (6-1, 180) who has demonstrated distance and accuracy in his first two years. Hayes, a Groza Award semifinalist last season, made his first 14 field goals last season and has 15 career field goals beyond 40 yards.

UAB hopes punter Parker Mullins (5-10, 165, R-Fr.) can fill the shoes of Ross Stewart, the team?s starter the past three years. Jason Southall is back as the primary kickoff returner for the third straight year while Lance Rhodes, Roddy White and Dan Burks are the primary candidates to handle the punt return duties.