UAB - SPRING WRAP-UP REPORT

[BULLO12]

Blazers Hold First Spring Football Scrimmage

Hackney, Moncur Among Offensive Standouts

April 14, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- UAB head football coach Watson Brown called Wednesday's two-hour workout a typical first scrimmage of the spring.

There were plenty of flashes of offensive promise mixed in with too many dropped passes and penalties, according to Brown.

"It looked like a first scrimmage to me," said Brown, who will welcome back 17 of 21 offensive and defensive starters for the 2004 season. "We had some dropped balls, too many offsides penalties by our offense, too many big plays allowed by our defense. But there were a lot of good things, too."

The Blazers, who will hold their second scrimmage of the spring this Saturday as part of "Blazer Day" festivities, scrimmaged for just short of two hours under cool, but much more pleasant, conditions than they had Tuesday when they went through a brief workout with steady rain and temperatures at 40 degrees.

 

Junior quarterback Darrell Hackney threw the ball well in the scrimmage as he returns from a season-ending thumb injury he suffered last October in the Blazers' game at TCU. Hackney completed 14-of-29 passes for 237 yards and five touchdowns but had several balls dropped by his receivers.

Junior college transfer QB Chad Wilmott connected on 5-of-9 passes for 53 yards while Chris Williams was 3-of-7 for 8 yards and Curtis Falany 1-of-4 for 9 yards.

Senior wide receiver Bradly Chavez had three catches for 85 yards with all of his receptions going for touchdowns. Senior wideout Roddy White caught a pair of passes for 68 yards, including a 53 yards touchdown from Hackney.

The UAB rushing game also looked good at times with sophomore Bo Moncur leading the way with 84 yards on 13 carries. Moncur also contributed two receptions for 32 yards.

Brown was pleased with his first-team offensive line but not as satisfied with what he saw from the second unit.

"Our first offense did very well, moved the ball well, stopped themselves a couple time," said Brown. "Our second offensive line just wasn't very good today, so I couldn't tell about our first defense. We've got two starters out in the second unit and that played into it. We've got to get better there so we can challenge our defense.

"I think, overall, it was a good scrimmage," said Brown, "with the No. 1 reason being because nobody got hurt."

[smazza]

interesting stuff

to see what is going on with other teams we play

good work,mr B

[BULLO12]

Their Spring Game is tomorrow, Saturday April 17

[BULLO12]

UAB Football Team Holds Blazer Day Scrimmage

Brown pleased with improvement from week's earlier scrimmage

April 17, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team held its annual Blazer Day scrimmage in front of an enthusiastic crowd at West Campus Field here Saturday and Blazer head coach Watson Brown says he saw noticeable improvement in his team's play from the scrimmage held earlier in the week.

"Well, the first thing is we scrimmaged for two hours and we didn't have a major injury," said Brown, whose team has been snake-bit from injuries the past two seasons.

"I thought the offense did a better job today than in the scrimmage on Wednesday. We didn't have as many penalties or as many balls on the ground. We executed things better. Our defense looked good again today. Right now, we can't do anything against our defensive front-seven and that's a good sign."

The first-team Blazer offense, working primarily against the second unit defense, was impressive on the ground and through the air.

Junior quarterback Darrell Hackney was nearly perfect, hitting 8-of-9 passes with his only miss a ball he threw away to avoid a sack. He finished his brief play in the scrimmage with 202 yards passing, including a 70-yard strike to wide receiver Bradly Chavez. Chavez finished with four receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Hackney wasn't the only UAB quarterback to shine Saturday. Sophomore Curtis Falany hit 10-of-12 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while junior college transfer Chad Wilmott was 6-of-10 for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Wideout Reggie Lindsey, who enrolled in January as a junior college transfer, had a pair of receptions for 75 yards while Jason Southall had four catches for 50 yards and Roddy White three grabs for 50 yards.

Sophomore RB Corey White led the way among the Blazer running backs with 40 yards on nine carries with five attempts going for short touchdown runs. Trey Chaney added 47 yards on the ground on nine carries.

On the defensive side, three Blazers (Bobby Keyes, Darrius Taylor and Dominique Cosper) all had interceptions while defensive end Larry McSwain, a native of Vigor, Ala. and a transfer from Jackson State, registered four sacks.

In the kicking game, Groza Award candidate Nick Hayes was successful on both of his field goal attempts (41 and 32 yards) while also converting all eight extra point attempts.

"I thought it was a good scrimmage, an improvement for everybody over the Wednesday scrimmage," Brown said. "We went first team against second early in the scrimmage, then we started mixing them about halfway. The first series for the first unit, both on offense and defense, those units were dominant and that's what I would like to see, to be very honest."

The Blazers will have four more practices this before they conclude spring drills with a final scrimmage on Thursday.

Blazer Day - April 17, 2004

UAB Statistical Leaders

Rushing: Corey White, 9-40, 5 TDs; Trey Chaney, 9-47, 1 TD, Marculus Elliott, 11-26, 0 TDs.

Passing: Darrell Hackney, 8-of-9 for 202 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs; Chad Wilmott, 6-of-10 for 124 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTS; Curtis Falany, 10-of-12 for 119 yards, 1 TD, Chris Williams, 6-of-11 for 110 yards, 0 TDs.

Receiving: Bradly Chavez, 4 rec., 139 yards, 1 TD; Reggie Lindsey, 2 rec., 75 yards, 0 TDs; Jason Southall, 4 rec., 50 yards, 0 TDs; Roddy White, 3 rec., 50 yards, 0 TDs.

Kicking: Nick Hayes, 2-for-2 field goals (41 and 32 yards); 8-for-8 extra points

[BULLO12]

There will probably no more to report until August and/or the start of the season.  But keep checking back.

This is your UAB Intelligence Committee

[BULLO12]

Defensive front halts the run

04/15/04

TORAINE NORRIS

News staff writer

The UAB defensive front did something in Wednesday's scrimmage it didn't do much of last season - stuff the run on a consistent basis.

   

UAB's first-team defense dominated its counterparts on the second offense by shutting down running lanes and putting consistent pressure on backup quarterbacks Chad Wilmott, Chris Williams and Curtis Falany. Even the second unit defensive line had some success stopping the run in its showdowns with the first-team offense, although that unit was victimized by big plays.

"Our front played well against the run all day," said head coach Watson Brown. "The defensive line was stronger than the offensive line on both sides against the run. The first defense just dominated the second line."

The first scrimmage was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but weather concerns forced the coaching staff to call it off.

Brown called the two-hour session a typical first scrimmage. The defense, as expected, was ahead of the offense, he said.

The first-team offense did have success moving the football once it eliminated some of the mental mistakes from early in the scrimmage.

Quarterback Darrell Hackney passed for 237 yards and five touchdowns on 14-of-29 attempts. Senior receivers Bradly Chavez and Roddy White combined to catch five passes for 138 yards and four touchdowns. All of Chavez's receptions were touchdown grabs.

Sophomore running back Bo Moncur sparked the first-team offense in his bid to regain the starting tailback job by rushing 84 yards on 13 carries.

However, the second offense had little success moving the ball.

The reason was in the line play. UAB returns its entire front seven from a year ago and goes three deep at some positions up front. The Blazers added more depth by signing transfers along the defensive front such as Tony Haynes-Dalton and Clarence Respress.

The offensive line, however, is still in transition. The first-team offensive line is breaking in three new starters, including two freshmen at the tackle positions in Jamarius Dismuke and Cornelius Rogers. The second offensive line, with new faces such as Quinton Harris and Joey Horne pacing it, was bested by the spirited and wily veterans along the defensive front.

Offensive line coach Larry Vanderheyden said his line still have some growing to do.

"We've still got to get physically and mentally tougher," Vanderheyden said. "We had some flashes, but we're not consistent. Hopefully, in the next scrimmage we'll be better."

The UAB defense surrendered an average of 178 rushing yards a game to opponents last season. With so many starters and veterans returning, senior tackle Shamar Abrams said the defensive front won't be pushed around anymore.

"We've got to make a statement," Abrams said. "Last year, we had the excuse that we were young. This year, there are no excuses."

[BULLO12]

Blazer Day won't be full game

04/16/04

TORAINE NORRIS

News staff writer

The absence of three offensive linemen has cut UAB's Annual Blazer Day football scrimmage from a full-game type exercise to more of a controlled scrimmage.

   

UAB coach Watson Brown said Thursday he won't divide the Blazers into Gold and White teams for the 12:30 p.m. scrimmage, which will be held at the West Campus Field. Instead, the scrimmage will be similar to the one the Blazers held Wednesday in which the first units faced the second-unit players.

Brown said the reason is a shortage of bodies along the offensive line. Juniors Tommie Keyes (hip) and Paul Linsky (ankle) are nursing nagging but not serious injuries which will keep them out for the rest of the spring. Sophomore Joey Horne also won't be on hand due to a death in the family.

"We're so offensive line short that we'll just throw bodies out there and shuffle them in and out," Brown said. "That really got our depth in the two-deep."

Brown said he'll use Saturday's scrimmage to push for cohesiveness among the first units on defense and offense. However, he said his biggest concern is finding consistent depth, particularly on offense along the line and at tight end.

"We're really hunting players as backups," he said. "You're only as good as your backups. We've got to start getting depth."

Several players helped themselves in Wednesday's scrimmage. Sophomore receiver Norris Drinkard and junior receiver Reggie Lindsey both looked good, said Brown, who singled those players out after watching tape of the two-hour scrimmage.

Brown was just as pleased with the play of sophomore running back Bo Moncur, who rushed for 84 yards and hauled in two catches for 37 more.

"Bo looks as good as I've seen Bo look," Brown said.

Brown again said the first and second defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage all day. The play of nose guards Shamar Abrams, Justin Hamlin and Clarence Respress was also a plus, he said.

UAB will conduct one more scrimmage following Blazer Day and wrap up spring drills next Thursday.

[BULLO12]

UAB

Who's No. 2? Brown wants to know, too:

UAB coach Watson Brown said it's not likely he'll decide on a No. 2 quarterback by the end of spring practice. After Saturday's Blazer Day scrimmage, UAB has four practices left.

All three backups to starter Darrell Hackney had their moments in Saturday's almost two-hour affair.

Sophomore Curtis Falany passed for 119 yards and one touchdown while completing 10-of-12 passes. Sophomore Chris Williams completed 6-of-11 passes for 110 yards but threw three interceptions.

Junior college transfer Chad Wilmott probably had his best day of the spring, completing 6-of-10 passes for 124 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown strike to Bradley Chavez.

Brown said Wilmott's progress has been good, considering the 6-foot-4 transfer is taking his first cracks at a new system.

Chavez had the best day of any receiver, hauling in four passes for 139 yards. Senior Jason Southall grabbed four passes for 50 yards and added a 66-yard kickoff return to start the Blazer Day scrimmage.

Junior Reggie Lindsey was also productive. Lindsey was signed to complement Roddy White as a deep threat and he didn't disappoint, grabbing two catches for 75 yards.

Sophomore running back Bo Moncur was supposed to alternate with Corey White at the first-team tailback spot, but Moncur sprained his toe and sat out much of the scrimmage. White, meanwhile, ran for five TDs.

Brown said the first defensive unit dominated when it played together in the scrimmage. However, the first unit played together early in the scrimmage as the coaching staff used the rest of the day to mix in members of the first and second units, such as pairing the first defensive line and the second string secondary on several occasions.

[BULLO12]

Hackney, White shine for Blazers

04/18/04

TORAINE NORRIS

News staff writer

Darrell Hackney played almost flawlessly and Corey White scored almost each time he touched the ball in UAB's Blazer Day scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

   

It was a good day for the Blazers' first offensive line.

"It was a good scrimmage for the offense," said Hackney, who completed 8-of-9 passes for 202 yards in what amounted to a half of football. "We scored on every possession I was in. I give the credit to the offensive line. Whenever Corey White can score five touchdowns, it's the offensive line."

Head coach Watson Brown agreed.

"That's probably where the most improvement was made from Wednesday," said Brown. "There weren't people getting through with the first unit and there weren't the bad plays of last week."

"I can't wait to get in and look at the film, but from where I was standing on the sidelines it looked good."

The Blazers have four more practices to go before they conclude spring drills.

Going into the spring, the offensive line was the biggest question mark. UAB lost three starters from last year's unit and very few of the reserves played despite the coaching staff's intentions of finding playing time for them.

Redshirt freshman Jamarius Dismuke and redshirt sophomore Cornelius Rogers, two players with no game experience, are playing the right and left tackles positions this spring, respectively, and senior Marcel Binion, a juco transfer from last year, is playing the right guard position.

Neither the first nor second (offensive) units looked especially crisp in Wednesday's scrimmage. Offensive line coach Larry Vanderheyden said afterward he wanted to see his line, particularly the right side, play mentally and physically tougher.

The Blazers entered Saturday's scrimmage short three offensive linemen due to injuries to Paul Linsky and Tommie Keyes and a death in the family that caused sophomore tackle Joey Horne to miss the Blazer Day scrimmage.

The second unit continued to struggle on Blazer Day and the first unit was far from perfect, but the line did give Hackney time to throw and opened holes for White.

White, the 6-foot, 225-pound sophomore from Bessemer, responded with 40 yards rushing on nine carries. He scored on runs of 4, 10, 4, 3 and 5 yards before sitting out the rest of the scrimmage.

Hackney also delivered, directing the first offense with efficiency. He continued to show no ill effects of a thumb injury that forced him to miss five games last season. Hackney hit Bradley Chavez in stride on a 70-yard pass and followed with a 42-yard pass that hit junior receiver Reggie Lindsey streaking along the sidelines in full stride.

"I had an average day," said Hackney. "My thumb felt good. I felt like it was a good, productive day for the offense."

Brown said Hackney's grasp of the offense is what impressed him the most.

"He's learned the offense to the extent that it looks like he's reacting as opposed to thinking," said Brown. "He's made great strides.

"I still feel we're putting too much on him. He's really only a 12-game starter. That's just one season when you think about it."

[smazza]

bullo- i feel like i live in brimingham reading all this intel you are providing