Print |
E-mail to a friend
MARSHALL SPORTS
Blazers motivated to prove team has improved
Editor's note: Marshall University football faces a diverse 2008 schedule in terms of both geography and status. Continuing a summer-long series, The Herald-Dispatch focuses on UAB, which hosts Conference USA rival Marshall on Oct. 18.
HUNTINGTON -- Last season's disappointment could be motivation for the UAB Blazers.
Head coach Neil Callaway took over a team last season that was short on experience and slumped to a 2-10 finish. UAB lost its final game at Marshall (49-36) and gets another shot at the Thundering Herd in an Oct. 18 game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Quarterback Joe Webb said motivation comes easy. Conference USA coaches picked UAB to finish last in the six-team East Division.
"People aren't expecting us to have a good year," Webb said. "We've been picked low in the conference. We just want to show everybody and prove to everybody we are a good football team and can win ball games."
Webb, a junior, enters practice as the No. 1 quarterback after playing some at quarterback and wide receiver the past two seasons. Last season Webb was 65-117-1 passing for 679 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 288 yards and one touchdown. He caught 30 passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns.
UAB had its best offensive performance of the season against Marshall in points and yards (496). Webb passed for 200 yards and rushed for 52.
"Without a doubt Joe adds a different dimension to our football team," Callaway said. "We're doing a couple new things to take advantage of his athleticism."
Wide receiver Frantrell Forrest set a UAB freshman record with 49 receptions for 563 yards and five touchdowns. The freshman trio of Forrest, Mario Wright and Mike Jones combined for 90 catches, 1,051 yards and nine scores.
UAB averaged only 110.2 rushing yards a game, last in C-USA.
Leading rusher Rashaud Slaughter was moved to receiver after getting 325 yards on 100 carries. Justin Brooks, a sophomore transfer from Troy, and senior Aaron Johns who played at Alabama in 2004 are anticipated challengers for the running back position.
Center Jake Seitz (6-foot-2, 290 pounds, junior) anchors the offensive line. Seitz got a long look at left guard during spring practice. Junior college tackle Daniel Seahorn (6-5, 295, Jr.) is listed as a starter.
"I think the places offensively that we have made a tremendous amount of progress are on the offensive line and at wide receiver," Callaway said. "I think we've got a good group of guys at both spots."
The UAB defense placed safety Will Dunbar and linebacker Joe Henderson on the All C-USA preseason team.
Dunbar was an all-conference player last season with a league-leading 12.2 tackles per game (122 total). Dunbar intercepted two passes. He is on the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award.
Henderson was an all-conference second team in 2007 with 109 tackles, five sacks and two interceptiions.
Defensive linemen Bryant Turner (6-2, 260) Tim Davis (6-0, 280) and D.J. Reese (6-4, 280) all started games as freshmen. Junior end Joe Happe (6-4, 260) started 11 games.
Lamanski Ware is a freshman in the secondary mix that includes senior Kevin Sanders, senior safety Matt Taylor, junior Brandon Carlisle and sophomore Brock Ferguson. Ugonna Amarikwa and Marquis Coleman are redshirt freshman defensive backs.
Callaway said priorities for preseason practice include installing offensive and defensive schemes and developing a depth chart that will be a work in progress until 10 days before the opener, an Aug. 30 conference home game against Tulsa.
"There's a lot of work to be done and a lot of things we have to get accomplished," he said.
Information from www.uabsports.com.
