2010 UAB Blazers Football Preview

2009 Results: 5-7, No Bowl

Head Coach: Neil Callaway (4th year @ UAB, 11-25 Overall)

Home Venue: Legion Field (72,000) Birmingham, Alabama

Last season, the hot pick in the C-USA West was UTEP, thanks largely to their schedule, which avoided the powers from the opposite division. This season, it appears that UAB holds the same spot in the C-USA East division: Their schedule avoids Houston and Tulsa and they have a veteran team returning. Will UAB go the way of UTEP and fall on their faces or will this be the season that the Blazers return to bowl action for the first time since 2004?

OFFENSE

Off the bat, there’s one major problem for UAB: Replacing superstar quarterback Joe Webb (2,299 yards passing, 1,427 rushing, 32 total TDs, 11 INT in ‘09), who for all intents and purposes was their entire offense! Sophomore David Isabelle (1 TD in limited action) is expected to be his replacement this fall but there is clearly going to be a major drop off under center.

On top of that, Webb’s running excellence also leaves the Blazers without a tailback that gained more than 300 yards last season! That means that Isabelle can’t fall back upon the running game if things get tough. The good news is that the receiving corps returns a decent duo in seniors Frantrell Forrest (34 catches, 558 yards, 9 TDs) and TE Jeremy Anderson (26 catches, 398 yards, 5 TDs). However, neither is a gamebreaking playmaker.

Up front, the O-Line is probably the highlight of the offense. Four starters return, all of whom were underclassmen last season, including sophomore Chris Hubbard, a member of the C-USA All-Freshman team last fall. After a successful season with so much youth up front, that experience should pay off with a stronger performance this season. However, the skill positions leave very much to be desired and even with a better line, I don’t see the team replacing a lot of Webb’s production and that means a decrease in scoring output in 2010.

DEFENSE

Another reason that is frequently cited for UAB’s impending successful campaign is their veteran defense, which returns nine starters. Up front, three starters on the D-Line are back, led by senior Bryant Turner, whose six sacks led the team last year. Along with junior tackle Elliott Henigan (47 tackles, 4 sacks) and converted sophomore linebacker-turned-DE Dan White (43 tackles, 2.5 sacks, C-USA All-Freshman Team), there does appear to be pieces in place for a very solid D-Line.

At linebacker, things are a little more muddled. While junior Lamanski Ware was 2nd on the team last year with 71 tackles and middle linebacker Marvin Burdette played well as a freshman (43 tackles), this group is still more athleticism than proven production. The good news is that they’ll be playing behind a very good line and that should mean for increased production this fall, even with White’s move to DE.

Where the Blazers look strongest is in the secondary. Senior safety Hiram Atwater (89 tackles, 1 INT) was the team’s leading tackler and a 2nd Team C-USA selection as a result of his strong campaign. The other returning starter is junior Terrell Springs (68 tackles, 1 INT), who proved himself as a solid tackler last season. With an influx of highly-rated JUCO talent, I think this secondary will be much better this fall.

Here’s where I’m going to play devil’s advocate. While I like UAB’s talent, they’ve allowed 31 points per game or more in all three seasons under Head Coach Neil Calloway. Furthermore, this veteran unit is largely the same group that only notched 19 sacks last year and allowed over 300 pass yards per game! Now, to be fair their defense was pretty good against the run at only 4.2 yards per carry, but teams knew they could beat them throwing so how often did they have to worry about the running game? I do expect UAB to improve their scoring defense by as much as a touchdown per game, but will that be enough to overcome a diminished offense?

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SCHEDULE

The schedule is going to be an obstacle as well. Out of conference, they face Sun Belt heavyweight Troy and SEC foes Tennessee and Mississippi State on the road. On top of that, they draw two road trips to the West Division and have to travel to East co-favorites UCF and Southern Miss. The good news is that UAB does have six home games for the first time since 2006 but this is not going to be an easy run for the Blazers.

OUTLOOK

There are certainly a lot of things to like about this team, especially on defense. However, I’m guarded in my optimism. While I like this D to be improved, especially against the pass, I’m not so sure that they’ll be so much better that they’ll overcome the big step back that I expect from their offense. After all, when you lose 72.9% of your offensive production from one player who also happened to be an NFL draft pick, you have a lot of ground to make up. In my mind, too much ground. While UAB will be better defensively, their offense will be hard-pressed to score 20 points per game. Factor in a tough non-conference schedule and I don’t see the Blazers earning bowl eligibility. UAB is my choice to finish 5th in the C-USA East Division.

PREDICTED RESULT: 4-8 (3-5 CONFERENCE USA)