CSNbbs

There's enough negative crap on this board and in the world around us, so I like to spend my sports leisure time looking for the positives in UAB sports.

That said, it's been slim pickings this football season to find real positives.

That's been especially true in the past two games. We totally crumbled in two distinctly different ways in both those games.

But here are a few positives.

1. We appear to have signed some competitive and rapidly improving high school players in the past two classes, since we have mostly two-star kids (predicted to start by their junior season, after a redshirt), and a number of them are playing competitively at the true freshman and soph levels - especially on teh defensive side. Some standouts from those two classes are Edge (and McCants, next year), Ware, Luker, Hennigan, Reese, Davis, Harris, Waters, Coleman, Terrel, and Daniel. The most recent class appears to be more competitive than the first class, as you would expect. Note that I say competitive, not good (yet).

2. This year's recruting looks to be off to a good start, if you put any stock in the rivals ratings. Of six early commitments, three are three-stars (relatively rare at UAB), and one is a four star (a first, if he makes it onto the field next year).

Joei Fiegler QB 6-3/199 NR , three stars
Justin Jordan WR 5-11/190 NR , four stars
Malcolm Rudolph WR 6-1/184 NR, two stars
Kevious Watkins OL 6-4/340 NR , two stars
Danny White LB 6-2/215 NR , three stars
Rashad Wynes RB 6-1/214 51, three stars

Callaway and staff may turn out to be good recruiters if we give them some time to get established. Recruiting will improve our program more than anything.

3. Other positives are a bit hard to bring to mind at the moment. I can think of the first halves of most games and see potential...Tulsa, TN, Memphis, Houston - but good first halves win absolutely NOTHING.

I'm looking forward to the day when we have a full complement of players again, and can keep bodies fresh enough to play four quarters.

Here's to a win this week! If we can learn to finish in the second half, we can still win 2 - 4 more. Yes, I see the glass 49% full.

Some of the true freshmen are playing out of necessity and could probably use a redshirt. Also, Jordan wouldn't be our first 4* guy to make it on the field. Chris Felder was also 4*.

Felder was a 4?

So much for scouting reports.

I still believe that all these freshmen and sophomores getting thrown to to wolves will pay off when they're juniors and seniors.

I think we all forgot about Felder being that highly rated. Seems like Felder didnt even play that much. Was he injured, in the doghouse, or just the much of a non-factor that I don't remember much of him? I do believe that he was the one to strip the ball from the ECU WR running to the endzone in 2006 to save the game for UAB.

We are heading in the right direction, but, man, its hard to watch sometimes - vicarious growing pains.

chirp...chirp... chirp... (cricket sound)

Another positive...No arrests in the last year. That sure makes me feel better.

Felder was a natural cornerback, but Watson moved him to safety, where he was very undersized (kind of like Matt Taylor). I don't think he ever really got the hang of it. I think you are right though...he was the one to save the ECU game.