08-13-2006, 06:48 PM
Quote:Blazer Football Team Holds First Preseason Scrimmage
Trio of quarterbacks solid in two-hour workout
Aug. 13, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team held its first scrimmage of the preseason here Sunday afternoon, and to no one's surprise, there were both positives and negatives in the two-hour workout.
"It looked like a first scrimmage," said Brown. "I thought it was a good solid day. The kids got after each other and played hard. We had some mistakes, too many penalties. You'd like not to see that many in a scrimmage. I'm disappointed in that and we've got to get more disciplined."
Overall, though, Brown seemed pleased and said he was anxious to look at tape from the scrimmage to take a closer look at his team's performance.
Brown thought his trio of quarterbacks -- Sam Hunt, Chris Williams and Joseph Webb -- all had their bright moments on the field despite a hint of inconsistency.
"The good thing was we didn't throw an interception," said Brown of his signal-callers. " I thought the quarterbacks threw the ball to the right place. They didn't throw on time all the time, they held the ball too long some and had to start scrambling. I thought those guys played pretty well, but were a little inconsistent."
Williams, Hunt and Webb combined for 266 yards through the air, hitting 21-of-36 passes. Individually, Williams, the only one of the three with experience -- though limited -- as a Blazer hit 7-of-11 passes for 109 and a touchdown. Hunt, a junior transfer from Middle Tennessee, connected on 6-of-13 for 84 while the redshirt freshman Webb was 8-of-12 for 73 yards and a touchdown. Hunt also rushed for 32 yards with Webb running for 26.
In the rushing department, UAB's quartet of seniors all saw fairly limited action with Trey Chaney leading the way among the foursome that also includes Dan Burks, Corey White and Marculus Elliott. Chaney ran for 32 yards on eight carries. Elliott carried five times for 25 yards while White had 18 (6 carries) and Burks 14 yards (5 carries).
The top ground-gainer was junior Tony Shepherd who rushed for 37 yards on only six attempts.
Senior wide receiver Nick Coon was the top receiver with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown before leaving early with a shoulder injury.Steven Brown had three grabs for 34 yards and Norris Drinkard had three for 33 yards. True freshman Courtney Smith had four receptions for 23 yards.
The Blazers will return to the practice field Monday for a single session in the morning.
UAB opens its 2006 season on Sept. 2 the Blazers take on fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at Norman, Okla. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on TBS.
The radio coverage can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning at 4:30 p.m. CST. Birmingham listeners can follow all the action on WYDE 101.1 FM, and WIQR 1410 AM in Montgomery.
A few points...
- I hope Coon isnt hurt too badly... that would not be a good sign for our WR corps this year if he's hampered by injury. Any word on his condition?
- No INTs is either a very good sign for our QBs or a very bad sign for our secondary... I'm hoping for the former.
- Hard to tell, but looks like Hunt may be a good runner indeed. Looks like all the QBs could get some time, but that'll be hard dividing out between 3 guys. Based on the numbers, Williams and Webb look to have the better arms, but Hunt appears to be the more mobile QB (or at least the least adverse to taking off and running).
- Steven Brown might be a pretty good WR... I had been wondering if his PT had been a result of his dad, but maybe it's well-deserved.
- Encouraged by those RB numbers... not surprised to see them getting limited action. We'll need them alot this season so we can ill-afford to be losing them in practices and scrimmages.