In appreciation of the 2019 Seniors who completed football eligibility
I wanted to post a thread to sincerely say thank you, as an alum and long time UAB fan, to the group of seniors listed below, who have completed their football eligibility at UAB, as well as to those from the past two years.
Obviously, you are the most successful group of seniors in program history with 28 wins in 3 years, 2 division championships, UAB football’s first conference championship, 3 bowl games, and the first bowl win. None of us really understands the risks you took and the challenges you endured to not only reestablish the program, but also to deliver unprecedented success on the field. Further, you connected with and served your surrounding community in a manner that won the heart of a city, and beyond.
Children's Harbor by itself is an example that transcends the sport and touches the spirits of children, families, staff, players, the community and those outside the city watching and wondering how something this magical came to be. You helped write that story and weave it into yours by living it. One day you will each tell your children and grandchildren these stories, and they will connect and remember that you wore a special young friend’s name on your jersey during a college game to show them love and inspire new hope. They will be proud of you and will tell their friends and one day their own kids. Your stories will live on in future generations because they were about much more than football.
For me, the program shut down came during the season we were watching my mom fade away after fighting her cancer for 7 years. The grief of her passing a few weeks after the shutdown mingled with the the lesser grief of the program loss and the fury of another abuse of power by the toxic leadership that our state has allowed for so long. That was a dark December.
But brighter and righter days came! Watching a city stand up and say NO to the lies and abuse was exhilarating. Participating in the fight and watching the Return take place over the next two years brought both comfort and a meaning that was far beyond reestablishing the right for UAB to play a game with a ball. It was a nationally, and personally, inspiring example of the triumph of what was right but small, over what was wrong but powerful, and against all odds and history. No one could have predicted the story that so many helped to write.
The Return touched hearts and called forward quiet heroes who communicated and marched and worked and served and sacrificed and invested, to inspire renewed belief that this school and this city could truly dream big dreams together, and could establish the freedom to overcome the past and pursue that which was truly best for us, now.
And you as players believed in UAB and Coach Clark and the staff and you brought the impossible dream of the Return to life via your years of intense work on the field and in the classroom, and turned an amazing vision into reality.
The wins were fun and inspiring. But as football players you delivered something much more important to this city and state than football wins. I hope you all know that in the depths of your souls, and I hope you never forget.
Some of you were stars on Saturdays and some were steady contributors. Others contributed blood, sweat and tears to rebuilding the team and program in the locker room and on the practice field and during a community roofing or painting project in ways the public never saw or understood. Thank you all for your sacrifices and efforts, gentlemen! We celebrate you, and both your visible and invisible contributions.
As UAB football continues to build on the foundation you laid, and as UAB grows into the G5 program of the Twenties, and when the books are written and the movies made, it will be your stories at the heart of the larger story. You pushed through all the doubters and barriers and pain to make history and we are grateful to have witnessed and enjoyed it with you. Thank you. We are proud to have you represent our school and city.
Please feel free to add any additional players that I may be unaware of completing their eligibility this year to the list below.
2019 Seniors That Have Completed Eligibility
WR: Kendall Parham (1 yr starter: 29 catches, 608 yds, 6 TDs in 2019)
RB: Jonathan Haden (47 rushes, 187 yds, 3 catches, 37 yds in 2019)
TE: Thair Blakes (7 catches, 67 yds in 2019)
OL: Lee Dufour (4-yr starter: 7/14 starts in 2019 due to injuries)
David Galten (1 yr starter: 8/14 starts in 2019 due to injuries)
Chris Tucker (8 games played in 2018)
LB: Fitz Mofor (3 yr starter:’42 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 6 QBH in 2019)
Adrienne Talan (13 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 5 QBH in 2019)
DL: Garrett Marino (3 yr starter: 43 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 7 PBU, 4 QBH, 1 FF in 2019)
Jauntavias Johnson (4 tackles in 2019)
Michael Wright (2 tackles in 2019)
DB: Will Dawkins (2 yr starter: 28 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Int, 1 PBU in 2019)
AJ Brooks (2 game starter: 10 tackles, 2 PBU in 2019)
K: Nick Vogel (3 yr starter: 19-23 FGs, 71 Kickoffs, 52 TBs in 2019)
(This post was last modified: 12-26-2019 09:33 PM by Ranger1386c.)
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In appreciation of the 2019 Seniors who completed football eligibility
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