UAB 2012 Recruiting

UAB Blazers 2012 ... Head Coach: Garrick McGee

UAB Blazers

2011 Record: 3-9

Sep. 3 OPEN DATE
Sep. 10 at Florida L 39-0
Sep. 17 Tulane L 49-10
Sep. 24 at East Carolina L 28-23
Oct. 1 at Troy L 24-23
Oct. 8 Mississippi St L 21-3
Oct. 15 at Tulsa L 37-20
Oct. 22 UCF W 26-24
Oct. 29 at Marshall L 59-14
Nov. 5 Houston L 56-13
Nov. 12 at Memphis W 41-35
Nov. 19 Southern Miss W 34-31
Nov. 26 at Florida Atlantic L 38-35

2010 CFN Prediction: 4-8
2010 Record: 4-6

Sept. 2 Florida Atlantic L 32-31
Sept. 11 at SMU L 28-7
Sept. 18 Troy W 34-33
Sept. 25 at Tenn. L 32-29 2OT
Oct. 6 at UCF L 42-7
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 UTEP W 21-6
Oct. 23 at Miss State L 29-24
Oct. 30 at So Miss W 40-49 2)T
Nov. 6 Marshall L 31-17
Nov. 11 East Carolina L 54-42
Nov. 20 Memphis W 31-15
Nov. 27 at Rice
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class  

Top 5 UAB Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. CB Kelton Brackett
5-11, 186, Scout.com 104th ranked, three-star corner.

2. QB Josh Greer
6-4, 208, Scout.com 97th ranked, two-star quarterback.

3. OT Devin Gordon
6-4, 275, Scout.com 154th raked, two-star offensive tackle.

4. C Dominic Sylvester
6-3, 300, Scout.com two-star JUCO transfer.

5. S Cortez Webb
6-2, 183, Scout.com two-star JUCO transfer.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... New head coach Garrick McGee wants a passing game. There are young passers in place in Jonathan Perry and Joe Bento, but there’s an opening to create a good battle for the job and there’s a chance for a good receiver to quickly make a splash. The lines are fine for now, but the secondary could get more help.

Team Concerns For 2012: Defensive tackle. Deric Scott and Micky Jackson are good-sized young players each looking to shine next year, but they’ll have to prove they can hold up. The Blazers went hard after safeties in 2009, and now they have to come through with all four starters gone from the secondary and corner a major issue.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: New head coach Garrick McGee has to completely retool the offensive line that was so strong in pass protection, losing four starters. QB Jonathan Perry is back along with all the top skill players other than WR Nick Adams. Greg Franklin and Darrin Reaves should form a solid 1-2 rushing punch if the line can come together in a hurry. The defense was dead last in the nation in sacks and 119th in tackles for loss. All the ends return, but both starting defensive tackles are done along with MLB Lamanski Ware. All four starters are gone from a secondary that was among the worst in college football. Excellent punter Trey Ragland needs to be replaced.

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 87. That Class Was Heavy On ... Kickers. After two big classes and working on the skill positions last year, UAB got a little bit of everything without loading up on any one spot. JUCO transfers Lamar Johnson and Calvin Jones will be used right away in the secondary, and some big prospects, led by the 6-3, 343-pound Uneik Crumbley, are brought in for the line. Apparently, though, one of the big concerns is Josh Zahn, the team’s placekicker who followed up a 14-of-21 2009 with a 7-of-17 field goal 2010 season. Kickers Colin Anderson and Ty Long were brought into provide a challenge. Considering six games last year were decided by five points or fewer, a good kicker is a must.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 108. That Class Was Heavy On ... Skill players. The offense was Joe Webb, Joe Webb, and Joe Webb last year, and now there's an immediate infusion of talent to try to change that with seven wide receivers, four of them from the JUCO ranks, led by big Darnell Williams; the team's instant No. 1 target. Five running backs, including two JUCO transfers, were brought in, while the star should be Greg Franklin.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 96. That Class Was Heavy On ... safeties. Of the 24 new Blazers signed by Neil Callaway, a big portion is projected as safeties once they arrive in Birmingham. That’s not such a bad thing, considering last year’s starters, Will Dunbar and Matt Taylor, were seniors. The two junior-college transfers, Hiram Atwater and Elliott McGaskin, should be ready to compete right away, and David Conner was good enough to get mail from Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.

Nov. 26 at Florida Atlantic 38 … UAB 35

(AP) BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Alfred Morris scored a career-high four touchdowns and Treon Howard returned an interception for a touchdown as Florida Atlantic beat Alabama-Birmingham 38-35 on Saturday night for the Owls' first win of the season.

Florida Atlantic (1-10) snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to last season and was the only remaining winless team in major college football.

Owls coach Howard Schnellenberger, who announced in August that he is retiring at the end of this season, also avoided his first winless campaign. Florida Atlantic has one final game against Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 3.

Morris rushed for 198 yards on 38 carries in his fifth straight 100-yard game. Quarterback Graham Wilbert was 16 for 25 for 181 yards for Florida Atlantic.

Jonathan Perry was 17 for 26 for 190 yards and two touchdowns for the Blazers (3-9) and also ran for a score.

Jackie Williams and Jamarcus Nelson scored touchdowns for Alabama-Birmingham (3-9). D.J. Vinson and Nolen Smith each caught a touchdown pass for the Blazers.

Leading 31-28, the Owls converted twice on fourth down during a 17-play drive that used 8:13, and went ahead 38-28 on Morris's 9-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left.

On UAB's ensuing possession, Perry threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Smith with 33 seconds left, but the attempted onside kick went out of bounds.

The teams traded scores for most of the game.

The Blazers took a 28-24 lead in the third on Nelson's 3-yard touchdown run The Owls retook the lead, 31-28, on a 10-yard touchdown run by Morris in the fourth.

Perry tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Vinson that gave Alabama-Birmingham a 21-17 lead. The Owls responded on a 4-yard touchdown run by Morris to put Florida Atlantic ahead 24-21 in the third.

With the score tied at 14, Florida Atlantic recovered a fumble by Perry at the Blazers' 9-yard line and converted the turnover into a 28-yard field goal by Vinny Zaccario and a 17-14 lead at halftime.

A 1-yard touchdown plunge by Perry gave the Blazers a 14-7 lead in the second. The Owls came back to tie it at 14 when Morris scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Florida Atlantic scored first on Howard's 23-yard interception return for a touchdown to make it 7-0. Perry's pass was tipped and Howard picked it off and ran down the sideline for the score.

The Blazers answered on a 9-play, 69-yard drive culminated by a 2-yard touchdown run by Williams that tied the score at 7.

Nov. 19 at UAB 34 … Southern Miss 31

Nov. 12 UAB 41 … at Memphis 35

Nov. 5 Houston 56 … at UAB 13

Oct. 29 at Marshall 59 … UAB 14  

Oct. 20 at UAB 26 … UCF 24
CFN Analysis: Finally, UAB got a win and finally is showed that the offense could work. The UCF defense has been fantastic this year, with enough athletes to stop a struggling offense cold. UAB’s attack started to work a bit against Tulsa, and the 501 yards of total offense and converting 9-of-15 on third downs turned out to make all the difference in a tight game the defense tried to give away. The Blazer D continues to be a work in progress, struggling in the fourth quarter to hang on, but the offense did its part with one final drive with Ty Long’s 40-yard field goal the biggest moment of the season so far. If nothing else, the win showed that the team is improving.  

Oct. 15 at Tulsa 37 … UAB 20
CFN Analysis: UAB’s offense moved better, but the defense still can’t stop anything on a consistent basis because the line isn’t generating enough pressure and isn’t slowing down the run. Tulsa isn’t exactly a power team, but it was able to bang away without a problem. For all the issues on the line, though, the Blazers got three sacks and were a bit more disruptive than normal, but it wasn’t enough. Bryan Ellis was back under center, and while he only completed 20-of-42 passes, he threw for 280 yards and two scores with Jamarcus Nelson catching two passes for 111 yards and two scores. Against UCF, the O line has to keep playing well in pass protection and has to keep Ellis clean. 

Oct. 8 Mississippi State 21 … at UAB 3
CFN Analysis: UAB did what it could without quarterback Bryan Ellis, but the offense just didn’t work well enough with Jonathan Perry at the helm. He ran well, and Pat Shed did what he could do with 73 yards on 16 carries, but the offense couldn’t do much consistently well to finish off drives. The defense did a great job in the first half against the tough Mississippi State running game, but the secondary that’s been such a disaster couldn’t come up with a key second half stop once MSU’s Tyler Russell came in. It was the team’s best defensive performance of the year, and it was a plus with the high-powered Tulsa offense up next.

Oct. 1 at Troy 24 ... UAB 23
CFN Analysis: UAB held up surprisingly well without quarterback Bryan Ellis to rely on, but Jonathan Perry only completed 19-of-39 passes for 196 yards with a pick. The defense did its part with four takeaways and T.J. Ballou key pick six, but the pass rush is still non-existent and there weren’t any key stops late to hold off the hard-charging Trojans. Everything went UAB’s way, but the running game wasn’t there to close things out. The line has been horrible, but Mississippi State isn’t going to care. Coming off some bad performances, the Bulldogs should be able to pound away on the Blazers. It’s going to be a rough six week stretch until the Memphis game, and it’s going to take something special to come within ten points of anyone until mid–November. 

Sept. 24 at East Carolina 28 … UAB 23
CFN Analysis: UAB can’t catch a break. The one positive was the emerging play of QB Bryan Ellis, and he suffered a scary injury and had to be carted off the field. The defense did its part with seven takeaways, but the pass rush continues to be non-existent and the running game isn’t there. Jamie Bender did what he could defensively with 11 tackles, a pick, two forced fumbles, and a tackle for loss, and Marvin Burdette added 11 tackles, but the offense couldn’t take advantage of all the opportunities. Jonathan Perry will likely run the offense now, and he should be able to run a little bit. 

Sept. 17 Tulane 49 … at UAB 10
CFN Analysis: The Blazer offense hasn’t shown up yet. It’s one thing to have problems against Florida, but it’s another to sputter and cough against a defense that’s fine, but not great. The O line has done a decent job in pass protection, but there’s no running game and the passing game is wildly inefficient. Bryan Ellis has been stunningly awful so far, completing 10-of-25 passes for 145 yards and two picks against the Green Wave, and he’s not getting any help from the ground game. On the plus side, the special teams have been fine, but the offense has to show up and do something, anything, with a date at East Carolina coming up. 

Sept. 10 at Florida 39 ... UAB 0
CFN Analysis: UAB tried several players and worked with several ideas to get the offense moving, and nothing worked. Bryan Ellis only completed 15-of-28 passes for 141 yards, while 11 players combined to run for 71 yards on 23 carries. The Blazers never had the ball, mostly because Ellis failed time and again on third downs converting just 1-of-10 chances. Lamanski Ware did his part defensively with nine tackles and four tackles for loss, but it didn’t matter against a Florida offense that was on fire from the start. Even with the problems, with Tulane up next, everything will change for the better. At least the Blazers will score.
 
The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Kickers. After two big classes and working on the skill positions last year, UAB got a little bit of everything without loading up on any one spot. JUCO transfers Lamar Johnson and Calvin Jones will be used right away in the secondary, and some big prospects, led by the 6-3, 343-pound Uneik Crumbley, are brought in for the line. Apparently, though, one of the big concerns is Josh Zahn, the team’s placekicker who followed up a 14-of-21 2009 with a 7-of-17 field goal 2010 season. Kickers Colin Anderson and Ty Long were brought into provide a challenge. Considering six games last year were decided by five points or fewer, a good kicker is a must.

Five UAB Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Shaquille Roberson
6-4, 220, Scout.com’s 94th ranked outside linebacker

2. TE Kennard Backman
6-3, 218, Scout.com’s 54th ranked tight end

3. OG Uneik Crumbley
6-3, 343 Scout.com’s 81st ranked guard

4. S Lamar Johnson
6-2, 200, two-star JUCO transfer

5. CB Calvin Jones
5-10, 175, two-star JUCO transfer

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Dequindre Adams CB 5-10 175 Fr. Columbus, Ga./Carver
Colin Anderson K 5-10 170 Fr. Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson
Kennard Backman TE 6-3 225 Fr. Austell, Ga./Whitefield Academy
Austin Brown QB 6-1 195 Fr. Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch
Wesley Carter OL 6-4 280 Fr. Purvis, Miss./Purvis
Jewel Christian DT 6-2 290 Jr. Osyka, Miss./SW Mississippi CC
Bashr Coles RB 5-11 180 Fr. Tucker, Ga./Tucker
*Johnny Cockrell SAF/CB 6-0 200 Jr. Columbus, Miss./East Mississippi CC
Keenen Crenshaw OL 6-2 295 Fr. Lewisburg, Tenn./Ensworth Academy
Uneik Crumbley OL 6-3 340 Fr. Americus, Ga./Americus-Sumter
Trey Grissett DE 6-5 230 Fr. Warner Robins, Ga./Houston County
Mickey Jackson DT 6-1 308 Fr. Piedmont, Ala./Piedmont
* Lamar Johnson SAF 6-2 195 Jr. Pascagoula, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
* Calvin Jones SAF 5-10 175 Jr. Petal, Miss./Copiah Lincoln JC
Ty Long K 6-2 180 Fr. Roswell, Ga./Roswell
Hayden Naumann OL 6-5 275 Fr. Decatur, Ala./Decatur
Tyler Peppers DE 6-5 230 Fr. Opelika, Ala./Opelika
Kardeem Poole WR 6-1 180 Fr. Prattville, Ala./Prattville
Darius Powell WR 5-10 180 Fr. Foley, Ala./Foley
Darrin Reaves RB 5-10 190 Fr. Pinson, Ala./Clay-Chalkville
Shaquille Roberson LB 6-4 220 Fr. Camp Hill, Ala./Reeltown
Shawn Samuels DB 6-1 180 Fr. Bainbridge, Ga./Bainbridge
Diaheem Watkins DE 6-4 230 Fr. Brent, Ala./Bibb County
Tevin Wells DT 6-2 285 Jr. Rolling Fork, Miss./Mississippi Delta CC
Daron Wright DT 6-2 255 Fr. Atlanta, Ga./Grady