Coming off a 31-0 victory against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, the UAB Blazers come to Athens this Saturday to take on our Georgia Bulldogs at 3:30 EST. The Blazers are led by head coach Bill Clark, who was hired before the 2014 season. After Clark's first season, the UAB football program was discontinued in December 2014, based on questionable projections which assumed the program was not financially viable as a forward looking enterprise, among other things (see the link above which contains a detailed account of the situation as told by Alex Kirshner).
The program was reinstated the following summer, but did not play in the 2015 or 2016 seasons. Remarkably, Clark has led the Blazers to a winning record in each season since the program began play again in 2017, with an overall record of 34-16 and two C-USA championships. The significance of this accomplishment cannot be overlooked, and, if nothing else, you can count on a well coached team showing up in Athens this weekend. But you should count on more than that.
High level hitters
According to SP+, UAB is the 48th ranked team in the country, rising 20 spots in the rankings after week 1. SP+ is a rating system created by ESPN's Bill Connelly which is, "a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.....that is intended to be predictive and forward-facing". On a side note, Bill Connelly is the reason that I signed up for an ESPN+ account and I highly recommend his content.
Based on the 247 Team Talent Composite, UAB has the 88th most talented roster in the country.
After week 1, UAB's SP+ ranking is well ahead of its place in the team talent rankings. Long season ahead, but, if that trend holds, it means UAB's coaches are doing a hell of a job.... which should not come as a surprise.
As a point of reference, UGA has the 2nd most talented roster in the country according to the 247 Team Talent Composite. The Dawgs come in to this game ranked 2nd in SP+ after the shootout victory over Clemson (ranked 6th in SP+) last week.
Offense
Bryant Vincent is the offensive coordinator for UAB, which enters Saturday ranked 95th in offensive SP+. UAB pulled away in the 2nd half against Jacksonville State, but it was a 0-0 game halfway through the 2nd quarter.
UAB has a redshirt senior QB in Tyler Johnston III (13-5 as a starter) and three experienced running backs, which it will lean on this Saturday. Against JSU, UAB used jumbo sets with 6 offensive linemen on a number of occasions, and ran the ball on 62% of its plays (might be skewed because UAB built a big lead in the 2nd half, but nonetheless I believe this is a run first offensive philosophy). UAB uses play action and pre-snap motions very effectively, and had multiple large gains resulting from creative play designs against JSU (see below, and sorry that the video links open in a new window. I will figure out these technical difficulties).
Offensive Line
The UAB offensive line is deep and experienced. Per Evan Dudley of AL.com, UAB returns 7 players on the offensive line with starting experience. Kadeem Telfort is a former Florida Gator.... thought I'd throw that out there, in case you were looking for someone to cheer against.
The UAB OL only allowed 4 sacks during the 2020 season, and the team averaged 200 yards rushing per game according to the UAB football team website.
I don't know if it will work well, but UAB will try to run the ball early on Saturday behind its experienced OL. After watching the Bulldogs' 7 sack performance against Clemson, I am sure UAB will do all it can to avoid obvious passing situations.
UAB WR/RB
Trea Shropshire had a quiet 2020 season until the C-USA championship game, in which he had 5 catches for 180 yards and a TD. He continued the positive production trend in week 1 of 2021, with 5 catches for 128 yards and a TD.
Rajae Johnson-Sanders is a former JUCO All-American coming into his 3rd season at UAB. His production has been limited so far, but he has great size (listed at 6-4, 215), and his athleticism is on display in the clip below.
Junior RB Jermaine Brown Jr. has 774 yards on 163 carries (4.7 YPC) in his UAB career. Brown shares carries with RB DeWayne McBride, who gained 439 yards on 47 carries (9.3 YPC) as a true freshman.
Ryan Davis is a redshirt sophomore wide receiver out of Roswell, GA (former Blessed Trinity Titan for those who care), who had a nice first half against JSU. I am contractually obligated to shout out any metro ATL kids that play out of state.
UAB Defense/Special Teams
After week 1, the UAB defense is ranked 12th in the country in defensive SP+ and is the strength of the team. Head coach Bill Clark's background is on the defensive side of the ball...... does this sound familiar? The UAB defense is legitimate and has a ton of experience. I won't pretend to know every defensive player on their squad, but I have highlighted a few below.
Senior Kristopher Moll (listed at 6'2, 215 lbs) was a 2019 and 2020 First Team C-USA selection at linebacker, and moved to safety before this season began. In his career, Moll has 223 tackles, 13 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions.
The rest of the UAB defensive backfield has good size, significant playing experience, and multiple members (TD Marshall, Dy'Jonn Turner, and Will Boler) have received All C-USA defensive team accolades.
Senior defensive tackle Tyree Turner (listed at 6'1, 290 lbs) has 151 tackles and 10.5 sacks in his playing career.
Senior linebacker Noah Wilder has 135 tackles, 15 TFLs, and 5 sacks in his UAB career. He was named a 2020 Second Team C-USA selection.
Junior Antonio Moultrie was a 2020 Second Team C-USA selection as a defensive linemen, and has made the transition to OLB after cutting 25 pounds in the off season, according to AL.com
Final thoughts
Multiple outlets have reported that Carson Beck will be the starting QB for UGA on Saturday, in what will be his first meaningful game action as a Bulldog. Mr. Beck is facing off against a talented defensive unit which consists almost entirely of upperclassmen. I expect that Coach Todd Monken will protect Beck by leaning on our rushing attack early. All of Bulldog Nation hopes to avoid a repeat of last year's opener against Arkansas, which saw a new QB struggle. Good thing we have the Mailman waiting patiently in case things go poorly against UAB......just a joke, RELAX Y'ALL.
There may be a few bumps along the way, but I expect Beck will settle in. Who knows, maybe even pull a Jake Fromm and take JTD's spot! UAB's offensive line is excellent, but I am certain they have never seen anything like the front 7 they will face on Saturday. And while the UAB defense is currently ranked as a borderline elite unit by SP+, Beck has had the privilege of facing UGA's defensive unit in practice for the past 18 months since he enrolled. I don't expect that Beck will be fazed, and I believe the Dawgs win by 17 or more.
Official tangent of the week
The SMU football program was the last major NCAA team to be handed the "death penalty". Unlike UAB, which received the death penalty from its own Athletic Department, SMU's was handed down by the NCAA. It was a completely different situation related to recruiting violations (paying players in an era when allowing "amateur" athletes to capitalize on their highly marketable skills was considered an unforgivable). The SMU program was forced to cancel the 1987 season, and never regained the success it had previously experienced. For comparison's sake, UAB had to cancel both the 2015 and 2016 seasons..... and did not skip a beat. It's pretty incredible, and a testament to the strong culture that Bill Clark has created at UAB.
Go Dawgs