A UAB Dynasty 2009 (TCY)
 

After winning their first conference title, the Blazers are back and looking for more.

Previous seasons:
UAB 2004
UAB 2005
UAB 2006
UAB 2007
UAB 2008

Quick History of the B.B. Gunn era:

Offseason News and Notes
 

WR LANG LEAVES UAB

WR Matt Lang suffered a degenerative hip condition and has to leave the UAB Blazer program before his eligibility is up. It's unfortunate for the guy. But in football terms, the loss only hurts our depth at WR. Ben Patton has established himself as the guy to go to when we pass (him and TE Dean Snyder).

THE BEAVERS WANT ME

Oregon State, for the second straight year, is trying to get me to go out west. But I'm not moving yet, at least not until the Koehler/McLemore era is over.

No Coaching Moves
 

Unfortunately, there weren't many good replacement candidates out there that were willing to come to UAB, so we're stuck with our defensive coordinator for another year. He should consider this a second chance.

2009 Roster Overview
 

Let's break down the rosters.
McLemore will return as starter, while Weaver will remain the backup. Hurnblad will redshirt, but he'll be good in the future.

Koehler will still be our number one RB. However, it is possible that he gets less carries this year, as Alvin Castillo is a real threat. We're going to utilize both our starting tailbacks a lot. In any case, the Thunder and Lightning era is over. It'll be the Castillo and Lightning era from now on.

Barrows at FB is a no-brainer. We'll definitely be recruiting a FB this year.

Snyder returns at TE (hopefully without injury), while Patton will be the starter at WR.

So far, so good on offense. :)

At C, Peachey returns for his last year here. At G, it'll be Carlisle on the left and true freshman Hutton on the right. This will be the weaker part of the O-line at first, but look for these two guys to improve a lot. At T, it'll be Pietraszak on the left and Downs on the right.

Harper will be the new punter and Garrison will keep his job at kicker.

The offense looks improved! Of course, I'm sticking with the Wishbone. I'm beginning to think we can succeed with that formation here.

Now for the defense (which will be in a 4-3 formation again):
Riffle and Davila will be the starting DEs, while at DT it'll be Welch and new starter Devin Ponder.

It'll be Schroeder and Roosenraad on the outside (Palma will redshirt), while on the inside Guthrie will start over injury-prone McCrory. Cohen was disappointing this spring.

Oh, I was right the first time... Roberson returns. It'll be him and Owens at CB. At S, All-Everything Brenden Springer returns, along with Caban.

We still have a hole in the middle of our defense (ILB) - that worries me. Hopefully Guthrie will improve quickly, and hopefully Cohen will add something in 2010.

UAB Radio Network - 2009 Preview
 

NOLAN: Hey, Birmingham! I'm Skip Nolan, along with Bobby Forbes...

FORBES: UAB class of 2004, baby! This is the 2009 Blazer preview show...

NOLAN: Let's look at the schedule...
NOLAN: First, the non-conference games. Fairbanks comes back to Alabama for the 2nd straight year. UAB should be much improved from that debacle against them last year.

FORBES: Hopefully.

NOLAN: The Arkansas State match should be a win as well, but of course, there's the Buckeyes...

FORBES: As much as I would love to see an upset there, it ain't happening... not in Columbus. This OSU team is stacked.

NOLAN: Now for the C-USA slate... the Blazers play all the heavyweights: Louisville, TCU, Tulane and East Carolina.

FORBES: They beat Tulane and ECU last year, but not Louisville, and they didn't play TCU. I'd say they lose 2 of those.

NOLAN: I agree. As for the rest, they should be able to beat Army and Houston. USF gives the Blazers trouble sometimes...

FORBES: They should be able to beat the Bulls again... that team is down. And for Memphis, that game is always tough, but the Blazers should come out on top as well.

NOLAN: So we're looking at an 8-3 year, 6-2 in conference. Will that be good enough for the conference title?

FORBES: Depends on how well Louisville, TCU and/or Tulane do.

NOLAN: Let's look at the coaches predictions for C-USA:
NOLAN: UAB is 5th... wow, no respect, even though, talentwise, UAB is at least as good as last year.

FORBES: I can see putting us behind Louisville and TCU. And Tulane will be good. But still... at least 3rd.

NOLAN: I think coaches believe that the close games will start to go against the Blazers this year.

FORBES: Let's hope not... let's hope for a good year...

WEEK 1
No game for UAB this week.

C-USA
Southern Miss 28, N.C. State 24
Texas Tech 20, South Florida 17
Tulane 14, Temple 3
TCU 40, Sitka 17

RECRUITING
Same rules apply:
*Due to our conference championship last year, our recruiting radius has been extended to 500 miles. This takes us into Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and deep into Florida.
*A winning season brings us an additional 50 mi. A conference title: +100 miles. An unlikely national title: +200 mi.
*Only those players with over a 1000 SAT score are recruited.

This year, we're going after these positions: RB, FB, WR, C, G, T, DT, ILB, CB, S, K (walk-on).

WEEK 2 PREVIEW:
Fairbanks (0-1) at UAB (0-0)(-4)

If my vote counts, I vote that you just stick with the Blazers and lead them to a National Title. :D

Convert an OLB to ILB?

I like the way your team is looking. Biggest needs look like FB, ILB and CB. I have noticed that some of your senior players look underdeveloped, might want to look for players with better Athletic Prep if you can.

-Jeff

Yep, your vote certainly does. If I can win a national title with UAB, that would be awesome.

Thanks for the advice. You're right - I've certainly neglected Athletic Prep... I'll be paying closer attention to that from now on.

And I've been thinking about taking true freshman Vinny Palma and moving him to ILB and removing his redshirt. We have plenty of good prospective OLBs in this year's recruiting ranks, but no ILBs (like usual). Anyway, I'll have to do that after the first game (already simmed).

I'm still following along!! Go UAB!!

Week 2 Recap
 

UAB 31, Fairbanks 0

BIRMINGHAM - A UAB-record 44,000 fans showed up at Legion Field to see what could be called "The Kim McLemore Show." The sophomore QB became the first Blazer QB to rush for 100 yards (he had 109 total), and he also threw for 279 yards, breaking the previous passing record set by himself, as UAB (1-0) slaughtered Fairbanks (0-2).

"Everything just clicked for me today," McLemore said after the game.

WR Ben Patton had 3 catches for 91 yards. However, the lone TD pass of the game went to RB Juan Koehler, who had a miserable day, by his standards. He had only 3 carries and 24 yards rushing, both career lows. Meanwhile, UAB's much-hyped freshman RB, Alvin Castillo, had only 3 yards on 3 carries.

This begs the question, did McLemore carry the ball himself so much because he was on his game, or because Koehler and Castillo were very much off of theirs? Some are wondering if there's something wrong with Koehler, who usually shines against weak teams like Fairbanks.

Despite the McLemore display, it would be unfair to say that he won the game singlehandedly. UAB's oft-criticized defense answered cynics by shutting out a team for the first time under the B.B. Gunn era.

C-USA - WEEK 2
N.C. State 23, Tulane 20
Nebraska 34, Memphis 7
Cincinnati 21, Kentucky 14
Alabama 21, Southern Miss 16
Bowling Green 40, East Carolina 31

COACHES TOP 25
TCU is in at #24. Meanwhile, UAB actually received a few votes. It's too bad we have to play #11 Ohio State next.

WEEK 3 - PREVIEW
No game for UAB in week 3. An extra week to prepare for the Buckeyes. :)

UAB INJURIES
None whatsoever!

C-USA - WEEK 3
East Carolina 42, Wake Forest 28
Purdue 34, Southern Miss 13
Louisville 42, Texas Tech 24
Arizona State 40, Memphis 24
Fresno State 43, Houston 21


COACHES TOP 25
TCU moves to #22 during an off week. Meanwhile, our next opponent, Ohio State, falls from the rankings after a blowout loss to #6 UCLA.

Week 4 Preview
 

UAB (1-0) at Ohio State(1-1)(-6)
Can UAB do the impossible and win at the Horseshoe? Can they even make it close?

NOTE: I moved OLB true freshman Vinny Palma to ILB to help us out in the middle. He'll see playing time against the Buckeyes.

Week 4 Recap
 

Ohio State 24, UAB 17

COLUMBUS, OH - RB Alvin Castillo had his coming out party, rushing for over 100 yards, but QB Kim McLemore had a terrible day, throwing for 4 picks, as UAB (1-1) went down in Columbus to the Buckeyes (2-1).

Shocking a lot of people, UAB made this game a true contest, holding the lead twice, once in the 2nd quarter and once in the 3rd. But in the end, McLemore's mistakes cost UAB.

"I think he put too much pressure on himself," said FB Tyrell Barrows. "He was trying to live up to what he did in the Fairbanks game. He just needs to relax and be Kim."

Coach B.B. Gunn was nevertheless pleased with the effort. "To come to the horseshoe and keep it competitive like we did, and not get blown out... that shows where we are now. This team is a good team, and they showed it today. We're not on the level of an Ohio State, but as you can see, we're close."

C-USA - WEEK 4
#16 Wisconsin 31, East Carolina 24
Missouri 12, #22 TCU 10
#12 Syracuse 59, Louisville 13
#6 UCLA 56, Cincinnati 13
Tulane 23, LSU 14 (Tulane has OWNED LSU the past 3 years)
Ole Miss 38, Army 16
Miss. State 37, Memphis 31
#17 Bowling Green 37, South Florida 7


COACHES TOP 25
TCU falls out.

WEEK 4 - PREVIEW
Arkansas State (0-2) at UAB (1-1)(-16)

UAB INJURIES

Week 5 Recap
 

UAB 36, Arkansas State 31

BIRMINGHAM - UAB overcame a horrible 1st quarter to rally and get the victory here at Legion Field.

Arkansas State (0-3) would take a 14-0 lead by the last minute of the 1st quarter. The next 50 seconds would be wacky, as on the next kickoff, Bart Roberson fumbled as he was being tackled on the kickoff return. ASU took it into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

On UAB's next valid play after that, QB Kim McLemore threw an interception that was returned for a TD. Like that, UAB was down 28-0.

Amazingly, UAB (2-1) didn't let that get them down, as they went ahead and dominated the next 3 quarters. They finally took the lead in the 4th quarter, when Jake Garrison's field goal kick made it 29-28. ASU would regain the lead later, 31-29. Then with less than 2 minutes remaining, FB Tyrell Barrows ran in the winning TD.

"This team blows my mind," said TE Dean Snyder, the Game MVP. "We didn't give up after being down 28-0, and we ended up winning. Amazing."

C-USA - WEEK 5
Army 28, Cincinnati 0
TCU 27, East Carolina 21
Tulane 35, Houston 7
Louisville 31, Southern Miss 10


COACHES TOP 25

WEEK 6 - PREVIEW
UAB (2-1) at Louisville (2-1)(-6) - TV5
The first conference game for the Blazers. Their only C-USA loss last year was to the Cardinals. Can UAB pull off the shocker?

UAB INJURIES

RECRUITING
I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago, due to an earlier suggestion, I reassessed my recruiting strategy, and am now only going after players in the radius with a 1000 SAT and at least a 50 Athletic Prep.

Now, for our first recruit of 2009:
Our OL will be strong, thanks to this tackle.

NOTE: It turns out that Alvin Castillo has only a 3 in endurance, causing havoc in my game planning. I decided to move him to FB.

Week 6 Recap
 

UAB 42, Louisville 34

LOUISVILLE - In front of a regional TV audience, UAB (3-1) avenged the only C-USA loss they had last year by defeating the Cardinals (2-2) in Louisville.

UAB held the lead for most of this one, but it was a close match for a while. Louisville had more yards by far in this one, thanks to a 465-yard passing performance. What eventually did Louisville in were the penalties and turnovers that they had.

Juan Koehler was the Game MVP. "Lightning" is quickly making people forget about his horrible Fairbanks game.

Meanwhile, people heard a bit of "Thunder" today, as Mercury Razo made his first 2009 start, replacing Alvin Castillo. The RB has 22 yards rushing and a TD, while also receiving for 22 yards and a TD. Castillo, in his first game as starting FB, did not have a carry.

C-USA - WEEK 6
Colorado 19, Houston 3
Sitka 30, Army 3
TCU 38, Cincinnati 3
East Carolina 41, Memphis 14
Tulane 31, South Florida 3


COACHES TOP 25
The better Ohio State does, the better our 24-17 loss to them looks.

WEEK 7 - PREVIEW
Tulane (4-1)(-1) at UAB (3-1) - TV3
These two good C-USA teams will meet in front of a large regional TV audience. A win here would probably establish UAB as the team to beat in C-USA.

UAB INJURIES

Week 7 Recap
 

UAB 10, Tulane 7

BIRMINGHAM - UAB won its third straight game, defeating the Green Wave (4-2) in a game devoid of any offense.

The Blazers (4-1) won the game by going to the air, passing for more yardage than Tulane, a team better suited to taking to the air.

51,500 fans attended the game at Legion Field, breaking the previous record set earlier this year against Fairbanks. Looks like the Wishbone is beginning to make noise in Birmingham.

C-USA - WEEK 7
Army 17, TCU 9 (WOW)
Cincinnati 38, Southern Miss 27
Houston 17, South Florida 10
Memphis 28, Louisville 13

UAB and Army play next week.

COACHES TOP 25

WEEK 8 - PREVIEW
Army (2-2) at UAB (4-1)(-15) - TV4
This is a game for first place in the conference? UAB will take it. Army is 2-0 in C-USA, including a surprising win over TCU last week. They've had to win by defense; their run-and-shoot offense has been terrible. They're good at limiting rushes by opposing teams - not a good sign for UAB.

UAB INJURIES
The Snyder injury is devastating... we were hoping for a big senior year from him. Now his career has prematurely ended.

RECRUITING
3 more recruits:
Brewer is our FB of the future and near future. McCormick is the latest in a line of great RBs at UAB, and Mueller will be a great replacement for Peachey.

Nice run!!

Davila is damn consistent in the pass rush.

What a great history! I have gone back to 2004 and followed it to here. Good stuff all the way around! Thanks for the work!

I haven't given up on the Blazers just yet... it's just that things are hectic here in the real world.


Thank you for the comment!

UAB 27, Army 21

BIRMINGHAM - Juan Koehler had another big game with 178 yards and a TD, and the Blazers came from behind in the 2nd half to defeat Army 27-21 to take sole possession of first place in C-USA.

QB Kim McLemore, who had trouble running the offense early on, let his emotions get the best of him. He shot the finger at UAB fans who were booing his performance, earning McLemore an ejection. Backup QB Seth Weaver came in and did a good job, playing an important role in UAB's (5-1) second half comeback.

WOOHOO! UAB is BACK!! :)

C-USA - WEEK 8
Houston 27, Cincinnati 17
East Carolina 59, Southern Miss 24
Tulane 20, Louisville 14
South Florida 52, Memphis 24


COACHES TOP 25

Yes, indeed! :) Hopefully there will be no more 2 month layoffs.

WEEK 9 - PREVIEW
UAB (5-1)(-12) at South Florida (1-4)

UAB INJURIES

RECRUITING
4 more recruits:
Burroughs will add to our evolving history of great safeties. Kimbrell will definitely add to our OL, and Bernhardt and Strong will make great backups.

UAB 27, South Florida 6

TAMPA - In a place where UAB often has trouble playing, they didn't have much trouble today. UAB (6-1) won its 11th straight conference game as they dominated USF (1-5).

The win was perhaps the first "true" Thunder-and-Lightning game. Star tailback Juan Koehler had a monster day: 188 yards and 2 TDs. Meanwhile, Mercury Razo had 52 yards and a rushing TD. QB Kim McLemore, in his first game since being ejected against Army, went 11-16 for 123 yards and didn't throw a pick.

UAB is now bowl eligible for the second straight year. They have a big test coming up against East Carolina next week in Birmingham.

C-USA - WEEK 9
Army 59, Memphis 16
Louisville 19, Cincinnati 10
TCU 31, Houston 10


COACHES TOP 25

WEEK 10 - PREVIEW
East Carolina (3-3) at UAB (6-1)(-6) - TV5

UAB INJURIES
No new developments.

RECRUITING
A new recruit:
CB Peter Devore
5-9, 167
Fort Smith, AR (Southside)
Rating: 89+ (Ath Prep: 58)

A blue-chipper indeed. The biggest recruit of the class of 2009. Our secondary continues to improve.