2012 UAB: A look back

Alabama Birmingham Blazers (3-9, 2-6 CUSA)

2012 Season:
Lost to Troy 39-29
Lost to South Carolina 49-6
Lost to Ohio State 29-15

Lost to Tulsa 49-42
Beat SE Louisiana 52-3
Lost to Houston 39-17
Lost to East Carolina 42-35
Lost to Tulane 55-45
Beat Southern Miss 29-17
Beat Marshall 38-31
Lost to Memphis 46-9
Lost to UCF 49-24

With reasonably high hopes going into the 2012 season, the UAB Blazers saw a nightmare season unfold in going 3-9 with only 2 Conference USA wins on the season. 2012 saw the Blazers start the season with a thrilling 39-29 loss to Sun Belt foe Troy in a game that could have went their way if a few breaks occurred differently. After that close loss, the Blazers were taken to the woodshed by a very talented South Carolina team in losing 49-6 in a game that wasn't even that close. The Blazers followed that loss with a trip to Ohio State and a 14-point loss in the Horseshoe that was a one-possession game till the very end. The Blazers then played very well in a 7-point loss to Conference USA winners Tulsa in the conference opener. After a confidence building win over SE Louisiana by the score of 52-3, the Blazers went on a 3-game conference losing streak and faced Southern Miss with a paltry record of 1-7. The Blazers did go on a bit of a streak beating Southern Miss and Marshall before falling badly to Memphis and UCF to end the season at 3-9.

TEAM STATISTICS	UAB	OPP
SCORING	339	450
Points Per Game	28.2	37.5
FIRST DOWNS	270	259
Rushing	93	111
Passing	150	129
Penalty	27	19
RUSHING YARDAGE	1323	2192
Yards gained rushing	1790	2449
Yards lost rushing	467	257
Rushing Attempts	416	477
Average Per Rush	3.2	4.6
Average Per Game	110.2	182.7
TDs Rushing	19	33
PASSING YARDAGE	3706	2935
Comp-Att-Int	279-479-13	232-356-6
Average Per Pass	7.7	8.2
Average Per Catch	13.3	12.7
Average Per Game	308.8	244.6
TDs Passing	21	22
TOTAL OFFENSE	5029	5127
Total Plays	895	833
Average Per Play	5.6	6.2
Average Per Game	419.1	427.2
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards	33-687	32-816
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards	26-261	22-358
INT RETURNS: #-Yards	6-71	13-164
KICK RETURN AVERAGE	20.8	25.5
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE	10.0	16.3
INT RETURN AVERAGE	11.8	12.6
FUMBLES-LOST	22-14	16-12
PENALTIES-Yards	87-761	70-680
Average Per Game	63.4	56.7
PUNTS-Yards	52-2239	53-2042
Average Per Punt	43.1	38.5
Net punt average	33.5	33.2
KICKOFFS-Yards	65-4104	82-5093
Average Per Kick	63.1	62.1
Net kick average	45.3	40.6
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game	30:46	29:14
3RD-DOWN Conversions	70/177	70/161
3rd-Down Pct	40%	43%
4TH-DOWN Conversions	10/28	3/12
4th-Down Pct	36%	25%
SACKS BY-Yards	20-118	42-313
MISC YARDS	0	36
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED	43	57
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS	14-17	15-20
ON-SIDE KICKS	4-6	0-1
RED-ZONE SCORES	(38-45) 84%	(52-58) 90%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS	(29-45) 64%	(40-58) 69%
PAT-ATTEMPTS	(39-41) 95%	(53-55) 96%

Offense: 

Departing:

The Blazers lose three incredibly important players from the 2012 season to graduation in wide receivers Nick Adams and Patrick Hearn as well as 1st team All-Conference USA tackle Chris Hubbard. Adams and Hearn combined for 87 catches and 1284 yards receiving as well as 5 touchdowns on the season as the #2 and #3 leading receivers for the Blazers. Hubbard was excellent during his senior season making all-conference at the tackle position and making starts in the final 24 games of his college career. Tackle Cody Payne will be easier to replace in 2013 after making 4 starts for the Blazers during a somewhat disappointing senior season for the massive tackle.  Running back Dontavius Jackson played sparingly with 21 carries in 9 games but was a serviceable special teams player for UAB during the 2012 season.

• #04 Dontavius Jackson RB 5-10 214 SR FRANKLIN, GA--9 games played. 21 carries for 44 yards and 1 TD.
• #06 Joe Bento QB 6-2 210 SR THE WOODLANDS, TX--2 games played. 0-1 passing.
• #12 Nick Adams WR 6-2 205 SR WALTERBORO, SC--12 games played. 45 catches for 656 yards and 2 TD.
• #16 Patrick Hearn WR 6-1 203 SR QUITMAN, MS--10 games played. 42 catches for 628 yards and 3 TD.
• #27 D'Andre Mostella RB 5-8 188 SR DANVILLE, VA
• #45 Sam Accursio TE 6-1 245 SR HOMESTEAD, FL--11 games played. 11 catches for 88 yards and 2 TD.
• #74 Chris Hubbard OL 6-4 285 SR COLUMBUS, GA--1st team All-CUSA in 2012.
• #79 Cody Payne T 6-6 275 SR WEST PALM BEACH, FL--Made 4 starts in 2012.

Returning:

While losing a true road grater on the offensive line to graduation, UAB returns their leading passer, leading rusher, and leading receiver to an offense that was very impressive in stretches last fall. Quarterback Austin Brown threw for over 2600 yards with 15 touchdowns in a surprisingly effective redshirt freshman season that saw him complete 205 passes in 12 games played. Upcoming senior Jonathan Perry played well as the backup with 1033 yards of passing and 6 touchdowns in limited backup duty behind Brown. Perry will push Brown for playing time in 2013 although Brown should get the majority of the snaps behind center. The Blazers are lucky to have a solid running back returning in sophomore Darrin Raves who broke the 1000 yards rushing barrier with 86.4 yards per game and a healthy 4.8 yards per carry average. Reaves also had 41 catches for 302 yards placing him 4th on the team in receptions. Reaves should improve to 1200 or more yards rushing while being primarily backed up by upcoming sophomore Bashr Coles and upcoming senior Greg Franklin. The two combined for 442 yards and 3 touchdowns in backup rushing duties . Upcoming senior wide receiver Jackie Williams returns after a 2012 season that saw the 5-11 receiver catch 52 passes for nearly 800 yards but only 1 touchdown on the season. Williams must find the end zone more as the #1 receiver of the Blazer offense. Flanking Williams is Jay Davis, Kennard Backman, and Jamarcus Nelson who all had 22+ receptions and a combined 10 touchdowns for the Blazers in 2012. Despite losing 2 solid if not great offensive linemen to graduation, the Blazers have a great young group of players on the line. Freshman Cameron Blankenship made the final 9 starts of the season at guard and was very impressive as a true freshman. Upcoming senior Kaycee Ike made all 12 starts at the tackle spot giving UAB 12 game starters at both tackle spots last fall. JUCO transfer Billy Autrey made 7 starts at center during his junior year and will give much needed experience in the middle of the line with 5 different players making starts at the other guard position throughout the 2012 season.

Defense:

Departing:

UAB only loses 4 players from the defense to graduation but they are some huge losses with 2 starting linebackers needing to be replaced. Linebacker Marvin Burdette lead the nation during the 2012 season with 13.08 tackles per game for a total of 157 on the season and scored on two safeties as the heart and soul of the Blazer defense. Flanking him was fellow senior Greg Irvin who added 72 tackles of his own with 7.5 going for losses and 2 fumble recovers making him part of one of the best linebacker duos in the nation. The secondary loses two 30+ tacklers in safety Lamar Johnson and cornerback Cornelius Richards. Richards made 10 starts while Johnson made 2 starts but playing significant minutes on the Blazer defense. Other than those 4 players and a combined 294 tackles, the Blazers are not really losing much from the 2012 defense.

• #06 Lamar Johnson S 6-2 205 SR PASCAGOULA, MS--32 tackles. 2 interceptions.
• #07 Greg Irvin LB 5-11 218 SR DEMOPOLIS, AL--72 tackles, 7.5 for loss. 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries.
• #28 Cornelius Richards CB 6-1 179 SR NORTHPORT, AL--33 tackles, 1 for loss. 1 sack, 1 interception. 
• #34 Daniel White LB 6-2 234 SR APOPKA, FL
• #38 Santonio Jones LB 5-11 220 SR HEIDELBERG, MS
• #41 Landon Nolen S 5-9 178 SR PLEASANT GROVE, AL
• #43 Marvin Burdette LB 5-11 230 SR BATESVILLE, MS--157 tackles, 13 for loss. 2 sacks, 1 interception. 2 safeties.

Returning:

Replacing a duo of linebackers that combined for 228 tackles is tough to do but the Blazers return 11 players that had 20 or more tackles in 2012 led by safety Calvin Jones and his 71 tackles. Fellow safety Jake Ganus added 63 tackles but only 1 interception with cornerback Lamarcus Farmer and and linebacker Patrick Bastien adding a combined 83 tackles. Watkins, Brackett, Jones, Slaughter, Scott, Walton and Morris all will be integral parts of the Blazer defense after solid 2012 campaigns. Expect Bastien to step up and make 80+ tackles while it is yet to be seen if anyone can fill the shoes of Burdette and his 157 tackles as a senior.

Special Teams:

Departing:

None of the kickers or punters will be lost to graduation but integral long snapper Taylor Klein will be missed on the punts and kicks of 2012. Klein was never spectacular but did an important but ignored service to the Blazer special teams.

•  #61 Taylor Klein LS 5-11 220 SR LEXINGTON, KY

Returning:

The Blazers return a solid special teams roster for 2013 led by sophomore kicker Ty Long. Long was 14-17 on field goal attempts going 7-7 from inside 40 yards and 7-10 from 40+ yards with a long of 54 yards on the season. Long became a weapon for the Blazers from inside 40 and could be one of the nation's best kickers if he can improve his accuracy from 50+ yards. Long also kicked off with exactly half of his 64 kickoffs being downed for touchbacks forcing opponents to travel the full length of the field to score on the Blazers. With Long handling the kicking duties, fellow sophomore Hunter Mullins was very impressive in 2012 with a 44.8 yards per punt average but a horrible 33.5 net punting average. The punt coverage team must be shored up for a more successful 2013 season. The return game was average for the Blazers with 10 yards per punt return and 20 yards per kickoff return but touchdowns on either return opportunty.

Coaching:

Head coach Garrick McGee struggled to a 3-9 season in his first year as a college football head coach after stints at Langston, Jacksonville (NFL), Toledo, UNLV, Northwestern, and Arkansas. McGee is only 39 years old and may be looking at this job as a stepping stone to eventually take over the Oklahoma program from Stoops one day. McGee is an up and coming coach that will struggle to prove himself with a program such as UAB that just doesnt have the resources of and Oklahoma or Arkansas.

Overall:

A 3-9 record is never a good thing although the Blazers started a redshirt freshman at quarterback and gave some quality teams such as Tulsa and Ohio State quite a game. The disappointment for the Blazers was the inability to turn those close losses into anything positive with all 3 wins coming versus sub .500 teams or FCS teams in SE Louisiana, Southern Miss and Marshall. The Blazers must play better versus the upper conference foes and pull off an upset or two for UAB to get some respect on the recruiting trail in order to bring in a higher quality player on average. Expect another rough season in this transition of a young coach into a true leadership role.