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2011 Season Outlook
Blazers Anxious To Get New Season Started; Plenty Of Experience Returns, New Leadership On Defense
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or those observers who believe that the results of close games tend to balance out over the long haul, then things are looking up for the UAB Blazers as they head into the 2011 football season. Last season began with a one-point home loss to Florida Atlantic and ended with a five-point road defeat at Rice. In between were four other contests decided by five points or less, plus a home loss to East Carolina when the Blazers led the Pirates with six minutes to go. Yes, there were plenty of close games last fall and unfortunately for UAB and its faithful, the ball didn’t bounce their way in most of those nail-biters. But now with the 2011 season looming, the Blazers have put the disappointment of last fall’s 4-8 record behind them and there is excitement building around the program. Head coach Neil Callaway’s team is looking forward to a fully-stocked scholarship roster for arguably the first time in his tenure. The Blazers return a combined 16 starters on offense (7) and defense (9), including a pair of preseason firstteam All-Conference USA selections in offensive tackle Matt McCants (6-7, 295, Sr.) and defensive tackle Elliott Henigan (6-4, 280, Sr.). Quarterback Bryan Ellis (6-2, 200, Sr.) has experience on his resume now after starting the final nine games of the season and throwing for
2,940 yards and 25 touchdowns. There’s much anticipation on the defensive side of the ball as well as Callaway hired veteran and highly-respected Tommy West as the team’s defensive coordinator last winter. Here are some additional reasons for optimism surrounding the Blazers and the 2011 season: ** Ellis will lead a UAB offense that posted the second-highest yardage total in school history (5,074). He passed for more than 350 yards on four occasions in 2010. ** The Blazers can’t be labeled a pass-happy team, however. Doak Walker Award candidate Pat Shed (5-9, 175, Sr.) made quite an impact last season in his first campaign in the Green and Gold, rushing for 847 yards and setting a UAB record for receptions (47) by a running back. He finished third in the nation in all-purpose yards average (177.1). ** And the offense has a solid foundation up front as McCants and his O-line mates boast an abundance of experience. The Blazers return five offensive linemen who have significant starting experience. ** On defense there is depth and experience at linebacker and in the secondary. Linebacker Marvin Burdette (5-11, 230, Jr.) emerged as one of the best in C-USA at his position in 2010 as 45
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he finished with 114 tackles. Henigan is one of the top defensive linemen in the conference. Offense The Blazers averaged 422 yards per game last season to rank No. 30 in the final NCAA statistics. Heading into 2011, it appears they’ll have plenty of weapons on hand to again put up impressive numbers. And perhaps most importantly, unlike last season when the quarterback situation was undecided until midway through fall camp, this year there’s no disputing who is at the top of the depth chart coming out of spring and heading into the new campaign. Quarterback Ellis became the Blazers’ starter at quarterback in the fourth game of the 2010 season and put up some lofty numbers. He finished the campaign with 2,940 passing yards, hitting at a 56 percent clip. Ellis connected on 25 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions. It was in the third game of the season vs. Troy when Ellis came off the bench and led the Blazers to a thrilling 34-33 victory over the Trojans. He finished with 360 passing yards and three touchdown tosses in the game, including a 44-yard