UAB Blazers College Football Pregame Quote, 08/31/2020

This is not a normal Monday for us. It is sort of a quasi-Wednesday. We have kind of been looking at last week as preparation for game week. Central Arkansas is a really quality opponent. Coach Brown and that group, you got to see them Saturday night, they’re what we thought. They are talented across the board. Their special teams was outstanding. They have good specialists, probably some of the top in the FCS. They cover well. They do all the little things. From what I could see on their sideline, it looked like they had great organization. They had nine wins last year. Six of those were comeback wins in the fourth quarter. Three of those were double-digit wins. Here we go again with a game where they came back at the very end again, which tells you about those guys. Defensively, they’re really sound. They play the run really well. They pursue well. I was really impressed with their defense. Offensively, you have a quarterback who led the league in touchdown throws last year. You have two NFL-type receivers on the outside. Both of them are unbelievable with a lot of others around them. And then you have a head coach who was their leading yardage guy as a quarterback. Their offensive coordinator was a quarterback there. It reminds me of Jacksonville State. When it’s your home and alma mater, it is going to be a big deal to you on how you play and how you do. They have a nationally-ranked program, so we are expecting a battle on Thursday.

On paying for Central Arkansas’ hotel and testing:

It was everything. It was what it took to get the deal done. Mark (Ingram) and I talked about those things early on. We said we were going to do what it takes to get a game. It also tells you about those guys, that they were going to find a way to play games. It is important to them. It’s important to their school. They want to be safe. Obviously, they were already testing and our medical folks tested them yesterday. It is a great peace of mind for all of us. We are going to do it the right way. We did what we needed to do to get them here. It was the right thing to do and it tells you a lot about them that they are ready to play.

On visiting the Civil Rights Institute:

Since everything that has happened and all of the things going on in our country, we have been talking about that we really feel like we are a family. We are united. We use the word ‚Äúlove‚Äù all the time. I think we are sitting in this, I won’t say bubble, but I kind of consider Birmingham that way. This is a place that went through terrible times in its past, but now I think, on the other side, what a great place to live and be. For our guys, with social media being the way it is, things that might have happened on the other side of the country feel like they are close to you. Reality and perception: they’re all the same thing. When I see our guys worried or scared, or feeling a certain way, I feel like we need to maybe even make a statement. That’s what we wanted to do. We paused practice the other day for that. I love this country. I love our city. I love our state. That is what we talk to our players all the time about. At the same time, when something is going on that is hurting them, we want to recognize it. We were going to do a park cleanup and go to the Civil Rights Institute, and even go to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame back in the early summer. We were going to get minority-owned businesses involved with food trucks, but COVID-19 just shut it down. For us, we wanted to make a little bit of a statement that we are together. Maybe we get that out because we talk about it all the time. For us to go to the Civil Rights Institute, they made it happen for us. I called the mayor and he immediately said, ‚ÄòCoach, what do we have to do to make this happen?’ They took their Sunday and came in for us. That’s not an easy thing to go through. It’s not an easy thing to see these things. I am a history major, so I am a part of this. For our players to see it and go through it together, I think it is going to make us better. It makes us more united. It was also a statement, with practice going on, that we took time to go to the Civil Rights Institute – which is Birmingham. It was a tough thing but a good thing. I think our players were very appreciative.

On playing a game that was scheduled 15 days in advance:

It’s hard. Moving forward, you will have a team that has played and you have played, so we will at least have had a chance to look at them. For New Mexico State and Alabama A&M, that is the stuff that we were doing on these Zoom calls back in May and June. I know they were doing the same thing as us. We had folders and notebooks full of things. Now, we get this new opponent. The one good thing is they were like us. They were scrambling. We had to swap film and all that. You had to go with what you had. It made it a little tougher.

On defending the 18-game home winning streak:

It’s a topic that comes up a lot. There are two questions. One: is that putting pressure on them? And two: do you say something or do you not. I have always chosen to say something. We are not going to win championships if we don’t talk about it. We are not going to be undefeated at home if we don’t expect it and put the work in. It doesn’t happen because we put a jersey on and walk in that building. We have a bullseye. Every team that comes in wants to be the team that broke that streak. Don’t think they aren’t talking about that too. It cuts both ways. For us, we are proud of that. It is a point of pride and it should make us play that much harder and prepare that much better. We talk about it.

LT Colby Ragland 

On visiting the Civil Rights Institute:

It made me feel heard. It made me feel excited. It was a heartfelt experience learning about all the rich history about civil rights in Birmingham itself. I knew a lot that I learned in school, but I am thankful that Coach Clark and the rest of the staff took time out of their day, as well as the people that work at the Civil Rights Institute who took time out of their Sunday, so that we could share that experience together. There was a lot of camaraderie between me and my teammates just getting the conversation going and seeing it, because a lot of times we talk about it, but seeing the actual history and knowing things that happened. It comes down to, not race, but what is right and wrong and how can you change it. I was thankful. I was excited. I loved the experience. I plan on going back soon and I am thankful for it.

On the UCA defensive line:

I respect them. We watched a lot of film and we know that (J.W. Jones) makes a lot of plays. He had around eight tackles the other night. He came up really big for them. He is definitely a guy that we keep an eye on. He is definitely one of their main guys on that defense.

On the sense of urgency for the season:

With everything going on, you never really know if it could be your last game or if you could miss a few games, especially with COVID-19 and everything else going on in the world. It is easy to lose focus of being on the football team and the goal of going out there and winning a championship. Our coaches do a great job of letting us know what they know about what is going on. They let us know that we are not alone and that we can talk to them if we ever feel overwhelmed or just want to get some things off our chest. I am thankful for them. I am glad that we have that. It kind of eases it a little bit and makes it feel normal.

QB Tyler Johnston III

On watching the Central Arkansas-Austin Peay game in preparation:

I had about four or five teammates in there wearing masks watching. I saw a good defense. They have good DBs and good linemen. They are good all around. I was watching to see what formations they go through and to see how they play. They played hard, them and Austin Peay. It is exciting to see a team that we are about to play. We are tired of hitting each other and ready to play somebody else.

On the week of practice for the offensive unit:

We want to focus on coming together and taking it from practice to the game. We have to come in and play together and not have so many mistakes. We have to just take penalties and everything else away too.

On being the first FBS team to kick off the season:

We have to go in and play them. It’s exciting. When you get to play on national TV, you have to be ready to go. I don’t know how it’s going to work with the fans in the stadium. Everybody is watching on TV. It’s the first game and it’s the fun of the game.

LB Kris Moll

On playing the first game:

We have been waiting for this. We weren’t sure that we were going to play this season. We have been working hard just in case we did play. We were hoping to play and now that they have given us the confirmation, we get to play at Legion Field the first game in front of all of Birmingham while everybody has been at home relaxing waiting for football. I am really excited.

On preparing for the UCA offensive:

They’re a good team. They play hard. Their whole team, overall, is good. Anybody can win. They play really hard. We have to come out and play. We have to set the tone from the start.

On the potential of the Blazer defense:

I feel great coming into this season. I don’t have to worry as much about other players, so I can focus on myself. I feel like we have a great team. We can play and compete against anybody. I am ready to see the numbers we can put up.