Team preview: UAB

The Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook previews the 2008 UAB Blazers, exclusively on Insider.

Updated: July 1, 2008, 11:13 AM ET
Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook
Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at the Division I-A teams. To order the complete 2008 edition of Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

(All information as of June 20, 2008)

COACH AND PROGRAM

In the first 15 years of their existence, the UAB Blazers never won fewer than four games in a season. In the last two years, the Blazers have combined to win only five games.

In his 12th year as UAB's coach, Watson Brown led his final team to a 3-9 record and escaped one step ahead of the posse by leaving for Championship Subdivision school Tennessee Tech. In his wake he left a program low on numbers, experience, talent and discipline.

Enter Neil Callaway, a longtime assistant at Georgia, Auburn and Alabama. Callaway immediately raised the standards of expectations for his players in offseason workouts, academics, off-field behavior and spring practice. More than 10 players responded by leaving or flunking out, further depleting the program's sparse roster.

The result was a 2-10 season in which the Blazers won only one game against a Bowl Subdivision opponent. Based on the record alone, it was the worst season in UAB history. Based on some of the developments that aren't reflected by the record, the season wasn't a total loss.


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