The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Practices Indoors Due To Inclement Weather
11/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB football team practiced in shorts and shells for nearly three hours on Tuesday, as the Blazers were moved indoors to work out in Bell Gym due to an incessant rainstorm that plagued the Birmingham area.
"I think that we had a good practice today," said UAB head coach Watson Brown. "I would have preferred to have gone outside, but that's just because we haven't been able to practice outside since Thursday. We lost Sunday due to rain as well, so we're just going to have to make sure that we get some good work in tomorrow."
UAB (4-6, 3-3 Conference USA) heads into Saturday's critical conference matchup against first-time foe USF (6-3, 4-2 C-USA) needing to win its last two games of the regular season to become bowl-eligible. With road victories over USF and Houston, the Blazers would improve to 6-6 on the season and await a possible bowl berth.
The Blazers' Nov. 22 contest will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., at 6 p.m. (CST) and will be televised locally on Charter/Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS). The game has also been picked up as part of this weekend's ESPN Plus package.
Tuesday's workout marked the first time of the 2003 campaign that the UAB football team was forced to practice indoors.
Beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m., the Blazers worked on special teams for a half hour before the coaches turned over Bell Gym to the defense for the 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. time slot. The offense then closed out Tuesday's workout with a closely-drilled final hour of practice time.
"The biggest adjustment that our players had to make in practicing indoors is that they missed a physical day," Brown said. "We can't hit when we practice in here, so we're just going to have to be a little more physical in tomorrow's practice than we normally would on a Wednesday."
Despite the confined interior of Bell Gym as opposed to the UAB Practice Facility, the Blazer coaching staff was able to implement its normal allotment of game planning for both the USF offensive and defensive schemes.
"Our players were able to get a lot from this practice," said Brown. "We were able to get our South Florida game plan in, so I think that we'll be alright. It's late in the year and we have gotten our routine down."
