The big 2014 UAB football preview: Bill Clark takes on the impossible

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1. A steep, uphill battle

Eight wins in three years, and an average of 3.9 per year since 2004. Worst home attendance in nearly two decades. No momentum for a new stadium and a move out of cavernous, outdated Legion Field. An adversarial relationship between students and trustees. Stiff (and well-coached) competition from a new up-and-comer in state.

No program is completely hopeless; any team is just one hire away from some level of success. But some jobs are a whole lot harder than others, and among the FBS ranks, few jobs are more difficult than UAB.

It has become a bit of a résumé killer in recent years. Neil Callaway coached the Blazers from 2007-11 and was fired; his next job was as WKU's offensive line coach. After two years on the job, his successor, Garrick McGee, bailed to become Louisville's offensive coordinator, avoiding his résumé falling into disrepair.

In the absence of greatness, you aim for moments. In the absence of moments, you aim for hope. And at UAB, it has become increasingly difficult to muster even that. But every coaching hire is an opportunity to find a program savior, and any program can be saved.

2. If anybody can get the job done ...

... it might be Bill Clark.

Clark is an Alabama lifer. He was born in Anniston, Ala., and attended nearby Jacksonville State. He has been a football coach since 1990, holding the following jobs: Alabama high school assistant, Alabama high school defensive coordinator, Alabama high school defensive coordinator, Alabama high school defensive coordinator, Alabama high school head coach, South Alabama defensive coordinator, Jacksonville State head coach, UAB head coach.

He won 106 games and two 6A state titles in nine seasons as the head coach of Prattville High School, then won 11 more games last year at JSU. Clark's 2013 JSU squad set 49 school records. The Gamecocks scored quickly and frequently, killed opponents on the ground, and scored the first two playoff wins in school history.

Clark hasn't been a college head coach for very long, but if it takes an Alabama guy to win at UAB, the 45-year-old Clark is as Alabama as they come.

2013 Schedule & Results

Record: 2-10 | Adj. Record: 0-12 | Final F/+ Rk: 115
Date	Opponent	Opp. F/+ Rk	Score	W-L	Adj. Score	Adj. W-L	5-gm Adj. Avg.
31-Aug	at Troy	105	31-34	L	26.8 - 36.1	L
7-Sep	at LSU	17	17-56	L	19.0 - 35.6	L
21-Sep	Northwestern State	N/A	52-28	W	26.7 - 39.3	L
28-Sep	at Vanderbilt	50	24-52	L	27.1 - 49.1	L
5-Oct	Florida Atlantic	73	23-37	L	33.6 - 41.5	L	-13.7
12-Oct	at Florida International	125	27-24	W	24.7 - 49.7	L	-16.8
26-Oct	at UTSA	67	31-52	L	38.6 - 42.8	L	-14.4
2-Nov	Middle Tennessee	85	21-24	L	27.1 - 35.7	L	-13.6
9-Nov	at Marshall	52	14-56	L	38.4 - 58.4	L	-13.2
16-Nov	at East Carolina	40	14-63	L	27.5 - 41.8	L	-14.4
21-Nov	Rice	69	34-37	L	26.6 - 31.3	L	-10.4
30-Nov	Southern Miss	120	27-62	L	27.2 - 54.4	L	-15.0

Category	Offense	Rk	Defense	Rk	Spec. Tms.	Rk
F/+	-4.8%	78	-23.9%	121	-0.1%	71
Points Per Game	26.3	82	43.8	121
Adj. Points Per Game	28.6	62	43.0	124

3. Is it any wonder why Clark signed 14 JUCOs?

Clark is not wasting time. Sixty-four percent of his first UAB recruiting class comes from the JUCO ranks. He inherited a situation in need of an immediate, drastic talent upgrade, and he attempted to deliver just that.

Recruiting a large number of JUCO transfers is risky; if they don't work out, they prevent you from developing five-year depth. Sometimes new hires in tough jobs take the long road, committing to high school recruits and sacrificing a couple of years of poor play for success in Years 3 through 5. (Example: Doug Martin at NMSU.) Others are willing to attempt a few shortcuts. (Example: Paul Petrino at Idaho.)

Risk or not, it's not hard to see why Clark felt the need to go this route. UAB was mostly hopeless at the start of Garrick McGee's second season, and the Blazers became completely hopeless amid a crushing wave of defensive injuries and attrition.

Adj. Points Per Game (first 3 games): Opponent 37.0, UAB 24.2 (minus-12.8)
Adj. Points Per Game (next 5 games): Opponent 43.8, UAB 30.2 (minus-13.6)
Adj. Points Per Game (last 4 games): Opponent 46.5, UAB 29.9 (minus-16.6)

The offense improved, but not enough to keep up with a dilapidated defense, and after wins over Northwestern State and hapless FIU, UAB's season ended with six straight losses. Average (real) score of the last four: Opponent 55, UAB 22.

The season-ender might have been the most depressing Saturday in program history; in front of just 6,383 fans in a stadium that seats 71,000, UAB lost by 35 points to a Southern Miss team that hadn't won in almost two full calendar years. The Blazers held a 21-13 halftime lead, then got outscored by a stunning 49-6 margin in the second half. A month or so later, McGee left for Louisville.

Offense

FIVE FACTORS -- OFFENSE
	Raw Category		Rk	Opp. Adj. Category		Rk
EXPLOSIVENESS	IsoPPP	1.29	11	IsoPPP+	113.6	13
EFFICIENCY	Succ. Rt.	39.2%	93	Succ. Rt. +	88.9	98
FIELD POSITION	Def. Avg. FP	30.0	68	Def. FP+	99.4	66
FINISHING DRIVES	Pts. Per Trip in 40	4.1	78	Redzone S&P+	99.4	63
TURNOVERS	EXPECTED	22.5		ACTUAL	20	-2.5

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	79	79	99	77
RUSHING	53	76	90	75
PASSING	80	80	106	58
Standard Downs		91	109	20
Passing Downs		57	61	32

Q1 Rk	50	1st Down Rk	51
Q2 Rk	83	2nd Down Rk	81
Q3 Rk	97	3rd Down Rk	91
Q4 Rk	31

4. Jacksonville State wanted to run

We obviously don't know for sure what Clark and offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent will be attempting to accomplish offensively in 2014. UAB returns a potential wealth of receiving talent, and in 2013 Vincent was the quarterbacks coach for a rather well-balanced South Alabama offense.

We do know this, however: in 2013, Clark's Jacksonville State ran the ball at will. Not including sacks, the Gamecocks attempted 49 rushes (for 251 yards) per game. A foursome of running backs averaged 168 rushing yards per game, and JSU was able to keep moving forward despite a revolving door at quarterback. JSU was able to raise the tempo at times and could pass when it needed to, but the 'Cocks wanted to run the ball down your throat and occasionally did so.

Will UAB be able to do the same? And if Clark's preferred style requires a wealth of running backs, exactly who will end up getting carries?

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2014 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player

Ht, Wt

2014 Year

Rivals

Comp

Att

Yards

TD

INT

Comp Rate

Sacks

Sack Rate

Yards/ Att.

Austin Brown

93

178

1199

9

3

52.2%

14

7.3%

5.8

Jonathan Perry

92

174

1379

10

6

52.9%

12

6.5%

7.0

Myles McKee

6'3, 205

Jr.

NR

Jeremiah Briscoe

6'3, 210

RSFr.

2 stars (5.2)

Cody Clements

6'2, 210

Jr.

2 stars (5.4)

Taz Wilson

6'4, 207

Fr.

2 stars (5.4)

Running Back

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Rushes	Yards	TD	Yards/ Carry	Hlt Yds/ Carry	Opp. Rate
Darrin Reaves	RB				202	934	12	4.6	4.7	34.7%
Jordan Howard	RB	6'1, 228	So.	2 stars (5.4)	145	881	2	6.1	5.5	44.1%
Jonathan Perry	QB				49	355	2	7.2	4.1	61.2%
Bashr Coles (2012)	RB	5'11, 212	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	39	262	1	6.7	6.7	N/A
Greg Franklin	RB				19	76	0	4.0	1.8	47.4%
Austin Brown	QB				7	18	0	2.6	2.0	57.1%
D.J. Vinson	RB	5'10, 194	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)
Ja'Won Arrington	RB	5'11, 215	Jr.	NR
Marcus Reaves	RB	6'2, 190	So.	NR

5. A backfield free-for-all

UAB had a stellar running back in Darrin Reaves last year, but he received a decent NFL Draft evaluation and departed Birmingham after his junior season. Big sophomore Jordan Howard actually surpassed Reaves' averages with a smaller load; one has to imagine that he will be heavily featured in Clark's first season.

After that, the answers are less certain. Bashr Coles posted averages even better than Howard's when he was a sophomore in 2012, but he's coming off of a knee injury. D.J. Vinson is known as a strong athlete but hasn't been healthy and/or eligible in quite a while. Alabama A&M transfer Ja'Won Arrington is an option, but the number of proven, healthy bodies is limited.

Of course, before you figure out the running back situation, you have to figure out who's taking snaps, and there are even fewer known quantities at the quarterback position. You've got a pair of former junior college transfers (Cody Clements, Myles McKee) fighting it out with a redshirt freshman coming off of shoulder surgery (Jeremiah Briscoe). Walk-on Mike Miller could enter the equation at some point, and incoming freshman Taz Wilson will have a chance to make an impression in the fall. Total combined passes these players threw last year for UAB: zero.

At both of these positions, there are a lot of potential answers and no guarantees. But if the backfield situation is stable, the Blazers could take advantage of some strong options lined up wide. Jamarcus Nelson was one of the nation's better big-play guys in 2013; as you notice from the stats above, big plays tended to be quite big (and too rare) for UAB last fall, and he was the primary source of them. Arkansas transfer Maudrecus Humphrey is eligible, and the Blazers return a wealth of players who averaged between about 6.5 and 8.0 yards per target last year. If one or two are able to step forward (perhaps former three-star recruit Nyiakki Height?), the position will easily be a strength for this team.

Receiving Corps

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Targets	Catches	Yards	Catch Rate	Target Rate	%SD	Yds/ Target	NEY	Real Yds/ Target	RYPR
Jamarcus Nelson	WR-Z	5'11, 160	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	74	42	846	56.8%	22.1%	54.4%	11.4	303	11.8	112.3
Jamari Staples	WR	6'4, 190	So.	2 stars (5.4)	69	31	458	44.9%	20.6%	51.9%	6.6	1	7.1	60.8
Kennard Backman	TE	6'3, 258	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	44	28	302	63.6%	13.1%	52.6%	6.9	-39	7.3	40.1
Darrin Reaves	RB				40	29	294	72.5%	11.9%	44.4%	7.4	-37	7.6	39.0
Darius Powell	WR-Z	5'10, 181	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	23	13	174	56.5%	6.9%	62.5%	7.6	6	5.8	23.1
Dequindre Adams	WR-X	5'10, 190	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	20	11	145	55.0%	6.0%	30.8%	7.3	0	5.0	19.2
Nyiakki Height	WR-W	6'2, 190	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)	18	7	113	38.9%	5.4%	37.5%	6.3	0	8.1	15.0
Jordan Howard	RB	6'1, 228	So.	2 stars (5.4)	14	4	83	28.6%	4.2%	50.0%	5.9	4	6.6	11.0
J.J. Green	WR-X	6'2, 180	So.	2 stars (5.4)	9	5	36	55.6%	2.7%	100.0%	4.0	-29	2.8	4.8
Tristan Henderson	TE	6'4, 265	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	8	5	40	62.5%	2.4%	50.0%	5.0	-21	4.1	5.3
Santonio Jones	FB				5	3	13	60.0%	1.5%	60.0%	2.6	-25	2.7	1.7
Greg Franklin	RB				4	2	23	50.0%	1.2%	0.0%	5.8	-5	2.7	3.1
Nolen Smith	WR-W	6'3, 205	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	3	2	27	66.7%	0.9%	0.0%	9.0	3	0.7	3.6
Rickey Hrabowskie	WR				2	1	9	50.0%	0.6%	N/A	4.5	-5	0.0	1.2
Maudrecus Humphrey	WR	6'3, 185	Sr.	3 stars (5.6)
Rodney Morris	TE	6'3, 220	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Quincy Perdue	WR	6'3, 210	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)
Collin Lisa	WR	5'10, 180	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)

Offensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	100.5	2.95	3.73	42.3%	58.6%	17.7%	72.8	7.7%	8.0%
Rank	69	66	25	33	106	43	106	113	80

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Career Starts	Honors/Notes
Kaycee Ike	OT				24
Billy Autrey	C				20
Brian O'Leary	OG	6'2, 290	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	15
Cameron Blankenship	OG	6'4, 305	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	13
Victor Salako	OT	6'6, 315	So.	2 stars (5.2)	11
Roscoe Byrd	OG	6'3, 319	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	8
Dominic Sylvester	LG	6'4, 315	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	3
Wesley Carter	OT				0
Hayden Naumann	OG	6'5, 280	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	0
Uneik Crumbley	OL	6'3, 327	Jr.	3 stars (5.6)	0
Zach Sims	OL	6'2, 290	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Vincent Hunter	OL	6'4, 325	RSFr.	2 stars (5.2)
Kevin Shelton	OL	6'4, 270	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Kelepi Folau	OL	6'3, 305	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Carson Miller	OL	6'4, 300	Jr.	NR
Daniel Anousheh	OL	6'4, 270	Jr.	NR
Ryan Krum	OL	6'5, 325	Jr.	NR
Deontae Crumitie	OL	6'3, 270	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)
Justin Brown	OL	6'3, 295	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)

6. No excuses for the line

Compared to the rest of the offensive stats, UAB's line stats were rather solid, at least in terms of run blocking. The Blazers weren't great in short-yardage situations, but Reaves was able to find quite a few open-field opportunities -- due to either his own talent or the line's blocking (likely both) -- and opponents did not make a ton of stops behind the line.

UAB returns five of seven players with starting experience up front (50 career starts, a decent total), and the line was a severe focus for Clark's first recruiting class. Clark signed a whopping five junior college transfers to compete up front; of the 15 players listed above, then, 10 are juniors, and one is a senior.

Even if Reaves was responsible for making these line stats look better than the line deserved, there's no excuse for UAB's line to struggle too much. It should be a strength, even if we are just speaking relatively.

Defense

FIVE FACTORS -- DEFENSE
	Raw Category		Rk	Opp. Adj. Category		Rk
EXPLOSIVENESS	IsoPPP	1.34	119	IsoPPP+	82.2	121
EFFICIENCY	Succ. Rt.	48.6%	116	Succ. Rt. +	79.0	122
FIELD POSITION	Off. Avg. FP	29.7	76	Off. FP+	96.5	96
FINISHING DRIVES	Pts. Per Trip in 40	5.8	125	Redzone S&P+	72.2	125
TURNOVERS	EXPECTED	15.4		ACTUAL	14.0	-1.4

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	118	124	122	123
RUSHING	110	123	120	123
PASSING	117	123	119	112
Standard Downs		125	122	124
Passing Downs		119	122	115

Q1 Rk	124	1st Down Rk	125
Q2 Rk	118	2nd Down Rk	116
Q3 Rk	126	3rd Down Rk	115
Q4 Rk	124

7. The D never had a chance

In all, UAB's offense took a solid step forward in 2013, from 95th in Off. F/+ to 78th. Garrick McGee is an offensive coach at heart, so this isn't incredibly surprising. The problem for UAB in McGee's second season, however, was that the defense got absolutely obliterated by injury.

Go ahead and look at the players listed below; look at the GP (games played) column. Only six UAB defenders played in all 12 games. Six! Former end Trey Grissett (now a JACK linebacker) was the only lineman to make it through the season unscathed. It got so bad that offensive lineman Uneik Crumbley was starting at defensive tackle by the end of the year. And things might have been even worse in the secondary, where at least four defensive backs (three safeties) missed significant time.

With no continuity you've got almost no chance, and UAB's duct-tape defense had no consistent strengths. The Blazers ranked 119th or worse in just about every major category listed above; they were 123rd (out of 126) in Rushing and Passing S&P+. They were 124th or worse in three of four quarters. They were 125th on standard downs. They were 125th in the redzone. A team like UAB is going to struggle to build quality depth anyway; when iffy depth meets this level of injury and attrition, there's just no hope.

With health comes at least a little bit of hope, however. Diaheem Watkins and Chris Rabb are decent pass rushers (they're the only ones, of course), Jake Ganus is a solid mess-cleaner at linebacker, and lord knows the secondary goes three-deep with experience. Clark signed two junior college transfers on the line, one at linebacker, and five in the defensive backfield.

As I end up saying a lot when previewing less successful teams, depth only matters if talent is involved. But UAB currently has depth and experience it could only dream about a year ago. The options are there, and if at least a few of them work out, the defense could improve significantly. (Of course, improving "significantly" could just mean fielding a top-110 defense ...)

Defensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	87.2	3.14	3.39	42.3%	68.8%	18.6%	59.0	2.1%	7.0%
Rank	113	94	74	101	76	73	117	117	59

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Diaheem Watkins	DE	6'4, 258	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	11	33.5	5.1%	7.5	5.5	0	0	0	0
Deric Scott	DT				11	29.0	4.4%	3.0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Chris Rabb	DE	6'0, 220	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	11	28.5	4.4%	5.0	3.0	0	0	0	0
Connor Boyett	DE				10	12.0	1.8%	4.5	0.0	0	0	0	0
Uneik Crumbley	OL	6'3, 327	Jr.	3 stars (5.6)	6	10.5	1.6%	2.0	2.0	0	1	0	0
Jontavious Morris	DT	6'2, 295	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	11	10.0	1.5%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Chris Walton	DE	6'3, 260	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	8	9.5	1.5%	2.5	0.0	0	0	0	0
Shaquille Roberson	DE	6'4, 220	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)	9	5.5	0.8%	2.0	1.0	0	0	0	0
Neal Gray	DE	6'1, 225	So.	NR	6	3.0	0.5%	1.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Jose Casanova	DE				8	2.5	0.4%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Steve Pickren	DE	6'4, 245	So.	2 stars (5.4)
Parrish Huddleston	DT	6'0, 295	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Robert Mondie	DT	6'2, 300	Jr.	2 stars (5.3)

Linebackers

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Jake Ganus	LB	6'2, 215	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)	12	75.5	11.5%	8.0	0.0	1	1	1	0
Daniel White	LB				11	39.5	6.0%	0.0	0.0	1	0	0	0
Shaq Jones	LB	6'3, 210	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	12	26.5	4.1%	2.0	0.0	0	1	0	0
Trey Grissett	LB	6'5, 260	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	12	23.0	3.5%	3.0	0.5	0	1	1	0
Derek Slaughter	LB	5'11, 210	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)	11	22.0	3.4%	3.0	0.0	0	1	0	0
Patrick Bastien	LB				12	21.0	3.2%	2.5	1.0	0	1	0	0
Destin Challenger	LB	5'11, 215	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	5	16.0	2.4%	0.5	0.0	0	0	0	0
Tevin Crews	LB	6'2, 212	Jr.	NR	8	10.0	1.5%	1.0	0.0	0	0	1	0
Jesse Parrish	LB				8	9.0	1.4%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Ervin Alston	LB	6'2, 215	So.	2 stars (5.3)	7	4.0	0.6%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Je'Niah Jackson	LB	6'1, 200	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Brandon Fuller	LB	6'1, 220	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Jalen Coleman	LB	6'3, 210	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Alonzo McGee	LB	6'1, 225	Jr.	NR

Secondary

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Calvin Jones (2012)	S	5'10, 187	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	11	55.0	8.1%	2.5	0.5	0	1	1	2
Jordan Petty	SS	5'10, 180	So.	2 stars (5.4)	10	45.5	7.0%	3.5	1	1	3	1	1
Vashon Landers	FS				8	33.5	5.1%	0	0	0	1	0	0
Kelton Brackett	CB	5'11, 186	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)	11	28.5	4.4%	2	0	1	8	1	0
Jimmy Jean	CB	6'3, 180	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	12	28.5	4.4%	1	0	2	3	0	0
Lamarcus Farmer	CB	5'11, 170	Jr.	NR	7	27.0	4.1%	4	1	1	0	1	1
Nick Jackson	SS	6'2, 205	So.	NR	12	26.0	4.0%	1	0	0	0	0	0
Greg Franklin	FS				12	19.5	3.0%	0	0	0	0	1	0
Greg Maclin	S	6'3, 185	So.	2 stars (5.4)	5	14.5	2.2%	1	1	0	0	1	1
Cortez Webb	CB				11	11.5	1.8%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Devon Brown	CB	5'11, 182	So.	2 stars (5.2)	10	4.5	0.7%	0	0	0	1	0	0
Jay Davis	S	6'1, 194	Sr.	NR	2	2.5	0.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0
T.J. McCollum	S	6'3, 205	RSFr.	3 stars (5.5)
Kalen Jackson	DB	6'1, 205	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)
Bobby Baker	DB	6'3, 195	Jr.	NR
Desman Carter	S	6'2, 205	Jr.	NR
Rolan Milligan	DB	5'11, 185	Jr.	NR
Darvell Harris	DB	6'2, 180	Jr.	NR

8. The secondary will come around first

Calvin Jones returns after a medical redshirt. Jordan Petty made plays both near to and far from the line of scrimmage as a freshman. Nick Jackson and Greg Maclin were also thrown into the deep end as frosh. T.J. McCollum was the star of the 2013 recruiting class. At least one of the junior college transfers, Desman Carter, fills a spot on the depth chart. There is experience and at least a little bit of proven play-making ability at the safety position.

Meanwhile, at least three cornerbacks are worth watching; Lamarcus Farmer made four stops behind the line of scrimmage in seven games, and Kelton Brackett and Jimmy Jean combined to either pick off or break up 14 passes in 2013.

Between experienced box-score fillers, sophomores who were once overwhelmed freshmen, and junior college transfers, there is reason to believe that the UAB secondary could be legitimately solid. The unit's success will obviously depend in part on the front seven -- both the run defense and pass rush need to improve significantly -- but if the defense does turn around quite a bit in 2014, the secondary will likely be the primary reason.

Special Teams

Punter	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Punts	Avg	TB	FC	I20	FC/I20 Ratio
Hunter Mullins	6'3, 195	Sr.	51	43.1	8	14	14	54.9%
Ty Long	6'2, 188	Sr.	5	39.2	0	1	1	40.0%

Kicker	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Kickoffs	Avg	TB	OOB	TB%
Ty Long	6'2, 188	Sr.	62	62.8	33	0	53.2%

Place-Kicker	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	PAT	FG (0-39)	Pct	FG (40+)	Pct
Ty Long	6'2, 188	Sr.	35-35	11-13	84.6%	5-11	45.5%

Returner	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Returns	Avg.	TD
Jamarcus Nelson	KR	5'11, 160	Sr.	27	22.7	1
Greg Franklin	KR			13	22.5	0
Jamarcus Nelson	PR	5'11, 160	Sr.	8	11.0	1
Lamarcus Farmer	PR	5'11, 170	Jr.	2	14.5	0

Category	Rk
Special Teams F/+	71
Field Goal Efficiency	71
Punt Return Efficiency	65
Kick Return Efficiency	95
Punt Efficiency	64
Kickoff Efficiency	32
Opponents' Field Goal Efficiency	24

9. Potentially excellent special teams

Between return touchdowns, nearly automatic place-kicking inside 40 yards, touchbacks on kickoffs, and a punter averaging more than 43 yards per kick, special teams was a bright spot for UAB in 2013. It put the Blazers in position to win the field position battle with even a semi-competent defense, and it could be just as good, or better, this fall. Everybody of note is back.

2014 Schedule & Projection Factors

2014 Schedule
Date	Opponent	Proj. Rk
30-Aug	Troy	111
6-Sep	at Mississippi State	29
13-Sep	Alabama A&M	NR
27-Sep	Florida International	119
4-Oct	at Western Kentucky	91
11-Oct	North Texas	94
18-Oct	at Middle Tennessee	99
25-Oct	at Arkansas	48
1-Nov	at Florida Atlantic	103
8-Nov	Louisiana Tech	98
22-Nov	Marshall	59
29-Nov	at Southern Miss	110

Five-Year F/+ Rk	-17.8% (111)
Two-Year Recruiting Rk	95
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin*	-6 / -7.1
TO Luck/Game	+0.5
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.)	16 (7, 9)

10. A 3-1 start is within reach

It's easy to forget thanks to the debacle of his second year, but UAB made quite a bit of progress in McGee's first season, improving from 108th to 91st in the F/+ rankings. With good health, it is at least reasonably conceivable that the Blazers could bounce back to the top-100 range, and if they do, they could start the season quite well in 2014.

Three of their first four games are at home against teams projected 111th or worse, and a 3-1 start would be huge for a program desperate for momentum. First of all, UAB hasn't won more than three games in a season since 2010, so winning three in September would be an incredible sign of progress. Beyond that, however, it would simply give fans a reason to show up and care again.

UAB is in a tough situation for all the reasons listed at the top of this piece. But in Bill Clark, the program made a solid, local hire, and this roster has depth last year's simply didn't have. If UAB can establish the run on offense and simply field 11 healthy bodies on defense, the Blazers could win four or five games. With proof of hope, perhaps goals like building a new, smaller stadium near campus become more attainable.

If you win games, everything gets easier, and in 2014 UAB has an opportunity to win a couple more games than it has in quite a while.