Who's Hot, Who's Not: UAB
Who’s Hot-Louisiana Tech:
· J’Mar Smith—The sophomore quarterback continues to grow from a maturity standpoint. At his weekly press conference, Coach Holtz spoke of Smith saying, “He is doing a really good job of reading defenses, not trying to force the ball, calling protections up front and controlling the offensive line. I like his growth.” After turning the ball over five times in his first two games, Smith has committed only two turnovers in his last three games. J’Mar was 24-39 for a career high 317 yards and three touchdowns Saturday against South Alabama.
· Adrian Hardy—When deep threat Rhashid Bonnette went down with an injury against South Alabama, it was next man up for the Bulldogs. The redshirt freshman, Hardy, saw his first extensive game action and did not disappoint. Hardy had four grabs for 68 yards, including a 30 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against South Alabama. Hardy has all the physical tools to be a special player at Louisiana Tech, and Bulldog fans will get a glimpse of what he can do when he makes his first career start at UAB this week.
· Secdrick Cooper—The lone veteran in the Bulldog secondary played the best his best game as a Bulldog against South Alabama. Known for his hard-hitting style, Cooper impacted the game in a different way Saturday. He collected the first two interceptions of his Bulldog career and gave the Bulldog defense a big lift defensively. Cooper is a leader for a much-improved Bulldog defense in 2017.
Who’s Not-Louisiana Tech:
· Brady Farlow & Davan Dyer—Farlow and Dyer have been solid through the first five games, rarely having any punts that were truly shanked. While Dyer did connect on a 52-yard punt in the ballgame against South Alabama, he also had a punt that went only 25 yards. Farlow replaced him later in the contest and had one go only 29 yards. This is the first time the punting unit has been an issue and luckily the defense bailed them out. Going forward the two punters need to find some consistency in order to not put the Bulldog defense in a bind.
Who’s Hot-UAB:
· A.J. Erdely—Erdely, in his first season as a starting quarterback at the FBS level, threw for a career high 321 yards and four touchdowns against North Texas on September 23rd. While he completed only 47% of passes in the game, he proved that he can get the ball to his playmakers. When speaking about Erdely and the UAB offense, Holtz said, “This is a really talented football team that we are about to play, and they are getting better and better every week.” Tech will need to slow down the junior quarterback to have success Saturday.
· Andre Wilson—The Blazers leading receiver had a huge day against the Mean Green, catching five passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson is not the biggest guy in the world at 5’9”, but he can really put some stress on a defense with his playmaking ability. On the year, he has 13 catches for 251 yards and three touchdowns. It will be a treat to watch Wilson and Bulldog cornerback, Amik Robertson, on Saturday.
· Tevin Crews—Due to the NCAA granting the Blazers some favors while the football program was away, Crews is back as a seventh year senior. He is not disappointing at his linebacker spot thus far in 2017. He leads the Blazers with 35 tackles, with six of those coming for loss. He will look to create havoc on Saturday against the Bulldogs.
Who’s Not-UAB:
· Blazer Run Defense—In their last time out, the Blazers gave up 287 yards on the ground to North Texas. They struggle against certain schemes so Tech will need to take advantage on Saturday. Inside at defensive tackle, Teko Powell is extremely disruptive. Ethan Reed, O’Shea Dugas, Kody Russey, and Shane Carpenter will have their hands full with the 6’3” 320 pound Powell. Tech will need to establish the run against the Blazers in order to pull out a conference road victory.