WKU Football: UAB Q&A with The Daily Dragon
We’re two days away from WKU’s trip down I-65 to take on conference rival UAB. WKU needs to spring the upset or a promising season could get ugly quickly as a loss would result in a 1–4 start. With the important stakes, we thought that we’d get a UAB perspective on the game. Luckily for us, we got Charlie from The Daily Dragon to give us his thoughts on the UAB program, the game, and his predictions. Without further adieu, here is our conversation with Charlie.
UAB is coming off another Conference USA West Division title and now sits at 3–1 on the young season. How have the Blazers gotten off to another fast start?
As always, the defense has carried UAB to a winning record. Both quarterbacks the Blazers have started have been inconsistent, and the offense has sputtered often, but the D has performed especially well through four games. They gave up 35 points to Central Arkansas, but two of those touchdowns were the direct result of turnovers, and 31 to an incredibly dangerous Miami offense. Since then, South Alabama and UTSA have combined to score just 23 points on UAB.
Another offseason passed without head coach Bill Clark receiving a P5 job despite two SEC jobs next door in Mississippi being available. Are we now looking for Clark to become the next long term coach in CUSA (Holliday, Holtz, Stockstill)?
That’s been discussed for months now and is a very interesting question. I think a long-term stay is definitely a possibility, but Clark is different from the three coaches you mentioned in a very important way — he gets results. This is Coach Clark’s fifth season in Birmingham and he’s already won two West titles and a conference championship. Not to be disrespectful to Holliday or Holtz or Stockstill, but those coaches COMBINED have won one C-USA title. The fact that Clark brings home hardware is going to make him less likely to stay at UAB long-term, as he’ll actually get that Power 5 attention.
But on the other hand, he’s already stayed with us through a program shut down and he has a chance to become the Gene Bartow of Blazer football. I do think becoming the most revered figure in a program’s history is appealing to him, and Clark is well on his way. You also have to take into account that he’s literally never coached a game of football outside of Alabama, so I’d assume an opening at Alabama or Auburn would be the most likely job to lure him.
To summarize all that, Clark’s going to get significant offers from big-name schools if he keeps winning, and who knows if he’ll be able to resist them. Hopefully, his Birmingham/Alabama connections keep him with us, but honestly, it’s up in the air.
Last season WKU upset the Blazers 20–13 in Bowling Green, what is different is the major difference between UAB then and now?
In my opinion, the Blazer offense has improved. I know that’s a low bar for those of you who watched Tyler’s 4-int game against WKU last year, but wide receiver Austin Watkins has become a legitimate draft prospect, the offensive line has improved significantly, and Spencer Brown has regained his form. We’re no Clemson but expect a slightly more potent attack, especially on the ground.
Quarterback Tyler Johnston has battled injuries and freshman Bryson Lucero has picked up the slack the past few games as signal-caller. Who is expected to start Saturday and what type of player will be going against the Hilltopper defense?
As of today Tyler’s still not cleared to play, so redshirt freshman Bryson Lucero will be getting the start this weekend. He’s played two full games so far and has shown a lot of good and a lot of bad. Lucero is an accurate short-to-mid ball passer and has made a few very impressive passes into tight windows. His pocket awareness isn’t bad for a freshman, and he’s avoided running himself into too many sacks. On the other hand! Bryson really struggled with deep passing and decision-making against UTSA. His deep balls weren’t placed particularly well, and you could argue that two of his three interceptions should’ve been thrown away instead; he’s inclined towards making the dangerous play instead of a check-down or a throwaway. You guys know as well as I do what we’re going to see from the freshman this weekend.
Running Back Spencer Brown was inconsistent last year but has really picked up the pace in 2020 (5.2 YPC & 5 TD’s), How did he get back to his freshman and sophomore form?
Last year Spencer struggled for a variety of reasons. The most significant one, in my opinion, was the fact that he was running behind an offensive line replacing a whopping FOUR all-conference performers. The losses of first-teamer Justice Powers and second-teamers Rishard Cook, James Davis, and Malique Johnson severely weakened the line and made it much more difficult for Spencer to find holes throughout the 2019 campaign. That factor, along with injury (a surgery after the 2018 season, a high ankle sprain last year), limited Brown’s effectiveness.
This season, the offensive line has greatly improved as players have begun to gel, and Spencer’s been able to get to the second level and pick up momentum more easily. But that’s not the biggest factor in Brown’s return to form; Spencer’s become almost physically unrecognizable, losing at least fifteen pounds over the offseason. He’s probably in the best shape of his college career, and it’s shown. Opposing defenses have found it extremely difficult to tackle him — Brown currently leads the NCAA in yards after contact. The Hilltoppers are going up against the best running back in UAB history in the best condition of his life.
Who are some other skill position players that WKU should worry about on Saturday?
Watch out for the lesser-discussed running backs in UAB’s stable — Jermaine Brown, Jr., and Dewayne McBride. A lot of people talk about Jermaine as “the other Brown,” but he’s an incredible athlete. Definitely the shiftiest, quickest option we have coming out of the backfield, he can make defenders miss as well as any player in the country. One or two missed tackles and Brown will be in the end zone; his speed serves as a fantastic complement to Spencer Brown’s downhill style.
We’ve seen much less of the freshman Dewayne McBride, but believe me, he has IMPRESSED. At the end of the South Alabama game, the Blazers had an entire drive in which they did nothing but hand it off to him, and McBride single-handedly took the offense all the way down the field, scoring a very impressive touchdown to cap it off. He’s built in the same mold as Spencer Brown, a bruising, punishing downhill threat, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get some carries against the Tops.
After a slow start defensively UAB has only allowed 11.5 points per game in the last two games. Why has it been so successful thus far?
Some of it comes down to opponent quality, obviously — South Alabama and UTSA don’t have the most potent attacks in the world — but we’ve also seen a definite improvement in the Blazer defense. Something I’ve noticed, especially, is the success of the UAB pass rush. Our linebackers and edge rushers have been doing a great job of getting to the opposing quarterback over the last two games, shortening the time DBs have to cover their receivers.
How do you see the game playing out? What is your prediction?
I’ll be honest — and this’ll disappoint the Blazer fans out there — I don’t think UAB is significantly better than Western Kentucky. Both teams boast extremely solid defenses, but I just don’t trust our offense, improved as it may be, to carry the Blazers to a win right now. It won’t be a shootout, so one big play could win the game for either squad. I’m gonna show a little hometown bias here, but believe me, I am not confident: UAB 23, WKU 20.
Thanks again guys, hope it’s a great game
I want to thank Charlie for taking the time to do this q&a with us. You can read his work on The Daily Dragon and follow his twitter account @F5DailyDragon for fun analysis and reaction to Saturday’s matchup.
