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UAB coach seeks respect when none has been earned
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Apparently South Carolina running back Mike Davis’ suspension this week is having an effect outside of the Gamecock program. Davis, who is sitting out Saturday’s game against UAB for missing class time, has become locker-room material for Blazers coach Neil Callaway.
“That’s good news,” Callaway said during at his weekly press conference about Davis’ suspension. “To be honest I haven’t seen past him (while watching film). I didn’t know he was suspended. I guess it’s good for us and shows you they don’t respect us very much if they’re not going to play him. That definitely ought to send a message to what they think and how they think.”
So, a guy that won two games last year in his first head coaching job and that’s coming off a scorching 45-10 victory over Alabama State last week is pulling the respect card on USC coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks?
If anything the former UGA and Alabama assistant is disrespecting USC and hasn’t done his job since Taylor Rank, Brian Maddox and Eric Baker have all had significant carries this season.
Spurrier announced before the year that Davis would be punished one game decided by the coach. Did anyone think it would be the opener against N.C. State or the first SEC road game at Vanderbilt or even the home match against rival Georgia? And with games looming against Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee, that left Wofford and UAB.
Spurrier’s choice isn’t a slap in the face to either program, but those were the two most winnable games on the schedule to begin the season.
And if Callaway wants to find ways to motivate his players that’s fine, but why mention it to the media?
But, it’s hard to ask for respect when you’ve done nothing to earn it. The Blazers finished Callaway’s first season with the worst record (2-10) in school history last year.
The start to 2008, despite returning 16 starters, hasn’t been much better. UAB opened with a 23-point loss to Tulsa after leading 20-19 at halftime. The next week, the Blazers gave up 49 points in a 15-point loss to Florida Atlantic, followed up by a 35-3 sleeper at Tennessee.
The only win so far against a Football Championship Subdivision school does little to overshadow the fact that UAB’s allowing 494.75 yards per game, which ranks 117th nationally out of 119 teams.
And to make it worse Callaway called out the Gamecocks, a team not known for disrespecting since they’ve done little to earn respect over the past several decades.
Spurrier was known at Florida for making superior comments about his opponents, but he backed it up with an 86.1 winning percentage in the SEC and six league titles. Ask him now about respect, and he’ll tell you his team has a long way to go.
Maybe Callaway will have more room to talk once he climbs the ladder in the big, bad Conference USA.
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Brad,
Nice job on the article. But you left out the main part of the story where he says we disrespected UAB by benching Davis.
How about his comments about our QB's be OK. Basically saying none of them could be out his starting QB. Not to mention, the best athlete of the QB's is Stephen Garcia who has played 3 games.
If I were a UAB fan (one of about 113 of them) I would be very upset at the level of scouting this coach has done against a team like South Carolina. This is one of his big chances to pull an upset and a reported had to tell him Mike Davis was suspended? But I'd also be embarassed to see a grown man take offense to having a player suspended from his team, and then stoop so low as saying that our QB's aren't very impressive. Way to go there bud. Keep putting down the 20 year olds. I suspect that from fans, but coaches should be held to a higher standard. I get the feeling this will be his last Head Coaching job.
Also,
What kind of coach uses suspensions to get the locker room motivated? You think Gordon Bombay would do that? Heck no. I tell you what he would do...he'd but out some Duck's jerseys instead of the UAB jerseys for the 2nd half of the game just like D2. Or he would get them fired up with a quack cheer. Maybe even take them on a shopping spree at Han's store. (Bobby Bowden's favorite method of motivation as well) Heck, he might even tell them to just go out and have a little fun. But using suspensions??? That's a little Wolf "The Dentist" Stenson right there.
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