South Alabama hosts UAB football on Thursday night. What can we expect from two 1-1 teams that both will be fielding new starting quarterbacks?
The South Alabama Jaguars will host UAB in Mobile, Ala, on Sept. 24 in the “Battle for the Belt” which will find itself on national television for the second consecutive season. The game will also be covered here by none other than yours truly.
I covered South Alabama in its matchup against Southern Mississippi in its opening game of the season so I’ll be interested to see how the Jaguars follow that performance.
The level of intrigue to this Alabama-based rivalry has ramped itself up this season. UAB starting quarterback Tyler Johnson is expected to be out for 4-8 weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in the loss against Miami. Bryce Lucero, a redshirt freshman who came in relief, has been named the starter.
Blazers tight end Hayden Pittman spoke highly of Lucero.
“He reminds me of Tom Brady – of how he’s always in the film room,” he told the press. “Like I’ll come in and try and get some food at nine p.m. and he’ll still be in the film room. He takes it .”
On the other side, South Alabama will be starting quarterback Chance Lovertich over dual-threat Desmond Trotter, who suffered an injury in the loss to Tulane a couple of weeks ago. It’s not the injury that is preventing Trotter from playing, rather, it’s the volt of electricity that Lovertich seems to bring to the team. Coach Steve Campbell has mentioned that he wants to play both quarterbacks during the game, saying that, “You get two or three series — if you do good with it, you stay in; if you don’t, let’s give the other guy a shot.”
Time for some bold predictions.