UAB vs. Jacksonville State
Point-Spread: UAB -15.5
O/U Total: 51
Weather: 82 degrees / 13% rain / 6 mph winds
UAB:
Pretty straight forward from an inclusion standpoint with QB Tyler Johnston, and RBs Jermaine Brown and DeWayne McBride being musts in your showdown build. Johnston will likely be the player out of that trio with the highest projection, so our highest exposure in lineups will be him in the captain slot. The issue is because of his pricing, you won’t be able to pair him with any of his starting receivers.
One build that I am leaning towards experimenting with is Brown Jr. as the captain after he was listed on the top line of the team’s depth chart. The team’s beat writer responded to me to not look too much into that as both will play extensive roles this season out of the backfield, but “Skull” did experiment as a receiver this offseason, and will be utilized all over the field is what I gathered – think Ainias Smith from Texas A&M.
The 215-pound McBride, despite sitting second on the depth chart, will be a lock for our lineups as he inherits the Spencer Brown role as the team’s top rusher. McBride averaged 9.3 YPC last season on 47 attempts and will likely be UAB’s workhorse in 2021 if he remains healthy.
If looking to pair Johnston with one of the starting WRs for UAB, 6-foot-3 junior Trea Shropshire is the best bet to assume the WR1 role for the Blazers. Played in just nine games last season, but hauled in five receptions for 180 yards in the Conference USA title game vs. Marshall. With Brown Jr. as the captain, you get the ability to roster all four players. Sophomores Ryan Davis and Samario Rudolph round out the starting lineup at receiver, and would prioritize them in that order.
Tight ends Hayden Pittman and Gerrit Prince are both back after tallying 28 receptions on 47 targets with a combined five touchdowns in 2020 – four of which went to Prince. I’d lean towards Pittman of the two if choosing as he had 13 more targets on the year, and Prince’s usage in the passing game fell off dramatically as last season wore along.
Sophomore Matt Quinn will be an option as the placekicker with an implied total of 33.25. Hit 11-of-12 FGs last season and was perfect between 40-49 yards.
Jacksonville State:
Albeit an FCS foe, there is some talent on this Jacksonville State roster that was at the FBS level at one point in their careers, including starting QB Zerrick Cooper who started out at Clemson. 2019 was a breakout season for Cooper with 3,400 passing yards, 320 yards on the ground and 34 total touchdowns. His numbers took at dip at the start of 2020, throwing just one TD in 3 ¼ games, though he was proficient, completing 66.7 percent of his passes, including a 22-of-30 performance in Week 1 on the road vs. Florida State. Cooper only averaged 2.7 YPC on the ground, but accounted for five rushing scores before his season-ending injury vs. Florida International in Week 4. Because of his moderate success against FBS competition in the past, this is a scenario where we look to have Cooper in our lineups.
Another former FBS transfer at running back with RB1 Josh Samuel who began his career at Western Kentucky. Samuel split time in the backfield with Uriah West, but wound up leading the team in rushing after a monster 163-yard performance against FIU. I think we can gain some leverage here with our builds by completely avoiding West, who did lead the Gamecocks with 49 attempts in 2020, but is not currently listed on the two-deep. He is a complete fade for me, and he hits for some reason…so be it. Junior Pat Jackson is currently listed as the team’s RB2.
All three starting receivers are back from a year ago with Dave Russell III, Michael Pettway and Ahmad Edwards all returning. Russell was the far and away leader of the trio with 25 receptions on 40 targets and a team-high three touchdowns. Pettway and Edwards mirrored each other with 17 receptions on 29 targets, with the latter having a slight edge in touchdowns, 3-2. Freshman tight end Jacob Jenkins is the listed starter on the two-deep.
Cooper will be the only JSU player I’m comfortable roster vs. a UAB defense that returns 81 percent of their defensive production a year ago, and ranked seventh nationally in total defense.