Tennessee football: Five UAB Blazers to watch for against Vols

At 6-1, the University of Alabama-Birmingham is a dangerous team for Tennessee football. Here are five Blazers to watch for against the Volunteers.

There’s no way Tennessee football could take the UAB Blazers lightly after two home losses to Group of Five programs to start the season, right? You can’t overlook a 6-1 team that is on track to repeat as Conference USA Champions when you lost your opener to the Georgia State Panthers and then lost to a BYU Cougars team that is now 3-4.

It would be shameful for the Vols, who are now miraculously back in contention for a bowl game after a huge win over the South Carolina Gamecocks, to do such a thing. At 3-5, they can’t afford to look ahead of anybody if they are finally going to get to a postseason in Jeremy Pruitt’s second year on the job.

Pruitt himself should be very aware of UAB given the fact that his and his father’s high school coaching experience in North Alabama makes him very familiar with Blazers head coach Bill Clark and his staff, who almost all come from that environment. Half of Tennessee football’s staff comes from that as well.

As a result, despite them recruiting different players and playing at different levels, they should both be familiar with the other team’s tendencies and how the players will play. That means that Pruitt should be ready for what he will face.

Our post analyzing the key players for UAB in this game recognizes that this team is built by defense but has weapons everywhere. The Vols need a complete performance, and they have to shut down specific guys if they want to win.

There is a recipe for them to pull out the victory if specific players on their end step up, and it could help them win in a blowout as well. But again, they can’t do it unless they do their part to make sure UAB’s players don’t step up. These are the five Blazers to watch for when they visit Tennessee football on Saturday.