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South Alabama wide receiver D.J. Vinson (8) makes a catch during spring practice. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)
(Mike Kittrell)
Monday's announcement that UAB will revive its football program comes too late for players who transferred elsewhere when the program was disbanded six months ago. While happy to hear the news, a couple of former Blazers who now play at South Alabama called it "bittersweet."
"To see a program that I love so much come back and have a chance at life, it really makes me happy," offensive guard Cameron Blankenship said. "But at the same time, I know I only have one year left so my best situation is probably not to go back. It hurts, but at the same time I'm elated for all my friends and family up at UAB and I know with Coach (Bill) Clark, things can only go up."
Blankenship and eight other former Blazers are now on South Alabama's roster, along with former UAB offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent, who now holds the same position on Jaguars head coach Joey Jones' staff.
Vincent said he was a bit surprised at the news after the program's dissolution just six months ago, but at the same time noted the fervor with which UAB boosters and fans fought for its reinstatement.
"I always had a feeling that it might come back because of the passion and the pride when it was disbanded and it never really stopped," he said. "It stayed steady. The people and the boosters and the supporters never swayed away from their passion to get it back, their relentlessness to keep fighting until it was brought back.
"I think that football being back at UAB is great for the state of Alabama, great for Birmingham and UAB," he added, "and it just gives the fans and the alumni everything they want, so we can get that triangle rivalry going again, with South Alabama, UAB and Troy."
Blankenship said he's been in touch with several of his former UAB teammates as news began to leak Monday of the program's reinstatement and their conversations returned to a central question: "Why did they shut it down in the first place?"
"I don't know what they were thinking, but for them to shut it down and then bring it back six months later just really kind of irritates me," he said. "I don't want to call out anybody, because I don't know all the intangibles, but if the report comes out and says the money's there, then the money's there. For them to say it's not, it kind of irritates me a little bit."
"I wonder all the time what made him make a decision without touching base with other guys, but at the end of the day, you'll never know the true answer," added another UAB transfer at South Alabama, receiver D.J. Vinson. "I'm just glad to see that they got a lot of people in Birmingham brought together to bring it back and not let it just die.
"To see the program come back and give other guys opportunities to finish what we started, I'm happy to see that."
Both Blankenship and Vinson said they wouldn't hesitate to recommend UAB to high school prospects looking for a college program as long as Clark is there.
"If he is still the coach of that team, which I hope and pray that he will be, anybody that goes to play for him is not only going to become a better football player, they'll become a better man," Blankenship said. "I was only with him for not quite 11 months, and he changed my life in an amazing way, and he did that with everybody. We were a family.
"I think it was on the up and up at the end of last year and God only knows what we could have done if none of this ever happened."
Vinson said he already knows of one high school prospect who is ready to join a newly reinstated Blazer program - his nephew, who is a senior at Vinson's alma mater, Clay-Chalkville.
"He said the other day, 'I pray they bring UAB football back because that's where I want to play,'" Vinson said. "After hearing the news today, I texted him and said, 'You'll have your chance.'"