Some notes about UAB's 38-31 win over Marshall Saturday at Legion Field.

* Two Blazers picked up Player-of-the-Week honors from Conference USA for their performances. Running back Darrin Reaves was named Offensive Player of the Week, while Jackie Williams took the Special Teams POW honor. Reaves ran for 184 yards on 32 carries and scored two touchdown runs. Williams returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter for UAB's first points of the game.

* Reaves has now scored 12 touchdowns on the year, setting a new team record for rushing touchdowns in a season. He still has two more games to extend the record. As senior offensive lineman Chris Hubbard said, "Darrin is a great running back. It takes a lot for someone to bring him down. We feel good as an offensive line blocking for him and opening up lanes."

* Jackie Williams also caught two passes in the Marshall win. That extended his streak of consecutive catches to 33 games with at least one catch. Williams now ranks fourth on the UAB career reception list with 129.

* Receiver Patrick Hearn was carted off the field and taken to UAB Hospital after a hard hit Saturday. The trip was precautionary only. "He's back; he's got a smile on his face," Coach Garrick McGee said Monday. "You have to take extra precaution in that type of situation because he did take a really big hit. He was released from the hospital that night, and I don't think he has a headache right now. He''s a tough guy."

* Linebacker Marvin Burdette had 17 tackles Saturday and set a new UAB career record in tackles in the process. "He's focusing on playing really good football for us and doing what he has to do to help us set our program up in the right direction," McGee said. ". . . I don't think he's going to slow down . . . . I think he's committed to finishing off the season as well as he can."

* One secret to Burdette's success Saturday was his ability to read Marshall's quarterback by the way the QB positioned his feet and his shoulders. Burdette used the read to determine if the play was a run or a pass, as well as where it was going. That put him in position to make a lot of tackles.

* McGee also had praise for linebacker Greg Irvin. "He's one of our emotional leaders," the coach said. "He's an experienced guy, a very explosive player. He can play out in space, on the perimeter, against skilled receivers, and play attached to the box to stop the run. I think he's another one of those guys that's a very athletic, talented kid who has helped us a lot these last couple weeks."


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