UAB fan discussion on Jordan Howard....

[mattndallas]

Packed the family in the RV and did a Mid-South, Mid-Tier Bowlarama last/this week. Started in Dallas the day after Christmas, and went to:

Dallas
Independence
Liberty
Music City
Peach
Birmingham

Seeing a game at Legion Field has been on my list for a while, but camping the rig out there was a little risky, so we opted for one of the event hotels.

Anyway, the bartender at one of the Sheraton bars in B'ham sees my Indiana cap, and calls me up to talk about football. He was a UAB fan, and loved Howard. He had heard a little about us, and once I informed him that we had a kid that just ran for 2,000 yards, and most of our OL back, he was stoked. High praise from him for Jordan, and he seemed to know his stuff.

Was funny because as we were talking, one of the Florida coaches that was sitting nearby pipes in that he heard Tevin went pro, but hadn't heard we nabbed Jordan. He confirmed it was a great get as well, said it was probably better than any 4 star RB you could recruit out of HS, because he was a known commodity.....very little risk.

He (the FL coach) knew about Hawkins transferring to us. Said he was a good kid, and "could be a star up there". I don't know who the guy was...he was off to a team meeting.

Anyway, couple good reports from guys that have obviously seen both play.

 

[Rags to Roses]

Nice! Thanks for sharing Matt ***

Go IU

 

[Hoosiers Rising]

Awesome. Thanks for the report. nt


nt

 

[IUninethree]

"Mid-South, Mid-Tier Bowlarama"

Wow - great idea. Looking at attendance at most of the games at that level, I'm guessing getting tix was easy.

 

[td75]

I love hearing this type of stuff!!

You were in the presence of a Florida coach talking about two of our kids? That's a really cool story and sounds like a 5 star pickup in Howard!

 

[Pelkowski]

The guy seemed to know his stuff, but didn't know about Coleman? Hmmmm....

 

[sparkeyreturns]

Can you name every Junior that is leaving?

Big deal to us, big deal to no one else especially someone from the state of Bama.

 

[GoBigRed83]

Sounds like a cool trip!

Last game I saw in Bham was when FSU thumped us in the All American bowl.
Seem to remember that the stadium was in a "rougher" part of town.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Maybe IU can be part of your trip next year.

Did you attend all of the games or just tailgate?

 

[MyTeamIsOnTheFloor]

No, But I Can Name Every 2,000 Yard RB Leaving

A college football coach that doesn't know Tevin Coleman is going pro isn't paying enough attention to his profession.

(Then again, Florida coaches got fired, and have other issues on their front burners.)

 

[gbmhoosier]

The bartender didn't know tevin was going pro but the coach did.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Chriselli]

Re: No, But I Can Name Every 2,000 Yard RB Leaving

I think the OP said that the US coach knew Coleman left but didn't know Howard was coming.

 

[mattndallas]

I hate thread view, so I'll respond to all here...


IUNineThree - yes, tics were fairly easy to get. Had a couple freebees at some of the games. Peach Bowl was the most costly for everything, and had the lamest environment. Music City was cool because it was the only game we saw in the sun

, everywhere else it was raining and/or cold.

td75 - yes. Once we saw there were few campers out at Legion the day before the game (and it was raining as well), my wife called one of the "host hotels" and got us a room. Worked out well because the hotel was attached to the Conv Center where they had moved the pep rallies to, and was also the Florida team hotel (Sheraton). It was funny because there were all these Florida players walking around that I was oblivious to, but the Florida fan that may have been sharing our elevator with (or whatever) knew instantly. Night before the game most of the players were shuttling back and forth to meetings at the hotel meeting rooms, and players/coaches would hang out at the hotel "lounge area" between meetings. Even saw one player (a Senior) listening to an agent's "pitch" at the table next to us. But yes, the coach that overheard me and the bartender talking Howard, UAB, and Indiana did briefly comment on both of the UAB guys we were getting...he knew of them both.

Pelkowski - the bartender was a UAB fan, why would he be tracking the future of Tevin Coleman? He knows UAB.

GoBigRed83 - Yes, an IU bowl trumps any other trips. We tailgated and went into every game, cool seeing all the stadiums. The Beale Street Parade day before the Liberty Bowl in a cool local tradition.

MyTeamOnTheFloor - from my post...."one of the Florida coaches that was sitting nearby pipes in that he heard Tevin went pro"...so I'm not sure what you're referring to.

gmb/chris - yes, you guys have it right. The bartender knew UAB/Howard, but didn't know much about IU or Coleman. The UF coach knew both, and offered up compliments. He hadn't heard we nabbed Howard until I mentioned it.

 

[BigRedFootballEd]

Awesome adventure Matt....kudos to the wife. A football coach's daughter??

*

 

[mattndallas]

Re: Awesome adventure Matt....kudos to the wife. A football coach's daughter??

Nah, she just likes doing stuff like this. I wanted to just run up to the Liberty Bowl and back, but she started googling during the Dallas Bowl and had the whole iten set up....I HAD to do it.

1,700 miles. 28 hours of driving.

 

[jsenleo]

See Pictures from "Mattndallas' Excellent Adventure" on Trackforum.com

.... yep, they're on there. Nothing incriminating that I noticed.

This post was edited on 1/6 8:31 PM by jsenleo

 

[GoBigRed83]

Re: Awesome adventure Matt....kudos to the wife. A football coach's daughter??

Sounds like a keeper but then again I knew that once I met her at TMS for the Indycar race.


Take Care
Ovals Rule
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[MyTeamIsOnTheFloor]

Yeah-I Had It Wrong

Great trip.

I talked myself out of going to Nashville for the Music City Bowl.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[mattndallas]

These guys got the publicity, but we saw better stadiums (IMO)...


but I'm old school. Legion and Cotton Bowl beat Orlando and Jacksonville anyday.

http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/auburn-father-son-travel-six-sec-bowl-games-seven-days/

Plus, I think our video is better (my wife made, so it's from a chick's view of course)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwBU...IVP8ZSCBnYhQqQ