5 things to watch as UAB opens spring practice Updated Mar 17, 2021; Facebook Share It’s been three months since the UAB football team ended a most unusual season in the most unusual way. Despite winning a second conference championship in three years, the Blazers were unable to finish the 2020 season in style -- South Carolina withdrew from the Gasparilla Bowl less than a week before it was scheduled -- but are back on the field as they opened spring practice, Tuesday, March 16, in Legacy Pavilion at the UAB Football Operations Complex in Birmingham. “We always look for great organization and that’s the first thing I told them,” UAB head coach Bill Clark said. “That’s why I look for all the little things: Do they come out properly equipped? Are their minds right? We got high expectations for this group. For us, it’s can we practice in the manner we want to practice with everybody getting better and protecting each other. I saw that today.”