BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- New UAB football coach Garrick McGee unveiled his first signing class with the Blazers on Wednesday at an afternoon press conference on National Signing Day.
McGee, with less than two months on campus, worked with his staff to put together a class that is laden with in-state talent. The class features 17 players from Alabama, including nine from the Birmingham area.
"I took the job because I think there are enough players in this state that we can recruit Alabama kids and we can win a Conference USA championship just recruiting in-state," McGee said. "I'm really fortunate to be the head coach here because of the high school football and the kids and coaches that are in this state."
UAB also placed an emphasis on recruiting high schoolers. Of the 25 players in the class, 23 are coming from high schools, while two are from the junior college ranks.
"We wanted to build our foundation on high school kids," McGee said. "We didn't want to go out and sign a lot of junior college kids and look to put a Band-Aid on our program. We wanted to build it with a foundation of high school kids that were from the state of Alabama and that were winners on and off the field."
McGee said this year's signing class addressed the Blazers' needs heading into the 2012 season and beyond. Specifically, UAB was able to take care of needs on the offensive line and in the defensive backfield, two areas where the team was senior-heavy in 2011.
"You normally carry 12 or 13 offensive linemen on scholarship," McGee said. "I think we have six or seven (currently in the program), so we had to get that number right so we can practice with a first-team offense, a second-team offense and a scout-team offense. We also needed depth at defensive back, and I think we got three really good corners with good size."
Here is a complete look at UAB's 2012 signing class in its entirety ...
