Whoever Starts at QB for Navy, UAB Knows the Assignment
By Steve Irvine
September 25 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
The UAB defense has prepared this week without this without knowing which Navy quarterback they will see when the teams meet in an American Conference game on Friday night at Protective Stadium.
Will it be the explosive Braxton Woodson or the versatile Jackson Gutierrez? Or will it be both?
Woodson is the team’s starter at quarterback but the 6-foot-3, 215-pound fourth year player suffered an ankle sprain in the 38-30 loss to FAU on Sept. 12. The injury came on the opening drive of the third quarter. At that time, Woodson had 96 rushing yards on 12 carries with a touchdown but FAU held a 31-7 lead that grew to a 31-point deficit on the next series. Gutierrez, a 6-foot, 207-pound third year player from San Antonio, stepped in to account for 176 yards and three touchdowns to nearly lead the Midshipmen to an improbable comeback victory.
So which quarterback will take the first Navy snap on Friday night in Birmingham?
It depends on Woodson’s injured ankle. Navy head coach Brian Newberry said earlier this week that Woodson’s availability was “day-to-day” and added that he was “encouraged” in the healing process. He also said that Gutierrez was the starter at that point.
“Right now Jackson is the guy,” Newberry said of Gutierrez, whose father, Gary, was former UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno’s head coach at John Jay High in San Antonio.
Either way, not much changes for the Navy offense or UAB defense as they prepare for Saturday’s game. While there are certainly some differences in the top two Navy quarterbacks the offense doesn’t change when Gutierrez is on the field.
“That's gonna be the test of our defense, how disciplined we can be for 60, 70 plays,” said UAB linebacker Muaaz Byard, who is the team leader in tackles with 30. “Can you do your job even if you're not making plays or if you are making plays? Just do your job consistently over and over again because that's what they're banking on. They're banking on somebody to mess up. So as long as we do our job every play, make sure our eyes in the right spot, we should be good.”
Being in the right spot isn’t always enough to stop Woodson, who is the fourth leading rusher in the country and leads all quarterbacks with 148 rushing yards per game. It’s the third consecutive week that UAB’s defense is facing a running threat quarterback, whether it’s Woodson or Gutierrez. The experience of playing Louisiana-Monroe’s Austin Carlisle and Louisiana’s Lunch Winfield could be helpful this week.
“It's another week and another really good running quarterback,” UAB defensive end Tylin Jackson said. “Those guys can scoot. You know, they're fast, they make plays. But I think it just comes down to the details on the defense. Like, we have to do our job because these guys can hurt us if we're not on one accord.”
As usual, Navy has a threat at fullback in Vic Listori, who has 116 yards and a touchdown in two games, but they aren’t the focus.
“Everything goes through the quarterback,” Byard said, speaking about Woodson. “He's a great athlete. He can run. I know the running backs number 40 (Listori) and 42 (Mac Barrow II), those are bigger backs and things like that. But everything gonna go through the quarterback. He's the heart and soul of the offense. So if we stop him, we can stop them.”