UAB's first game back included a damn Piesman Trophy play

Anthony Rush’s 27-yard rumble for a touchdown will earn him serious consideration.

The UAB football program is back from the dead after missing two seasons. Here’s a brief read on how that all went down. It’s great to have the Blazers back.

The new UAB’s first game was Saturday against Alabama A&M. And in that first game back, the Blazers pulled off a Piesman Trophy nomination:

The Piesman is SB Nation’s trophy for linemen who do decidedly un-linemen-like things, such as getting the ball and running with it to score touchdowns.

Enter UAB nose tackle Anthony Rush. The 6’5, 340-pounder from Raleigh, N.C., tipped an A&M pass to himself, corralled it, and rumbled 27 yards for a touchdown. The play was smoother than silk, and Rush made the whole thing happen himself.

The year’s young. More Piesman noms will come and go. But Rush has secured himself consideration in Week 1, and that’s a hell of a valuable thing.

Last year’s winner was Pitt offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, who managed to score on a designed play: