LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama football team will kick off the 2023 season on Thursday night from Tiger Stadium, and the competition will be intense from the opening kickoff as Angelo State University (Texas), preseason favorites in the Lone Star Conference and a top-five team in Division II, will be the opponent.
Live coverage is provided on our website,
uwaathletics.com/live with links for live video, live audio and more.
FloSports and FloFootball will be the exclusive home for all GSC football games during the 2023 season. Fans can subscribe to the streaming service at a special GSC discounted rate, and subscriptions are able to be canceled at anytime. For more information or to signup,
click here.
For each game during the 2023 season, SLYROCK 104.9 FM will be providing an audio-only opportunity for fans. Will Atkinson will provide the play-by-play duties. Fans can click on the link to the right or download the
SLYROCK app to listen on your mobile device.
PREVIEWING THE RAMS
Angelo State is ranked in fifth in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and sixth in the D2football.com preseason polls, announced earlier this month. Winning their last 13 Lone Star Conference (LSC) games, the Rams are favored to win the LSC again in 2023.
The Rams advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship after defeating Bemidji State (Minn.) in the second round, 33-7.
UWA PICKED FOURTH IN GSC PRESEASON POLL
The Gulf South Conference (GSC) football head coaches chose West Alabama to finish fourth in the preseason GSC poll.
UWA concluded the 2022 season with a 5-6 record overall and 3-4 in GSC play, picking up wins over Shorter, Valdosta State and Mississippi College.
The Tigers totaled 44 points in the preseason poll, finishing ahead of West Georgia (52) and last season's co-champions West Florida (56) and Delta State (61). The Statesmen were picked as the preseason favorites thanks to six of the nine first-place votes.
West Alabama will see a new GSC opponent in Chowan (N.C.) for the 2023 season. The Hawks were members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) for the last 14 seasons. The Tigers will visit Murfreesboro, N.C. for the matchup on Oct. 28.
IT TAKES ONE
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) released its preseason poll, and West Alabama picked up one vote.
UWA will face four teams ranked in the coaches preseason poll: No. 5 Angelo State, No. 10 Delta State, No. 22 West Georgia and No. 7 West Florida.
MELTON BACK UNDER CENTER
Sophomore
Tucker Melton will begin his second year of college ball as QB1. Last season, the Phenix City, Ala. native threw for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Melton threw for a season-high 400 yards on 22-of-39 passing in 2022 against Miles. In 10 games, he threw for 200 or more yards five times.
FROM MELTON TO...
UWA will have its top-four receivers back in 2023, led by
John Hilbert and
Darius Nalls. The duo combined for 44% of the team's total receiving yards a year ago. Hilbert led the team with 541 on 37 catches, with Nalls recording 499 yards on 40 catches.
However, Nalls found the endzone more than anybody else last year with six touchdowns.
Dearrius Nelson and
Khris Binion are also expected to be in the mix at wide receiver.
At tight end, graduate student
Caeleb Bass had 375 yards on 28 catches. In UWA's second bout with Delta State on Nov. 12, 2022, Bass caught 76 yards on five catches.
TIME TO STEP UP
There will be a couple of position groups that will look to make a name for themselves in 2023.
Starting on defense, after the departure of All-American
Michael Anderson to graduation, the current linebackers are "chomping at the bit" to hit somebody other than their teammates come Thursday.
Trevon Stanford posted 9.5 tackles for a loss and 63 tackles for the second-most on the team last season. On the ends,
Davonchae Bryant found his way to the opponents' backfield on multiple occasions, posting 15 of his 46 tackles behind the line of scrimmage with 3.5 sacks.
On offense,
Demetrius Battle finished second on the team in rushing yards with 658 last year. Now, in 2023, the rushing game will look to make up 31% of the offense.
Bry Webb does return for the Tigers for his senior season. Scoring five times, Webb rushed for 738 yards and averaged over five yards a carry.
10 YEARS FOR GILLILAND
The 2023 season for Gilliland will be his 10th at the helm of West Alabama football, and he will enter with 56 career wins, the most for a football coach in UWA history.
Winning the GSC in 2017, Gilliland has coached two teams to NCAA Tournament appearances, including knocking off Delta State in the opening round at home at the 2017 NCAA Division II Championship.
His 50th win as a head coach came against Shorter during the 2021 season on Oct. 9 from Rome, Georgia. The Tigers clipped the Hawks, 44-7 from Barron Stadium.
During the annual Red-White Spring Football game in March of 2023, the UWA football program unveiled a "CS" emblem on their helmets that will be worn throughout the 2023 season.
SAULSBERRY TO BE RECOGNIZED ON UWA HELMETS IN 2023
"Christian Saulsberry's time on earth being cut short is still heartbreaking to all of us," UWA head coach Brett Gilliland said. "Christian was a great Tiger whose smile and determination will be forever remembered."
"His relentless work in the face of adversity was special and to be admired," Gilliland said. "He and his mother worked so hard to be able to have him live his dream of playing pro ball. I am so thankful that he was able to live that dream with the Edmonton Elks. Please join us in continuing to pray for his mama Melissa Saulsberry-Smith and all of his family."
The former UWA athlete and former member of the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL), passed away in December 2022 as the result of a shooting in Memphis, Tennessee.
After transferring from Itawamba Community College (Miss.), Saulsberry played two seasons with UWA. He was a two-time All-GSC standout in his career, finishing with 1,224 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 23 games.
After signing a contact with the Elks, he appeared in eight games during the 2022 season. He was primarily a return man on special teams.
He had 635 yards on kickoff returns and 235 punt return yards. He was ranked ninth in punt return average (12.4) within all of the NFL and CFL.
His mother, Melissa Saulsberry-Smith, served as his "momager." She managed and advocated for him to professional teams.
Leading to his signing with Edmonton, Saulsberry had such pride and excitement about his mom securing his contract with the Elks.
