WEST PALM BEACH – Boynton Beach alum Trequan Smith is back home with Northern Illinois to play in the Boca Raton Bowl against UAB.
“It feels great to be back home and see familiar faces,” said Smith, who is a starting safety for the Huskies. “To see my family come to the game is a big blessing.”
The redshirt junior is grateful to be back in action after missing virtually the entire 2017 season. He sustained a long-term injury in last year’s season opener against Boston College.
“NIU has been great to me,” Smith said. “I went through a injury last year and I couldn’t play, but I’m having a great season. I’m looking forward to getting better.”
Northern Illinois (8-5) was able to defeat Buffalo in a nail-biter, where the Huskies trailed by as many as 19 points late in the second half of that game. NIU rallied to win the Mid-American Conference Championship game over Buffalo, 30-29.
The Huskies currently sport a 4-8 bowl record and haven’t won a bowl game since 2011, when they defeated Arkansas State 38-20 in the Go Daddy Bowl.
Smith was direct when asked what he and his team plan to get accomplished in the Boca Raton Bowl.
“We’re looking to get a win first and foremost and looking to execute our game plan,” Smith said.
UAB (10-3) put together a phenomenal season and it ended the regular season with a exclamation mark. In a thrilling back-and-forth contest with the Conference USA championship on the line, the UAB football team outlasted Middle Tennessee 27-25 to win its first-ever league title.
The Blazers capturing a Conference USA championship is nothing short of amazing as the program was shut down for a short time in 2014.
UAB has a bowl record of 0-2. Its most recent bowl game was last year’s 41-6 blowout loss to Ohio in the Bahamas Bowl. Head Coach Bill Clark is looking to turn things around in Boca Raton.
“We’re coming to win the game,” Clark said. “We’ve had a good week so far. We’re ready to get there, get acclimated and get started.”
UAB honored the late Greg Bryant Jr. at practice and handed Bryant Sr. his sons jersey. Bryant Jr. played his high school football at American Heritage (Delray) before signing with Notre Dame and then transferring to UAB.
From UAB’s twitter post:
“It’s a privilege and a blessing to have Greg Bryant Sr. at practice today. Your son was taken from our program and this earth too soon and we couldn’t be more proud to honor him in his backyard. This one’s for you Greg.”
The 2018 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. ET at FAU Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and carried on ESPN Radio, including ESPN 106.3 locally.
Credits: UAB Football (uabsports.com), NIU Football (niuhuskies.com), and Boca Bowl (Cheribundibocaratonbowl.com)
