The first thing to remember about Alabama-Birmingham quarterback Joe Webb is this: He previously moonlighted at wide receiver.

In fact, he received much of his 2007 playing time at wideout, though he never left the quarterback grouping on the depth chart. He played long enough and well enough at receiver to catch 30 passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns.

That alone illustrates what kind of a versatile threat Marshall's defense will face at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday when the teams get together at Legion Field. Throw in Webb's size - 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds - and you have an athletic quarterback who isn't afraid of contact.

When Thundering Herd coaches started preparing for Webb, they tapped a big wide receiver to simulate him.

"We've got Tavaris Thompson being him at practice right now," said Herd coach Mark Snyder. "He's just a big guy ... looks like a strong kid, looks like he's got good feet, good speed and throws the ball pretty decently. He's a big kid, breaks arm-tackles. We've got to be sure we tackle him."

Webb, one of several homegrown Birmingham products on the squad, came to the Blazers as quarterback, playing in the final two games of the 2006 season. He threw for 289 yards in the season finale against Central Florida, but started 2007 behind Sam Hunt at QB.

But he was a good enough receiver to see plenty of action there, serving as a big target for Hunt. He had three six-catch games but saw his time behind center increase as the season wore on. By the time the Blazers came to Marshall to close the season, Hunt and Webb were splitting time, almost series by series.

The duo combined for 389 passing yards and 116 rushing yards as the Blazers took a 39-38 lead before the Herd rallied late for a 46-39 win. Webb directed the last-ditch drive, rushing for two first downs and directing the Blazers to the Marshall 25-yard line before throwing four straight incomplete passes to the end zone.

Now, Webb's receiving days are over and the Blazer offense is his. With a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-8, his passing efficiency could be better, but he's throwing for 215.6 yards per game. He's also the No. 3 quarterback in the nation in rushing yards at 84 per game, and he has scored six running touchdowns, both easily team highs.

He can strike with his feet without warning.

"On the run plays, I just try to make people miss and get upfield and get a few more yards," Webb said. "But I think I'm more effective when I'm in the pocket, then don't see anyone open, and then take off."

The first thing to remember about Alabama-Birmingham quarterback Joe Webb is this: He previously moonlighted at wide receiver.

In fact, he received much of his 2007 playing time at wideout, though he never left the quarterback grouping on the depth chart. He played long enough and well enough at receiver to catch 30 passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns.

That alone illustrates what kind of a versatile threat Marshall's defense will face at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday when the teams get together at Legion Field. Throw in Webb's size - 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds - and you have an athletic quarterback who isn't afraid of contact.

When Thundering Herd coaches started preparing for Webb, they tapped a big wide receiver to simulate him.

"We've got Tavaris Thompson being him at practice right now," said Herd coach Mark Snyder. "He's just a big guy ... looks like a strong kid, looks like he's got good feet, good speed and throws the ball pretty decently. He's a big kid, breaks arm-tackles. We've got to be sure we tackle him."

Webb, one of several homegrown Birmingham products on the squad, came to the Blazers as quarterback, playing in the final two games of the 2006 season. He threw for 289 yards in the season finale against Central Florida, but started 2007 behind Sam Hunt at QB.

But he was a good enough receiver to see plenty of action there, serving as a big target for Hunt. He had three six-catch games but saw his time behind center increase as the season wore on. By the time the Blazers came to Marshall to close the season, Hunt and Webb were splitting time, almost series by series.

The duo combined for 389 passing yards and 116 rushing yards as the Blazers took a 39-38 lead before the Herd rallied late for a 46-39 win. Webb directed the last-ditch drive, rushing for two first downs and directing the Blazers to the Marshall 25-yard line before throwing four straight incomplete passes to the end zone.

Now, Webb's receiving days are over and the Blazer offense is his. With a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-8, his passing efficiency could be better, but he's throwing for 215.6 yards per game. He's also the No. 3 quarterback in the nation in rushing yards at 84 per game, and he has scored six running touchdowns, both easily team highs.

He can strike with his feet without warning.

"On the run plays, I just try to make people miss and get upfield and get a few more yards," Webb said. "But I think I'm more effective when I'm in the pocket, then don't see anyone open, and then take off."

That has Snyder and his defensive coaches on edge. Whatever plan they devise, it's inevitable that everybody on the defense will have to contain Webb at some point. Or look bad trying.

"There's your challenge - do you rush him or don't you rush him?" Snyder said. "We need to get those guys into third-and-longs, and it's hard to do that because he can run so effectively. When they've gotten in third-and-long situations, they haven't been very good, and you saw [Houston lineman] Phillip Hunt last week with a couple of sacks, because they got a lead and got them into third-and-long.

"And that's where you can use a guy like Albert [McClellan, MU's pass-rush specialist]. But again, the key there is do you build that wall up front and let your safeties play the pass, or do you get after him, and now your safeties have to get involved? But there are a couple of times the safeties are going to have to tackle him, there's no question."

Of Webb's eight TD passes, five have gone to tight ends. (All Herd fans in unison: "Uh, oh."). Rashad Slaughter (278 rushing yards, 16 receptions for 82 yards) is a threat out of the backfield, but the Blazers' top receiving threat is Frantrell Forrest. He has 33 receptions in Conference USA games for 419 yards and two scores.

Forrest led the Blazers in receptions (49) as a freshman, including seven for 64 yards against Marshall. He has taken more of the load this year, catching about one in every four Webb completions.

"I think he's gotten faster," Webb said. "He understands the game more. He understands that when we need a big play, he's there for us."

Forrest is No. 7, Webb is No. 5 and Slaughter No. 1, so Herd coaches are teaching players to look for those single-digit jerseys this week. But Webb is the one that has to be tracked the closest - if he crosses the line of scrimmage with the football, he's running and it's probably too late to stop him.

Which makes the Blazers a dangerous 1-6 team.

"When they get going, it's usually 5 that gets them going," Snyder said.

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.