The best view in the house is often perceived by the offensive line.

Moving bodies and creating vast running lanes for a dominant rushing attack is the mantra for the big boys up front and there is no greater sight for them than seeing the backside of UAB running back DeWayne McBride.

Not content with three yards and a cloud of dust, the junior running back for the UAB football team achieves a new level of power with each hit, growing stronger while flipping over and bouncing off of defenders within his wake.

“When you see the hole, hit it,” McBride said. “I don’t like when one man or two tackles me. I just don’t like getting tackled. Seeing the O-line, they come out working hard every day and always push for that extra yard, to block for me for an extra yard, so I’m going to do whatever for them boys and keep going hard too.”

The Blazers need everything and more from McBride as seek to get their season back on track in playing host to conference leader UTSA, Saturday, Nov. 5, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

Read more on UAB football:

Blazer Buzz – UAB vs. UTSA TV info, key matchups

Position-by-position breakdown for UAB vs. UTSA

UAB seeks to end 2-game skid against UTSA

McBride, affectionately called ‘Debo’ by friends and family, teammates and coaches, and the greater UAB fan base, is the C-USA leader in rushing with 1,146 yards, second nationally, and is tops in the NCAA in rushing yards per game (167.3), despite missing the season opener due to illness.

“He runs with a purpose and a passion, a selfless purpose and passion,” UAB interim head coach Bryant Vincent said. “He’s not about himself, he’s not about his awards, and he’s not about how many touchdowns he gets; he’s about winning and playing for his teammates. That’s hard to find nowadays.”

McBride has rushed for at least 120 yards in every game this season, scoring 12 touchdowns, and extending his streak to eight straight games — 11 out of the last 12 — eclipsing the century mark, dating back to UAB’s win over No. 13 BYU in the 2021 Independence Bowl. He is also the NCAA’s career active leader in yards per carry (7.1) and the second UAB player, joining all-time leading rusher Spencer Brown, to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards.

Considering McBride’s high-volume production, UAB launched a campaign for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s best running back, and the Florida native was named a Maxwell Award semifinalist as recently as this week.

“The biggest thing for me is coming to work every day,” he said. “Honestly, all that stuff being posted, shoutouts and whatnot, it means something but the team is bigger. We’re playing for something bigger than me.”

Accolades and individual awards are pretty swell, but for the man named Debo, it’s a distraction from team success. McBride is responsible for his fair share of that success, but also relented it with multiple turnovers that have either directly or indirectly led to UAB’s road struggles this season.

Sitting at 4-4 with four games remaining, a total of 21 points separates the Blazers from a perfect record and McBride takes his role in those losses personally and responded with a fumble-free outing in UAB’s previous game at FAU — despite multiple attempts by the Owls defense to pry the ball from McBride’s grip.

His brutal rushing style is only one component of his game and the McBride combines the physical nature of it with balance power not seen often in a 215-pound body stacked at 5-foot-11. Marrying physics and improvisational production on the field, McBride has created his own “sweet science” for the running back position.

“He’s got great balance and body control through contact and you don’t see that much,” Vincent said. “The first guy, the second guy, usually doesn’t get him down because of his balance and body control. He’s got elite change of direction for a back his size, with his power, and it makes him different. Most of all, it’s his mentality and team-first attitude that makes him special.”