The Trent Dilfer experiment never worked. Now, UAB is hoping to improve in the first full season under new head coach Alex Mortensen.
Dilfer, the former Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Baltimore Ravens, was hired after a successful stint coaching in high school but his success didn’t translate to college.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
He went 9-21 in two-plus seasons at UAB and was replaced on an interim basis by Mortensen, who guided the Blazers to a 2-4 mark during a 4-8 season.
Mortensen, who was the offensive coordinator, now has the interim tag lifted and hopes to also lift the spirits of a program that has produced three consecutive losing campaigns since leaving Conference USA to join the American Conference prior to the 2023 season.
One of the big names at UAB is new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who has extensive college and NFL experience as an assistant coach and was the defensive coordinator last year at Oklahoma State.
Grantham takes over a unit which was last in the American in scoring defense, allowing 38.3 points per game. The expectations (from the outside world) aren’t very high this season for UAB, so the Blazers biggest hope is to possibly be a surprise team.
UAB Season Preview
With Mortensen still serving as offensive coordinator, the Blazers should be able to score points. It will all come down to whether the defense under Grantham can show improvement. Establishing a winning culture will be important after what has been a rough recent stretch for the Blazers.
Key Players To Replace
Quarterback Jalen Kitna completed 66.4% of his passes for 2,462 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Receiver Iverson Hooks, who had 72 receptions for 927 yards and seven touchdowns, transferred to Oregon. He was a second-team All-American Conference selection as was Solomon Beebe as a return specialist. Beebe, who transferred to Virginia, rushed for 338 yards and six touchdowns and averaged 26.1 yards with one touchdown on 23 kickoff returns.
Among the key defensive players to replace is linebacker Devin Hightower, who had a team-high 81 tackles.
Quarterback Situation
Redshirt junior Ryder Burton is projected as the starter at QB. Burton, with previous stops at BYU and West Virginia, earned two starts last year in his first season with UAB. During his first start, an improbable 31-24 win over Memphis, Burton completed 20 of 27 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. For the season, he completed 63.3% of his passes for 708 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Besides Burton, UAB has young players at quarterback, including redshirt sophomores Adrian Posse, Nate Rogers and Cam Jennings and redshirt freshman Vanden Dugger.
Key Returning Players
The leading returning receiver is Kaleb Brown, who had 17 receptions for 255 yards and two scores.
Graduate center Adam Lepkowski is the leading returning offensive lineman after starting 12 games last year. Graduate Calib Perez started nine games at left guard.
Redshirt junior tight end Antonio Ferguson, who had 10 receptions for 115 yards, could have a bigger role in the offense.
Junior cornerback Delvon Gulley appeared in 11 games, making six starts and recording 19 tackles and three pass breakups. Graduate defensive tackle Nigel Tate missed last season due to injury but is expected to be a key contributor.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Chris Burge had 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Senior placekicker Jonah Delange was 10 of 14 on field goals and 29 of 29 on extra points last season. In 2024, he was the American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year after converting 21 of 24 field goals and all 31 PAT attempts.
Key Newcomers
Possibly the most important newcomer for UAB is junior running back Rod Robinson II, a transfer from Georgia who those associated with the UAB program feel could be an all-conference candidate. He played sparingly at Georgia but made a big first impression at UAB.
Receiver KJ Daniels, who did not see action in two seasons at Oklahoma, also made positive impressions at receiver in the spring.
One of the top newcomers on defense is redshirt junior linebacker Ike Esonwune, a transfer from Oklahoma State. Last year, he had 31 tackles, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
Redshirt senior linebacker Muaaz Byard appeared in eight games for Middle Tennessee, making four starts. He posted 37 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception and two pass breakups.
Graduate defensive end Marlin Dean had 32 tackles, including three tackles for loss last year in 11 games for Georgia State.
Redshirt freshman safety Jotavian Pierce, who didn’t see any action last year at Oklahoma State, impressed in the spring. The fact that he spent last season under Grantham surely will be a bonus. Senior safety Jeremiah Jordan, who had 19 tackles and six pass breakups at Memphis, should be a key addition in the secondary.
Anta’Veon McKenzie, who started nine games last year at Sacramento State and made 48 tackles, could be utilized as a nickel or safety.
UAB’s 2026 Schedule
- 9/5 at Illinois
- 9/12 vs. ULM
- 9/19 at Louisiana
- 9/25 vs. Navy
- 10/3 vs. Samford
- 10/10 at Memphis
- 10/15 vs. East Carolina
- 10/31 at South Florida
- 11/7 vs. Charlotte
- 11/14 at Temple
- 11/21 vs. UTSA
- 11/28 at North Texas
Bold indicates American Conference contests
UAB’s American Conference Title Betting Odds
UAB’s college football betting odds to win the conference are at +30000, via BetMGM. The Blazers are in last place in the 14-team conference when it comes to betting odds.
UAB’s Betting Odds & Over/Under Win Total
- UAB’s win total Over/Under is 3.5.
- The Under is at -115.
- The Over is at -115.
UAB Season Prediction
I predict UAB will go over the 3.5 win total. The nonconference schedule, other than Illinois, isn’t overwhelming, although winning at Louisiana won’t be easy.
The offense should be proficient, although Burton will have to take that next step and also limit his turnovers. Robinson at running back could be a game-changer.
The bigger key is how the defense responds to Grantham. One would think his arrival should keep the Blazers from being the worst or even near the worst team in the American Conference in scoring defense.
Still, there are a lot of unknowns, but matching last year’s win total should be a realistic goal.
