Things feel different at UAB.

They had to.

The Trent Dilfer era did not work. UAB tried something bold. It tried something different. It tried to create energy with a name people knew.

Instead, the Blazers went backward.

UAB finished 4-8 last season and 2-6 in the American. The program has not had a winning season since 2022, and the Blazers are 11-25 since that year.

That is not where this program expected to be.

Now Alex Mortensen gets his first full year as head coach after taking over during last season. He went 2-4 after stepping into the job, but one of those wins was a huge one: a 31-24 upset of Memphis that shook up the Group of Five playoff race.

That game showed what UAB could look like.

The question is whether the Blazers can make that version show up more often.

HEAD COACH

• Alex Mortensen, entering his first full season as UAB’s head coach
• UAB went 4-8 last season.
• The Blazers finished 2-6 in the American.
• UAB has not had a winning season since 2022.
• The Blazers averaged 24.1 points per game last season.

Mortensen has a chance to reset the tone.

That matters.

UAB needed a fresh start. The last couple of years felt messy. The results were not good enough, and the program lost the momentum it had built.

Mortensen now gets an offseason to run the program his way.

The players seemed to respond to him late last season. The Memphis win mattered. It gave UAB something real to build on and proved the Blazers were still capable of playing winning football when things clicked.

But one win does not fix everything.

UAB averaged 24.1 points per game last season and 394 yards per game. The yardage was actually solid. The scoring did not match it.

That tells you the offense moved the ball, but did not finish enough drives.

The bigger problem was balance.

UAB threw the ball on 55% of its plays, one of the highest rates in the country. The Blazers averaged 37 passes per game, also near the top nationally.

Some of that was by choice.

A lot of it was because they were behind.

That has to change.

If UAB wants to be better, it has to stop chasing games.

QUARTERBACK

Ryder Burton gives UAB something to work with.

He is back at quarterback after completing 63% of his passes last season with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He played meaningful snaps in three games, and the best one came in the biggest moment.

Against Memphis, Burton threw for 251 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the upset win.

That matters.

He has already seen good things happen in a UAB uniform. He has already played in a game where the offense looked dangerous and the Blazers beat one of the better teams in the American.

Now he has to prove he can do it over a full season.

The turnover number is worth watching.

UAB had nearly two giveaways per game last season, ranking near the bottom of the country. Burton was not responsible for all of that, but as the quarterback, he has to be part of fixing it.

This offense cannot afford empty possessions.

It cannot afford short fields for the other team.

It cannot afford to make life harder on a defense that already had major problems.

Burton does not have to become a star. But he has to be steady, accurate and careful with the ball.

If he is, UAB has a chance to be better offensively than the record suggests.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

The offense starts up front.

Adam Lepkowski and Calib Perez are the two returning starters on offense, and both are offensive linemen. That gives UAB at least some stability in the middle of the offense.

That is important because the Blazers need to run the ball better.

The most interesting newcomer is Rod Robinson II, the Georgia transfer.

Robinson is a big back, around 235 pounds, and he never really got a major chance in a loaded Georgia backfield. He had 34 carries for 221 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons with the Bulldogs.

Now he should get a real opportunity.

UAB needs him to be more than just a transfer name.

The Blazers need him to be a physical presence. They need him to take pressure off Burton. They need him to help this offense stop living through the air every week.

If Robinson becomes the lead back, the whole offense can look different.

The tight end spot has some promise with Antonio Ferguson, who is one of the more interesting names to watch on the roster. He could become a helpful piece for Burton, especially if the receiver room takes time to sort itself out.

And that receiver room is a major question.

Kaleb Brown had a spring ankle injury, and UAB has to figure out who becomes the reliable target in this offense. There are names with ability, but the Blazers need production. They need somebody who can win consistently. They need somebody Burton trusts on third down.

DEFENSE

This is where everything has to change.

UAB’s defense was a problem last season.

The Blazers gave up 32.9 points per game and 415 yards per game. Opponents ran the ball on 62% of their plays, one of the highest rates in the country, and threw it only about 37% of the time.

That tells you everything.

Teams did not need to throw.

They got ahead.

They ran the ball.

Todd Grantham is the new defensive coordinator, and whatever people think of his past stops, UAB needed a major change on that side of the ball. The Blazers almost cannot be worse defensively, especially against the run.

The top returning starter is Delvon Gulley in the secondary.

In fact, he is the only returning defensive starter, so there is a lot to rebuild.

At linebacker, Ike Esonwune comes in from Oklahoma State after making 31 tackles. He could become a key piece right away. UAB needs linebackers who can tackle cleanly and help slow down the run game.

Up front, Nigel Tate is an important name if he is healthy. He dealt with an Achilles injury last season, but he was expected to be a major part of the defensive line.

The secondary also adds Darrell Sweeting from Marshall, and he could be someone to watch in the back end.

But this defense is not about one or two names.

It is about whether the whole unit can become more physical.

UAB cannot get run on 62% of the time again. It cannot keep giving up long drives. It cannot keep asking the offense to chase points.

The Blazers need to force more uncomfortable possessions.

They need to create more negative plays.

They need to make teams throw because they have to, not because they feel like it.

That is the biggest fix on the roster.

SCHEDULE

The schedule starts with two major tests.

UAB opens at Illinois on Sept. 5, then hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 12. After that, the Blazers go to Louisiana before hosting Navy and Samford.

That is not an easy September.

Illinois is a tough opener. Louisiana on the road is tricky. Navy is never fun to prepare for. And Samford, an FCS program right there in Birmingham, would love nothing more than to make that game uncomfortable.

The good news is UAB does not have back-to-back road trips.

That helps.

The bad news is the American schedule has several tough spots.

The Blazers go to Memphis on Oct. 10, then host East Carolina five days later. That is a tough turnaround after a rivalry-style road game.

After that, they get 16 days before playing at South Florida on Halloween. Then they host Charlotte, go to Temple, host UTSA, and finish at North Texas.

There are chances here.

Louisiana-Monroe, Samford, Charlotte and Temple are games UAB has to view as opportunities. If the Blazers can steal one of the tougher conference games, the path to improvement is there.

But the schedule is not going to hand them a bowl.

UAB has to earn it.

OUTLOOK

I think UAB will be more interesting than last year.

That does not mean I am ready to call the Blazers good.

There is too much to fix.

The defense was bad. The turnover problem was bad. The offense threw too much because the team was behind too often. There are only three returning starters. The receiver room is unsettled. The schedule starts with real challenges.

But there are reasons for optimism.

Alex Mortensen gets a full offseason. Ryder Burton has already shown he can win a big game. Rod Robinson II gives UAB a potential workhorse back. Adam Lepkowski and Calib Perez give the offensive line a starting point. Todd Grantham should at least bring a different defensive structure. And the players seemed to respond once the program moved on from the previous era.

The best-case scenario is that Burton becomes a steady starter, Robinson gives UAB the run game it badly needs, the offensive line holds up, one or two receivers emerge, and the defense jumps from awful to at least functional.

If that happens, UAB can push toward a bowl.

The worst-case scenario is that the run defense is still a problem, the offense keeps turning it over, the receiver room never settles, and the schedule exposes how much rebuilding still has to be done.

My gut?

UAB should be better.

But better may not mean bowl team yet.

This feels like a year about stabilizing the program, rebuilding trust and proving the Blazers can look organized again.

That may not sound exciting, but for UAB, it matters.

The program needs energy again.

It needs a reason to believe again.

And if Mortensen can turn that Memphis upset from a one-game flash into a foundation, UAB might start moving back toward what it was not that long ago: a tough, physical program nobody in the league wanted to play.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.