UAB football opens camp with season opener at Illinois 1 month away

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The UAB Blazers opened fall football practice Monday as the program begins its first full season under Head Coach Alex Mortensen.

Mortensen enters the year with his starting quarterback returning and a new defensive coordinator who brings more than three decades of collegiate and professional experience to the program.

Mortensen said his team must continue to improve over the next several weeks.

“Don’t look at the offseason and the summer as the time you improve, and now you go play,” Mortensen said. “Camp is a tremendous opportunity to get better. We gotta get better fundamentally, we’ve gotta get better technique wise. We gotta gain a better understanding of our scheme.”

Burton back under center

Quarterback Ryder Burton returns for the Blazers after leading UAB to an upset win over then-No. 22 Memphis last season.

“I feel like right now, the work ethic is very high,” Burton said. “I feel like the buy in is very high. The next thing is to play without thinking, knowing your assignment so well that you can play faster.”

Overhauling the UAB defense

New Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham is tasked with rebuilding a defense that finished last in the American Conference last season. Linebacker Ike Esonwune, who previously played for Grantham at Oklahoma State, said the defense is taking the right steps and has been impressed with the overall energy of the team.

“It’s amazing to me,” Esonwune said. “It’s hard work, that’s really what it is. The best players going at the best guys. It’s dog eat dog world out here. Just making each other better every day it’s amazing.”

The 2026 UAB football season begins Thursday, Sept. 3 at Illinois.

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