The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Coffee With Coach Transcript: Alabama State Preview
8/25/2025 5:08:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – With three days remaining until UAB hosts Alabama State at Protective Stadium, Head Coach Trent Dilfer held his first Coffee With Coach Press Conference on Monday inside his office at the Football Operations Center.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER:
Opening statement:
"Thanks for being here, guys. Obviously, week one, (we are) excited about the opportunity. (I am) humbled by the growth we have experienced since December through the turmoil of a new era of college football and turning your roster and your staff over yearly, but we really like the people in the building, and we feel like we are better than we have been in the past, but we still have a lot of work to do."
Coach Dilfer on play calling communication:
"Coach (Alex) Mortensen is one of the 22 people left in the building since year one. We have established a really good working relationship, we have done it a few different ways, and we feel very confident in our process this year. Mort will communicate with the quarterback and nobody else will talk to the quarterback. It truly is a collaboration of play calling. We co-call it, we have different points of emphasis, and I do not want him to be 'gun shy' ever because I am the head coach and an offensive guy, so I do not second guess him when he makes a decision. What we started to do at the end of last year and we feel like it is a better process now is our process going into the game, the time we spend together, and making sure we are thinking the same thoughts. Rice (last year) is the best example. Rice is the week I had the neck surgery, I missed the Tuesday practice, and I felt horrible. I was going into work for two weeks and came in on Wednesday and I knew I added nothing to the game plan. But by the day of the game came, I felt pretty good. Mort took the lead, and I was able to chime in when I felt necessary conceptually and philosophically, and it was a really good blend. The Charlotte game, at times, was really good because I was taking the lead, and there were times when he and the staff probably called 30 or 40 percent of that game even though I was taking the lead. We have gone back and evaluated good calls and bad calls, how the quarterback plays, speed for which the call comes in, and at the end of the day, it is a true co-calling situation when both of us feel like we can pull the trigger at any time because we are on the same page."
Coach Dilfer on the green-dot duties on the defensive side of the ball:
"Defensively, right now, it is the inside linebackers. I think they switch off who takes the lead with it. I think (Devin) Hightower has had it most of the time, but we do have three green-dots on defense we can use, one at a time, but other inside linebackers have practiced with it as well."
Coach Dilfer on the height of the secondary:
"It is a totally different recruiting philosophy that we have had this year than we have had in the past both in the transfer portal and the high school space. One of the core tenants is a bigger, more physical, longer cornerback. This scheme fits that, and it is something this staff believes in, and I believe in it as well. The other way works, too. I do not think there is a right or wrong, I think it is the type of cover schemes and run fits that you have within your defense that dictates how you recruit that position."
Coach Dilfer on what he hopes to see out of his team in game one:
"I want to see how they respond to both good and bad. If you want to put a simple blanket over the issues we have had for two years, it has been we have been reactive to good and bad things. Overly emotional is another way to say it. We have let our feelings dictate our actions. I say 'we' because this is all of us. If you have one big theme from everything we have talked about, everything we have tried to implement is choosing your best response over how you feel. Our feelings lie to us most of the time, most of the bad decisions we make in life are feelings based. We need to make sure we are responding with discernment, wisdom, poise, and making good decisions in regards to how we feel and where our emotions are.
Coach Dilfer on the importance of the first game of the season:
"People love football. We get to play it and coach it and love it, and people who watch it, love it. There is this great buildup of anticipation. The other night, I came home late, and my wife had a preseason NFL game on, and I never watch preseason games. I did not even watch preseason games when I played in the NFL. But, I said, 'oh my gosh, there is football' like there's football on the TV. So, I sat down, had my dinner at 10 o'clock at night and watched football. Because of that, I think there is a lot to put on week one, but then if you step back, and just say 'what is the significance of week one?' It is one game. We want the approach where every game is a big deal, you are always trying to get the next one, you are trying to go 1-0, but I do want to make sure everyone knows that we are a work in progress, and we are not close to where I want us to be yet. But we do have a lot to earn and a lot to prove, too. I think as long as you can balance those two things, I think it is really important because we have a lot to earn and a lot to prove, but it is the next one even though it is the first one, and you take that approach, too, if you can balance those two dynamics going on, I think you would probably be in a pretty good mindset to play as good as you can play.
Coach Dilfer on Ryan Lewis' ties to Alabama State:
"I know last night was a long night and we started to chase some ghosts because of (Lewis' time at Alabama State). And I said, 'stop, they know that we know.' There is a truth there. I said, 'listen, let's go with what we see, not on what we think we might know, and then in-game, if what we think we might know is unfolding, we can react to that, but let's not plan a gameplan around insider information.' I think that is a very dangerous thing to do. It happens in the NFL all the time. Think about the movement in the NFL. A coach goes in-conference to in-conference, a player in free agency, and you are thinking they are going to tell all the signals, you have to change the calls, or you have to block this differently, or play a different coverage, and then you are chasing all these ghosts, and you get in the game, and it is like they did not even pay attention to it, like it was not important to them. I do not know what is important to Alabama State and them getting ready for this game, but I know what is important to us, and we will be our best if we are focused on us and what we might know or think we know or what could happen. We have to be very focused on making sure we handle ourselves in a much better way than we have been in my tenure here."
TICKETS FOR THURSDAY:
The Blazers are three days away from kicking off the season on Aug. 28 against Alabama State at Protective Stadium. Season and single game tickets are available by clicking here, while group tickets of 15 or more can be purchased here.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- UAB fans will see a new-look and revamped roster on Thursday night as 49 new Blazers take the field for their first game in the Green and Gold. Of those 49 new players, 31 have come through the transfer portal and most of them will be playing significant roles come kickoff.
- Under a new defensive regime headlined by veteran Defensive Coordinator Steve Russ, the Blazers look to take a step forward on that side of the ball starting Thursday. UAB finished 94th in total defense last season and have also added Alabama State's former Defensive Coordinator Ryan Lewis Sr. who coaches UAB's cornerbacks. On the Week 1 depth chart, 16 of the defensive players are new.
- Offensively, Jalen Kitna aims to become one of the nation's top quarterbacks and is joined in the backfield by a talented trio of running backs Solomon Beebe, Jevon Jackson and Isaiah Jacobs. Kitna will be throwing to a talented yet unproven group of wideouts led by Corri Milliner who returns the most production with 24 catches for 416 yards and three touchdowns last year.
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER:
Opening statement:
"Thanks for being here, guys. Obviously, week one, (we are) excited about the opportunity. (I am) humbled by the growth we have experienced since December through the turmoil of a new era of college football and turning your roster and your staff over yearly, but we really like the people in the building, and we feel like we are better than we have been in the past, but we still have a lot of work to do."
Coach Dilfer on play calling communication:
"Coach (Alex) Mortensen is one of the 22 people left in the building since year one. We have established a really good working relationship, we have done it a few different ways, and we feel very confident in our process this year. Mort will communicate with the quarterback and nobody else will talk to the quarterback. It truly is a collaboration of play calling. We co-call it, we have different points of emphasis, and I do not want him to be 'gun shy' ever because I am the head coach and an offensive guy, so I do not second guess him when he makes a decision. What we started to do at the end of last year and we feel like it is a better process now is our process going into the game, the time we spend together, and making sure we are thinking the same thoughts. Rice (last year) is the best example. Rice is the week I had the neck surgery, I missed the Tuesday practice, and I felt horrible. I was going into work for two weeks and came in on Wednesday and I knew I added nothing to the game plan. But by the day of the game came, I felt pretty good. Mort took the lead, and I was able to chime in when I felt necessary conceptually and philosophically, and it was a really good blend. The Charlotte game, at times, was really good because I was taking the lead, and there were times when he and the staff probably called 30 or 40 percent of that game even though I was taking the lead. We have gone back and evaluated good calls and bad calls, how the quarterback plays, speed for which the call comes in, and at the end of the day, it is a true co-calling situation when both of us feel like we can pull the trigger at any time because we are on the same page."
Coach Dilfer on the green-dot duties on the defensive side of the ball:
"Defensively, right now, it is the inside linebackers. I think they switch off who takes the lead with it. I think (Devin) Hightower has had it most of the time, but we do have three green-dots on defense we can use, one at a time, but other inside linebackers have practiced with it as well."
Coach Dilfer on the height of the secondary:
"It is a totally different recruiting philosophy that we have had this year than we have had in the past both in the transfer portal and the high school space. One of the core tenants is a bigger, more physical, longer cornerback. This scheme fits that, and it is something this staff believes in, and I believe in it as well. The other way works, too. I do not think there is a right or wrong, I think it is the type of cover schemes and run fits that you have within your defense that dictates how you recruit that position."
Coach Dilfer on what he hopes to see out of his team in game one:
"I want to see how they respond to both good and bad. If you want to put a simple blanket over the issues we have had for two years, it has been we have been reactive to good and bad things. Overly emotional is another way to say it. We have let our feelings dictate our actions. I say 'we' because this is all of us. If you have one big theme from everything we have talked about, everything we have tried to implement is choosing your best response over how you feel. Our feelings lie to us most of the time, most of the bad decisions we make in life are feelings based. We need to make sure we are responding with discernment, wisdom, poise, and making good decisions in regards to how we feel and where our emotions are.
Coach Dilfer on the importance of the first game of the season:
"People love football. We get to play it and coach it and love it, and people who watch it, love it. There is this great buildup of anticipation. The other night, I came home late, and my wife had a preseason NFL game on, and I never watch preseason games. I did not even watch preseason games when I played in the NFL. But, I said, 'oh my gosh, there is football' like there's football on the TV. So, I sat down, had my dinner at 10 o'clock at night and watched football. Because of that, I think there is a lot to put on week one, but then if you step back, and just say 'what is the significance of week one?' It is one game. We want the approach where every game is a big deal, you are always trying to get the next one, you are trying to go 1-0, but I do want to make sure everyone knows that we are a work in progress, and we are not close to where I want us to be yet. But we do have a lot to earn and a lot to prove, too. I think as long as you can balance those two things, I think it is really important because we have a lot to earn and a lot to prove, but it is the next one even though it is the first one, and you take that approach, too, if you can balance those two dynamics going on, I think you would probably be in a pretty good mindset to play as good as you can play.
Coach Dilfer on Ryan Lewis' ties to Alabama State:
"I know last night was a long night and we started to chase some ghosts because of (Lewis' time at Alabama State). And I said, 'stop, they know that we know.' There is a truth there. I said, 'listen, let's go with what we see, not on what we think we might know, and then in-game, if what we think we might know is unfolding, we can react to that, but let's not plan a gameplan around insider information.' I think that is a very dangerous thing to do. It happens in the NFL all the time. Think about the movement in the NFL. A coach goes in-conference to in-conference, a player in free agency, and you are thinking they are going to tell all the signals, you have to change the calls, or you have to block this differently, or play a different coverage, and then you are chasing all these ghosts, and you get in the game, and it is like they did not even pay attention to it, like it was not important to them. I do not know what is important to Alabama State and them getting ready for this game, but I know what is important to us, and we will be our best if we are focused on us and what we might know or think we know or what could happen. We have to be very focused on making sure we handle ourselves in a much better way than we have been in my tenure here."
TICKETS FOR THURSDAY:
The Blazers are three days away from kicking off the season on Aug. 28 against Alabama State at Protective Stadium. Season and single game tickets are available by clicking here, while group tickets of 15 or more can be purchased here.
Players Mentioned
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