The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
Week 3 Coffee With Coach Transcript: Akron
9/8/2025 2:56:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team returns home this Saturday, Sept. 13, to host Akron in a non-conference contest with kickoff at Protective Stadium set for 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Saturday marks the third annual Smile-A-Mile game in which the Blazers will help raise awareness for childhood cancer.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER:
Opening statement:
"Well, good morning. I actually mean that, it is a good morning. We are extremely excited to get the players back in the building. We are excited about the chance to get better this week. We are excited about some of the things that went well at Navy, and then obviously realistic and extremely disappointed that we lost the game and disappointed that we did not handle our emotions the way we should have after the second (weather) delay. Really, every mistake we made that was catastrophic came after that, but overall, we are extremely excited to be with this group, bring them back in the building and get after it. We spent a lot of time as a staff yesterday looking at the things and trying to figure out if these are systemic issues or if these are issues that cannot be fixed or are these things that we feel this group can fix quickly and we believe they are all things this group can fix quickly, and we are continuing to better understand our players and how they fit into what we are trying to do and then how we can better change some things to fit what they do. We knew going into this thing it was going to take some time to really know who we are and we are excited about what we are finding out about this team and also realistic to the things we need to fix."
On his evaluation of the defense through two weeks:
"I think we have to destroy blocks better. I think the number one thing that has come up over the last two weeks is not destroying blocks, getting off blocks fast enough, and then making plays when they are there. I think they kind of go hand in hand, sometimes you are so consumed with getting off a block and there is a play to be made and you do not finish, maybe that is an easier word is 'finishing.' Even in the Navy game, (there were) tons of opportunities to tackle the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, behind the line of scrimmage, now (Blake Horvath) is a very good player, but we do not finish there. We had opportunities on a very, very good running back to hold him to three or four yards. Instead, he gets 12 or 13 yards. We need to be finishing on some of the sweep plays that we had chances to finish on and we do not. So, in general, finishing off blocks and finishing with tackles. We had a lot of effort, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of buy-in, a lot of accountability and ownership, guys wanting to get better. I would rather coach that, than guys making excuses, blaming other people, and all those other things. The character of this team continues to grow and we are excited about what it could become."
On the improvement of the defense in the second half of the Navy game:
"We imploded offensively in the second half, there is no two ways of talking about it, it is just a fact. However, when that has happened in previous years, which half the team is not culpable for, it would have had a spiral effect and that did not happen on Saturday, it was, 'okay, have to go get a stop, it is on us.' Offensively, it was not making any excuses. There is ownership, there is 'hey, I have to fix that.' Now, just saying it does not fix it, but at least there is a recognition of, 'hey, in bad times, I am going to do everything I can to try and not let it happen again.' If you do that often enough, I think you can learn from those mistakes, and the bad things happen less often and good things happen more often."
On his evaluation of Jalen Kitna's performance through two games:
"He's played, I do not know how many total snaps, it has to be 125-ish total snaps and he has graded out really well on 90-plus percent of those, but unfortunately the floor is still too low. You cannot turn (the ball) over. Both of his interceptions are inexcusable in the realm of how he has been trained, and he will tell you the same thing. Both were trying to do too much and that is what has gotten him in trouble in his short career. He is so talented, he is so smart, he cares so much, he is so competitive that he tends to try to put on a cape and do more than he needs to do. He has got open receivers on both plays that he should be going to, and he does not, and I did the same thing. I do not use myself very often, but I remember being in his shoes. I remember my second year, I had started five games my redshirt freshman year, then my redshirt sophomore year, I was the starter, and earlier in the year, I had made a lot of mistakes like that. I thought I could just do anything. I ended up throwing 14 interceptions that year and then the next year, I threw four, and they were all in one game. I broke the NCAA record on not throwing interceptions. Part of the growth process is you have to emotionally regulate in a game and be like, 'you know, I do not have to do the hard thing here, sometimes I can just do the easy thing' and then you make good decisions more often than not and good things happen. Again, it is frustrating for him, for us, for the fans, for everybody else, but there are signs of him, a lot of signs of him playing very decisively and making very good decisions. Unfortunately, there were three in this game, he got away with one that was not intercepted, but he made three decisions in this game that were uncharacteristic of what he has been like the last few weeks, but they are part of the natural growth process."
On the importance of winning home games:
"It is massive. I will answer that question by talking about something I am most proud of. I think the hardest touchdown in football is the answer touchdown. I have been saying this forever and I started looking at this when I was playing. It is amazing how many teams do not answer offensively when their defense allows a touchdown. When you get the answer touchdown, it is an amazing dynamic to your football team. We had three straight answer touchdowns in that game. Our defense gave up a touchdown, our offense scored a touchdown. You hardly ever see that. I say that because that is a really encouraging thing that we have the ability to do that. We have to show that same resolve and that same character as it comes to answering a loss. We cannot let one game affect our week of preparation, the next game, and the season. This is a complete reset, it is a completely new opportunity, that is why we are so excited to get them back in the building, in front of our fans, and our city that we love. It is massively important because it is the next game, it is a home game, and because it is coming off a loss. It is massive."
Click here to watch the complete press conference.
Saturday is Kids Takeover Night at Protective Stadium and discounted tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Single game tickets to the Akron game are available by clicking here.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- The Blazers (1-1) are coming off a tough-fought 38-24 loss at Navy to open conference play and welcome Akron (0-2) who is coming off a 68-0 drubbing at Nebraska. The Zips are the only team in the nation yet to score a point through the first two weeks of the season (10-0 loss to Wyoming, 68-0 loss at Nebraska).
- Despite stalling out in the second half at Navy, UAB's offense is averaging 466.5 yards per game, which is 31st nationally entering Week 3. UAB put up 416 yards of offense at Navy and looks to keep that momentum going against an Akron team that gave up 728 yards to the Cornhuskers as the Zips rank 132nd in total defense by allowing 577.0 yards per game.
- Redshirt sophomore Corri Milliner is leading the American Conference in receiving yards (198) and receiving yards per game (99.0). Milliner opened the year with five catches for 98 yards and touchdown against Alabama State, then had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown at Navy to notch his second career 100-yard receiving game. He and Iverson Hooks have been Jalen Kitna's top targets as both have 11 catches and two touchdowns this year, while Kitna is averaging 275.5 passing yards per game (18th nationally) and is coming off his third-career 300-yard passing game at Navy with 304.
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER:
Opening statement:
"Well, good morning. I actually mean that, it is a good morning. We are extremely excited to get the players back in the building. We are excited about the chance to get better this week. We are excited about some of the things that went well at Navy, and then obviously realistic and extremely disappointed that we lost the game and disappointed that we did not handle our emotions the way we should have after the second (weather) delay. Really, every mistake we made that was catastrophic came after that, but overall, we are extremely excited to be with this group, bring them back in the building and get after it. We spent a lot of time as a staff yesterday looking at the things and trying to figure out if these are systemic issues or if these are issues that cannot be fixed or are these things that we feel this group can fix quickly and we believe they are all things this group can fix quickly, and we are continuing to better understand our players and how they fit into what we are trying to do and then how we can better change some things to fit what they do. We knew going into this thing it was going to take some time to really know who we are and we are excited about what we are finding out about this team and also realistic to the things we need to fix."
On his evaluation of the defense through two weeks:
"I think we have to destroy blocks better. I think the number one thing that has come up over the last two weeks is not destroying blocks, getting off blocks fast enough, and then making plays when they are there. I think they kind of go hand in hand, sometimes you are so consumed with getting off a block and there is a play to be made and you do not finish, maybe that is an easier word is 'finishing.' Even in the Navy game, (there were) tons of opportunities to tackle the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, behind the line of scrimmage, now (Blake Horvath) is a very good player, but we do not finish there. We had opportunities on a very, very good running back to hold him to three or four yards. Instead, he gets 12 or 13 yards. We need to be finishing on some of the sweep plays that we had chances to finish on and we do not. So, in general, finishing off blocks and finishing with tackles. We had a lot of effort, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of buy-in, a lot of accountability and ownership, guys wanting to get better. I would rather coach that, than guys making excuses, blaming other people, and all those other things. The character of this team continues to grow and we are excited about what it could become."
On the improvement of the defense in the second half of the Navy game:
"We imploded offensively in the second half, there is no two ways of talking about it, it is just a fact. However, when that has happened in previous years, which half the team is not culpable for, it would have had a spiral effect and that did not happen on Saturday, it was, 'okay, have to go get a stop, it is on us.' Offensively, it was not making any excuses. There is ownership, there is 'hey, I have to fix that.' Now, just saying it does not fix it, but at least there is a recognition of, 'hey, in bad times, I am going to do everything I can to try and not let it happen again.' If you do that often enough, I think you can learn from those mistakes, and the bad things happen less often and good things happen more often."
On his evaluation of Jalen Kitna's performance through two games:
"He's played, I do not know how many total snaps, it has to be 125-ish total snaps and he has graded out really well on 90-plus percent of those, but unfortunately the floor is still too low. You cannot turn (the ball) over. Both of his interceptions are inexcusable in the realm of how he has been trained, and he will tell you the same thing. Both were trying to do too much and that is what has gotten him in trouble in his short career. He is so talented, he is so smart, he cares so much, he is so competitive that he tends to try to put on a cape and do more than he needs to do. He has got open receivers on both plays that he should be going to, and he does not, and I did the same thing. I do not use myself very often, but I remember being in his shoes. I remember my second year, I had started five games my redshirt freshman year, then my redshirt sophomore year, I was the starter, and earlier in the year, I had made a lot of mistakes like that. I thought I could just do anything. I ended up throwing 14 interceptions that year and then the next year, I threw four, and they were all in one game. I broke the NCAA record on not throwing interceptions. Part of the growth process is you have to emotionally regulate in a game and be like, 'you know, I do not have to do the hard thing here, sometimes I can just do the easy thing' and then you make good decisions more often than not and good things happen. Again, it is frustrating for him, for us, for the fans, for everybody else, but there are signs of him, a lot of signs of him playing very decisively and making very good decisions. Unfortunately, there were three in this game, he got away with one that was not intercepted, but he made three decisions in this game that were uncharacteristic of what he has been like the last few weeks, but they are part of the natural growth process."
On the importance of winning home games:
"It is massive. I will answer that question by talking about something I am most proud of. I think the hardest touchdown in football is the answer touchdown. I have been saying this forever and I started looking at this when I was playing. It is amazing how many teams do not answer offensively when their defense allows a touchdown. When you get the answer touchdown, it is an amazing dynamic to your football team. We had three straight answer touchdowns in that game. Our defense gave up a touchdown, our offense scored a touchdown. You hardly ever see that. I say that because that is a really encouraging thing that we have the ability to do that. We have to show that same resolve and that same character as it comes to answering a loss. We cannot let one game affect our week of preparation, the next game, and the season. This is a complete reset, it is a completely new opportunity, that is why we are so excited to get them back in the building, in front of our fans, and our city that we love. It is massively important because it is the next game, it is a home game, and because it is coming off a loss. It is massive."
Click here to watch the complete press conference.
Saturday is Kids Takeover Night at Protective Stadium and discounted tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Single game tickets to the Akron game are available by clicking here.
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