The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Ready for the Battle for the Bones at Memphis
10/5/2026 4:51:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With consecutive victories in hand and UAB off to its best five-game start in four years, head coach Alex Mortensen made it clear Monday that the Blazers are pleased with their progress — but nowhere near satisfied — as they turn their attention to Memphis and the renewal of the Battle for the Bones.
Mortensen briefly revisited Saturday's win over Samford, praising a defense that shut out the Bulldogs in the second half and a UAB team that responded after entering halftime trailing 14-13. He was less satisfied with an offensive performance he said fell below the Blazers' standard, but pointed to the response as another positive step for a team continuing to develop.
"I think it's the first time we've been 3-2 in four years and the first time we've had back-to-back wins in four years," Mortensen said. "There are some good things happening culturally, but we're far from where we need to go as a program. Even beyond the long-term projection of the program, we're far from where we want to be with this team."
Now comes another measuring stick.
UAB travels to Memphis this week to face a Tiger team Mortensen described as talented, disciplined and well coached. It will also reunite Mortensen with Memphis head coach Charles Huff, whom he worked alongside for two seasons at Alabama.
"I've known Coach Huff for some time," Mortensen said. "Coach Huff and I worked together at Alabama for two years. I had a great relationship with him there, and we have some great memories together. We were part of some great teams there."
Mortensen also pointed to Memphis coordinators Kevin Decker and Lance Guidry as part of a staff that has quickly put its stamp on the Tigers.
"They've got Kevin Decker running their offense. He did a phenomenal job at ODU last year," Mortensen said. "Lance Guidry on defense is doing an excellent job with their Memphis team. Good team, very well coached, and they have a lot of really good players."
When asked what stands out most on film, Mortensen continually returned to the Tigers' discipline.
"They've got a good roster. They've got a lot of good players, and they're well coached," Mortensen said. "There aren't a lot of times when you're seeing guys and saying, 'Okay, they're out of position,' or they're doing something that's unsound. They're just a well-coached team with a really, really good roster."
The matchup renews one of UAB's most recognizable rivalries, with the Battle for the Bones trophy going to the winner. While roster turnover means many current Blazers are experiencing the rivalry for the first time, Mortensen said players understand what games such as this one mean to the people surrounding the program.
"I think the players do a pretty good job a lot of the time of getting to know the history of the school and the program," Mortensen said. "I think a lot of them are aware of what those games mean to our fans. I think games like that are great things. They're great for the fan bases. They generate excitement and can draw interest into the game."
Still, Mortensen isn't interested in changing the Blazers' preparation simply because a trophy is on the line.
"We definitely respect the game, respect the opponent and respect the intensity that's going to be around it, but we're focused on the job we've got to do," Mortensen said. "I don't want our fan base to think in any kind of way that we don't think the game is important. We think it's incredibly important, but we think they're all important."
For running back Bam McReynolds, the week provides another opportunity for a roster filled with newcomers to embrace the history of its new program.
"I kind of just learned about the Battle for the Bones," McReynolds said. "I know it has something to do with barbecue, but other than that, I know this is a deep rivalry that means a lot on both ends. Me coming in as a transfer, I think it's very important that you learn what means the most to your team. This is a big game on both ends, and now that I am a new Blazer, it's a big game for me as well."
McReynolds said UAB's veteran-heavy roster believes it has the ability to accomplish significant things this season, but cautioned that experience and talent mean little without consistent performance.
"There's a lot of potential in this offense and on this team," McReynolds said. "I'm a big believer that potential without execution is only potential, and it doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. It's on us now to execute in those big-time situations and execute when we need to."
That message was echoed on the defensive side by Tylin Jackson, who pointed to Memphis' balance as one of the biggest challenges facing UAB this week.
"I think they have a good running back," Jackson said. "They block well, run the ball well and pass the ball well. We're going to have to be on our P's and Q's, do our job and execute. It's a really good team that we're facing."
Execution has increasingly become a defining feature of UAB's defense, particularly after halftime. The Blazers have consistently tightened defensively as games progress, something Jackson credited to the group's preparation and expectations.
"I think we just want to be the best," Jackson said. "We prepare and practice like it, so going into a game, that's the expectation. We want to play our best. We don't want teams scoring on us. I think that's our job."
Few Blazers enter the week with a more personal connection to Saturday's opponent than safety Jeremiah Jordan.
Jordan is a Memphis native and spent last season with the Tigers before transferring to UAB. Although turnover has left relatively few of his former teammates on Memphis' current roster, Jordan understands the energy surrounding the rivalry from both sides.
"It's a good one, especially coming from there," Jordan said. "That's my home. Being a kid from Memphis, leaving Memphis and getting another chance in the rivalry — it's another game, but anytime you get an opportunity to bring juice and excitement to a game, I feel like that's good. It's good energy the team can take on and use to go out and compete."
Jordan expects plenty of familiar faces in the stands as well. Asked how many friends and family members could be in attendance, Jordan estimated "probably like 60 or more."
For Mortensen, however, the larger message remains the same one he has delivered throughout the first half of the season: development must continue.
"We still really want to step on the gas and improve," Mortensen said. "We talk about the concept of development a lot, and at their age they can really have accelerated development. They can improve during the season. That's something we're going to keep stressing."
And this week, that development will be tested against a rival carrying plenty of talent, history and motivation of its own.
THREE QUESTIONS WITH COACH MORTENSEN
Q: You've been rotating more offensive linemen than teams traditionally do. What are the advantages and disadvantages of playing seven or so guys up front?
Mortensen: "I think you hit the dichotomy right there. One of the positives is I like as many guys on the team as possible to create a role for themselves, provided they've earned it. We want more guys to be able to play and to practice the way they need to practice so they can get out there and we can trust them.
"The other part is guys being fresh, or being able to come out there and spell a guy. That's positive. But the other side of that is creating the chemistry you want — the same two guys working a double-team together, the same two guys communicating together. There are some trade-offs there."
Q: Last year's Memphis game was also Ryder Burton's first start. Is there anything from that performance that is useful for him going into this year's matchup?
Mortensen: "I think it's a good offseason study because, in terms of his mindset and his demeanor, I thought he did a really good job with his approach to the game. Ryder is a fiery competitor by nature. I thought he found a real sweet spot in that game where he had that fiery competitiveness, yet there was also a steadiness to his mindset that allowed him to have really good judgment and make great decisions through the course of the game.
"I think there's something for him to study about himself there. As it pertains to Memphis, it's totally different. It's a different defense, a different coaching staff and a lot of different players."
Q: You've talked about young players sometimes looking different on game day than they do in practice. What causes that?
Mortensen: "There's an anxiety component to some of that. Players put so much pressure on themselves to be perfect and to perform perfectly that they get themselves into a mental state they don't practice with.
"When you're looking at a disconnect of, 'Why does a guy practice a certain way and then play a certain way?' sometimes it's just anxiety. They get too anxious. So for some of our guys, it's not the intensity thing. It's getting them to trust themselves a little bit more.
"Particularly on offense, we have a lot of guys who have not played a lot in college and haven't been starters a lot in college. That's exciting to me because that means we should be getting better through the course of the year."
