The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Energy, Competition Highlight Opening Day of UAB Fall Camp
8/3/2026 5:00:00β―PM | Football
"I thought the guys' approach to practice, their effort, their energy was really good," Mortensen said. "We looked faster. We looked more explosive." Mortensen credited the work of strength and conditioning coach Lyle Henley and his staff for preparing the team physically during the summer while noting that camp now becomes about refining fundamentals, technique and football conditioning.
Rather than viewing the offseason as the finish line, Mortensen challenged his team to treat fall camp as another opportunity for growth. "We've got to get better fundamentally. We've got to get better technique-wise," Mortensen said. "Camp is a tremendous opportunity to get better."
Quarterback Ryder Burton said the energy on the field reflected the confidence the team has developed since players reported in January. "It's definitely a speed jump from summer," Burton said. "Coach Grantham being back, Coach Mort being able to be on the field- it just brings a different level of intensity to practice."
Burton also believes the team has embraced Mortensen's leadership entering the season. "I feel like people have really bought into Coach Mort," Burton said. "He's so honest. He tells you exactly how it is, and I feel like buy-in is very, very high."
Wide receiver AJ Johnson said that same energy has helped strengthen the team's chemistry throughout the offseason. "We have a good brotherhood," Johnson said. "Every one of us hangs out on and off the field, and we're a very close group."
Monday also marked the return of several players from injury. Defensive lineman Tylin Jackson participated in his first practice after missing spring drills and said he felt "100 percent" following months of rehabilitation. Veteran defensive lineman Nigel Tate returned to the practice field nearly one year after suffering a torn Achilles during fall camp. Tate admitted there were nerves early but said simply being back on the field was something he no longer takes for granted.
"When you've done this for years, sometimes you get tired of the daily grind, but coming off an injury changes your perspective. My first day was different than everybody else's." Tate said. "I never expected to get hurt.I want guys to appreciate every opportunity."
Competition was evident throughout the first practice, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. "It's the best players going after jobs and making each other better," linebacker Ike Esonwune said. "It's dog-eat-dog, and we're just making each other better every day."
UAB returns to the practice field on Tuesday, and will put on the pads for the first time during fall camp on Thursday.Β The Blazers will continue fall camp for three weeks inΒ August before opening the 2026 season Sept. 3 at Illinois.
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"Quotable"
Look, one of our mission statements is this: We want to develop and win in three big areas β the individuals in our building, the creation of a team and in the community. The community is big for us, and it starts inside-out. It starts in Birmingham. I personally love Birmingham. I think a lot of our staff does. I think a lot of the players like living here and really appreciate the people in the city. There are a lot of people who love football. I brought this up the other day. I think we have a lot of UAB alumni and UAB graduates, but the other thing is we want to invite the whole city. I think there are a lot of people in Birmingham, whether they graduated from here or not, and we want them to come on this journey with us. It's a chicken-or-the-egg thing. We need to go have success and play well to probably create more support, but we would love for people to come on, get involved now and get to Protective. I think we have an awesome stadium, too. Hopefully the product in the stadium is what we want, but it's a great venue to watch a game.Β - Alex Mortensen
I would just say continuing to be better with all of my intermediate passing game, just continuing to grow and knowing when to rip it, when to put touch on the ball and then just continuing to develop the mastery of being a passer. You know, like a goal for me is to be above 70% completion percentage. It's been done. This offense has two of the top ten completion percentages all time. So Jacob Zeno is like ninth and Mac Jones is the fourth or something like that. So it's definitely it's definitely a possibility in this offense. So that's my goal is to just continue to master the art of passing.Β - Ryder Burton, UAB Quarterback
It happened quickly. These are my brothers now. I think it's cool that you can bring guys together from different schools and see how quickly they bond. It felt like home as soon as I got here. Being able to bond with the guys has been great.Β - Tylin Jackson, UAB Defensive Line
It's camaraderie, man. We have a good brotherhood. Every one of us hangs out on and off the field, and we are a very close group. As we continue to build that bond, we're going to play with our heads on fire when the season comes.Β - AJ Johnson, UAB Wide Receiver
Man, I think we're going to do something great. Coach Grantham has a really good defense, one of the better defenses I've been in. He's very aggressive and wants us to go make plays. Another unique characteristic Coach Grantham has is that he was a defensive line coach. I'm a defensive lineman, so I'm going to speak selfishly on this part. He wants the D-line to attack. It starts with the D-line, and I wouldn't have it any other way.Β - Nigel Tate, UAB Defensive Line
Right now, I feel like we have leaders. We have people who speak up, and we have guys who can go all across the defense, from the linebackers to the DBs. I feel like we can keep that going within our system and within our team.Β - Ike Esonwune, UAB Linebacker
