Blazer Football Notebook: Fall Camp Week 1

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Five practices into fall camp, UAB Head Coach Alex Mortensen has seen many of the characteristics he hoped would define his team when the Blazers reported for their first practice Monday. Energy. Effort. Toughness. Physicality. Competition.

Most importantly, Mortensen saw them consistently throughout the opening week. "I don't feel like it dipped over five days," Mortensen said. "I think they really held that level of intensity start to finish."

The Blazers began fall camp on Monday with two days in shells before adding pads as the week progressed, and Mortensen saw the physicality increase along with them. UAB's focus now turns toward pairing that intensity with improved execution as the offensive and defensive installations continue to grow.

"The physicality has been ramped up a notch," Mortensen said. "Now the thing that we're looking for going forward is an increase in execution."

That intensity has been apparent to players on both sides of the ball. Running back Rod Robinson II said the addition of pads brought another level to practice, with offensive and defensive players eager for the opportunity to compete more physically.

"Once we did, the intensity kind of ramped up a little bit," Robinson said. "Everybody was flying around, happy to have the pads back."

Defensive lineman Noah Nelson noticed the same change, pointing to the competition for playing time as one of the driving forces behind it. "The intensity was definitely different from when we were in spiders with helmets," Nelson said. "You could definitely tell that people had it on their minds."

COMPETITION DRIVING BOTH SIDES

Competition has been a recurring theme throughout camp, with neither side of the ball consistently controlling practice. Tight end Antonio Ferguson said that back-and-forth has been one of the most encouraging aspects of the first week. When the offense makes an explosive play, the defense has responded, and vice versa. Ferguson believes those competitive reps will ultimately benefit both units when the season arrives.

"Day in and day out, just having that back and forth, that playground feeling, just making big plays on both sides of the ball is really important," Ferguson said. "It just continues to make each other better."

Mortensen pointed specifically to wide receiver as one of the team's deeper competitions. Veterans AJ Johnson and Kaleb Brown are joined by newcomers Ty Mims and KJ Daniels among a group Mortensen believes could allow the Blazers to rotate multiple players throughout the season.

"I think it's a deep group and a lot of them I think will be able to help us this year," Mortensen said. "We're open to playing a lot of players and finding roles for them."

Competition is also evident in the secondary. Anta'Veon McKenzie, who has transitioned from safety to nickel, said the Blazers have built depth throughout the back end of the defense. "The good thing is we've got a lot of depth," McKenzie said. "A lot of great players, no matter if ones, twos, threes."

BUILDING A TEAM

With a roster featuring a large group of newcomers, developing chemistry has been another point of emphasis throughout the offseason. Through one week of camp, players consistently pointed to the relationships that have developed inside the locker room.

Robinson described the daily competition between the offense and defense as "iron sharpens iron," while noting the cohesion continuing to develop between the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and offensive line. That connection extends beyond the field.

McKenzie said the difference from when the roster initially came together has been noticeable. Players who once sat quietly by themselves in the locker room are now eating together, joking with one another and spending more time together away from football.

"We've grown a ton," McKenzie said. "Now it's like a lot of guys are talking, playing around with each other, having fun, laughing, smiling, eating together, more camaraderie."

Nelson has experienced a similar connection within the defensive line room. The group regularly communicates away from the facility and has developed an understanding that the competition between them is intended to make everyone better.

"We do things outside of each other just so we understand that when we are pushing each other, it's all out of love," Nelson said.

LEADERS EMERGING

The first week has also provided an opportunity for veteran leadership to emerge throughout the roster. Robinson said he sees players capable of leading in virtually every position room, while Ferguson noted that leadership has come both vocally and through example.

"We have a decent amount of leaders on the team that are not only vocal but lead by their actions as well," Ferguson said. "I think that's really important for building team culture and overall performance for our team."

One of those veterans is center Adam Lepkowski, who was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List during the opening week of camp. Lepkowski has developed from a former walk-on into one of the veterans of the offensive line and has embraced his responsibility to pass what he has learned to younger centers Aidan Platt and Kade Martin.

"I'm trying to get them up to speed with me and just try to lead the room better than I found it at the end of the day," Lepkowski said.

Mortensen called Lepkowski "the epitome of what you want in a football player," citing his loyalty, toughness, intelligence and commitment to the program.

Quarterback Ryder Burton has also taken on an increased leadership role as he enters his second season in the UAB offense. Burton said the confidence gained from last season's victory over No. 22 Memphis matters less than proving he can perform consistently.

"Anybody can do it once," Burton said. "You got to go out, and you got to do it multiple times. You got to prepare the same way. And that's really the key to success."

OFFSEASON WORK SHOWING

Mortensen noticed a difference in his team before the Blazers ever put on pads.

Following Monday's opening practice, he said UAB looked faster, more explosive and better conditioned than it did in the spring, crediting the offseason program led by Assistant Head Coach and Director of Sports Performance Lyle Henley.

By the end of the week, Mortensen also pointed to UAB's increased investment in nutrition as another factor in the team's physical development.

"We've been able to put a lot more into nutrition, and it's going to continue to be a point of emphasis," Mortensen said. "It has really paid dividends for this team in the offseason in terms of their strength, their size, their power, their ability to recover from a workout."

The Blazers now move into the next phase of camp with the standard beginning to shift. Effort and intensity established the foundation during the opening five practices. The next step is sharpening the details as UAB continues toward its Sept. 3 season opener at Illinois.

"You're learning what you're doing, but you're also encountering what the other side of the ball is doing," Mortensen said. "That's where the focus is for them right now, just really becoming an expert in what we're doing schematically."

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics