The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
UAB Travels to Charlotte for 2024 Season Finale
11/25/2024 5:16:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team concludes the 2024 season this Saturday, Nov. 30, at Charlotte. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER
Opening statement:
"Good morning! Nice to get a win, obviously. They've been few and far between. I'm really happy for our seniors, not just Senior Day and the importance of that, but to be able to send them out in their last home game as seniors with a win. We did some things that we had not been able to do all year long, which was to overcome adversity, respond instead of react, regain momentum, which is something that has really been hard for us to do this year when we lose it, so some things to build on for the future. Hopefully we have a great week of practice and do it again next week and get our first road victory."
On Jacob Zeno:
"I think he is going to apply for a medical redshirt and that's why he was not part of that (Senior Day). That was the players' choices. My understanding is that he is going to apply for a medical redshirt and try to play another year of college football…I've been really honest since day one that it's a shoulder injury (on his) non-throwing shoulder. I'll let him talk about the rest of it. It had bothered him going into this last game that he started and got worse in that game. We felt in that period on, that it was not best for him to play, at least immediately after."
On players decisions in the offseason:
"I don't know if it's going to matter there. You know, if you're on the fence as a player, you're probably both feet out. If you don't want to be part of fixing this, then you've probably already made a decision that you want to take an easier road somewhere else. Now, I would hope that those players listen to data, you know? They're going to get the data put in front of them on what that may mean for their careers. For most players at our level, I'm not saying my team, don't hear me say my team, at our level, for most players, if they choose to "go up," it will be a terrible, terrible, terrible decision for their careers unless they just want to rush the field at Auburn last night, or two nights ago. If they want to be part of that, and not be part of between the lines, cool, I get it. You have this big, glamorous pageantry, college experience, but very, very few Group of 5 players go up to the Power 4 and are impact players. If some want to go down because they want to play more, I can understand that, to a certain degree, but I would also wonder if they have the competitive edge to get up every single morning and chase their best if they're looking for an easier road of playing time. Again, that is our level, not my team. So I think what this week means is one more opportunity for those of us that want to write this ship of learning how to become winners, because we have not been winners. Your pedigree doesn't make you a winner, what you've done in the past doesn't make you a winner, what you do this week makes you a winner. I'm going to try to be a winner this week, Cole (Peterson) is going to be a winner this week, we'll have enough guys that hopefully want to be winners this week, and if we get enough of them and we can go to Charlotte and get our first road victory, then we are winners for this week. I don't know if it means much more besides that."
On Saturday being the 100th game since The Return and what it means to him:
"It's interesting you say that because I literally, you know my morning habits, I spend a lot of time reading, quiet time, praying, and I was reading some stuff this morning and I saw that and I was unaware of that, and I was actually taken back by it. I was like, "wow, that's a pretty big deal. Like is a monumental type of milestone." I've said it from the beginning, I have nothing but respect for Bill (Clark), I call him a friend. I thought what he did and what everybody did to bring the program back was pretty spectacular. I've said this publicly, I've said this to Bill, I've been embarrassed by what has happened in my tenure here, but also I am steadfast in wanting to fix it and build upon something good that Bill built."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- Saturday marks UAB's 100th game since returning to action in 2017. The Blazers have played to a mark of 57-42 during that span, which includes two conference titles (2018 & 2020) and three bowl victories (2018, 2021, 2022).
- Both teams are coming off victories last week as UAB (3-8, 2-5 AAC) defeated Rice 40-14 at home, while Charlotte (4-7, 3-4 AAC) won at Florida Atlantic 39-27. The Blazers used a stout defensive effort which included three interceptions and 10 pass breakups, while Lee Beebe Jr. rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns in leading UAB to victory.
- Despite missing the first half of last week's game, Michael Moore still led the team in tackles with nine, while adding 1.5 TFL and his second interception of the season. Moore has 91 tackles this season and ranks fourth in the AAC in tackles per game (8.27).
HEAD COACH TRENT DILFER
Opening statement:
"Good morning! Nice to get a win, obviously. They've been few and far between. I'm really happy for our seniors, not just Senior Day and the importance of that, but to be able to send them out in their last home game as seniors with a win. We did some things that we had not been able to do all year long, which was to overcome adversity, respond instead of react, regain momentum, which is something that has really been hard for us to do this year when we lose it, so some things to build on for the future. Hopefully we have a great week of practice and do it again next week and get our first road victory."
On Jacob Zeno:
"I think he is going to apply for a medical redshirt and that's why he was not part of that (Senior Day). That was the players' choices. My understanding is that he is going to apply for a medical redshirt and try to play another year of college football…I've been really honest since day one that it's a shoulder injury (on his) non-throwing shoulder. I'll let him talk about the rest of it. It had bothered him going into this last game that he started and got worse in that game. We felt in that period on, that it was not best for him to play, at least immediately after."
On players decisions in the offseason:
"I don't know if it's going to matter there. You know, if you're on the fence as a player, you're probably both feet out. If you don't want to be part of fixing this, then you've probably already made a decision that you want to take an easier road somewhere else. Now, I would hope that those players listen to data, you know? They're going to get the data put in front of them on what that may mean for their careers. For most players at our level, I'm not saying my team, don't hear me say my team, at our level, for most players, if they choose to "go up," it will be a terrible, terrible, terrible decision for their careers unless they just want to rush the field at Auburn last night, or two nights ago. If they want to be part of that, and not be part of between the lines, cool, I get it. You have this big, glamorous pageantry, college experience, but very, very few Group of 5 players go up to the Power 4 and are impact players. If some want to go down because they want to play more, I can understand that, to a certain degree, but I would also wonder if they have the competitive edge to get up every single morning and chase their best if they're looking for an easier road of playing time. Again, that is our level, not my team. So I think what this week means is one more opportunity for those of us that want to write this ship of learning how to become winners, because we have not been winners. Your pedigree doesn't make you a winner, what you've done in the past doesn't make you a winner, what you do this week makes you a winner. I'm going to try to be a winner this week, Cole (Peterson) is going to be a winner this week, we'll have enough guys that hopefully want to be winners this week, and if we get enough of them and we can go to Charlotte and get our first road victory, then we are winners for this week. I don't know if it means much more besides that."
On Saturday being the 100th game since The Return and what it means to him:
"It's interesting you say that because I literally, you know my morning habits, I spend a lot of time reading, quiet time, praying, and I was reading some stuff this morning and I saw that and I was unaware of that, and I was actually taken back by it. I was like, "wow, that's a pretty big deal. Like is a monumental type of milestone." I've said it from the beginning, I have nothing but respect for Bill (Clark), I call him a friend. I thought what he did and what everybody did to bring the program back was pretty spectacular. I've said this publicly, I've said this to Bill, I've been embarrassed by what has happened in my tenure here, but also I am steadfast in wanting to fix it and build upon something good that Bill built."
Players Mentioned
UAB Baseball | The Quick Cut: at Alabama
Thursday, April 23
UAB Beach Volleyball | The Quick Cut: Blazer Beach Bash
Saturday, April 18
UAB Softball | The Quick Cut: Memphis Series
Thursday, April 09
UAB vs ECU Post Game Press Conference
Sunday, March 08
