What To Know as UAB Heads to American Conference Media Days

What To Know as UAB Heads to American Conference Media Days

7/18/2024 3:19:00 PM | Football

Media Day Prospectus 2024 UAB Football Print Schedule

BIRMINGHAM – With UAB heading to its second American Athletic Conference Media Days this Monday and Tuesday, July 22-23, Head Coach Trent Dilfer, quarterback Jacob Zeno and linebacker Michael Moore will represent the Blazers in Arlington, Texas.

For the first time, the two-day event is open to the public and fans will be in attendance as the 14-team league gathers at the Loews Arlington located in between AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field.

NOTES ON ZENO AND MOORE:

Senior Jacob Zeno is coming off a record-setting season for the Blazers in 2023 and aims to surpass his production this year. The San Antonio native set the UAB single season record for completions (279) and completion percentage (73.6), and his 3,126 passing yards were the second most single season yards in program history.
Zeno finished second nationally in completion percentage only behind Bo Nix. Overall, he completed 279-of-379 and threw for 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Additionally, his 25.4 completions per game ranked him seventh nationally.
Zeno threw for over 300 yards three times last year, including a UAB FBS school record 484 yards and five touchdowns against Florida Atlantic. Overall, he averaged 284.2 yards per game (15th nationally).
Moore is poised for a breakout year at linebacker after making the switch from edge rusher midway through the 2023 season.
Moore missed the final two games of last season due to injury but was the team's leading tackler prior to the injury and finished the season with 63 tackles, 5.5 TFL, one sack, three QBH, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.
The Pearland, Texas native had a career-high 12 tackles against Memphis and had at least five tackles in seven of 10 games. With a full season at linebacker in 2024, the 6-foot-5 Moore has the ability to grab the scouts attention as a senior.

TEAM NOTES:

Despite putting up record setting numbers on offense, the Blazers finished 4-8 in 2023 and had their streak of seven consecutive bowl eligible seasons snapped. With an experienced team returning for year two under the direction of Trent Dilfer, the Blazers are poised for the postseason again in 2024.
UAB added 21 players through the transfer portal, eight on offense and 13 on defense. Overall, UAB has 49 new players on the rosters entering this season.
The Blazers were 4-2 at home last season and are 12-5 at Protective Stadium since it opened in 2021. Dating back to 2017, UAB is 33-6 overall in Birmingham.
In 2023, UAB averaged a school record 450.0 yards per game and went over 500 yards of offense four times, including eclipsing 600 yards twice. Despite only brining back four starters on offense (Zeno, TE Bryce Damous, C Brady Wilson, OG/OT Quez Yates), the Blazers have veterans all over the field, including record-setting sophomore receiver Amare Thomas and a talented running back room highlighted by Isaiah Jacobs, Lee Beebe Jr., Lee Witherspoon and Armoni Goodwin.
The offensive line has three starting positions to be filled at left tackle, left guard and right tackle. Of the eight portal players on offense, four are on the offensive line and all expect to compete for starting roles: Calib Perez (Duke), JonDarius Morgan (South Carolina), DJ Jones (Murray State) and Baron Franks II (Norfolk State). Additionally, Zaire Flournoy and Trey Bedosky are back from injury, while the redshirts are off for Jordan Hall, Logan Moore and Delano Townsend.
NFL draft pick Tejhaun Palmer is no longer an option at wide receiver, but that position returns tons of talent highlighted by Thomas. Iverson Hooks is back from an ACL and showed tremendous promise through three games last year, while Brandon Buckhaulter, Malachi Holt-Bennett, Kam Shanks and Corri Milliner all look for increased production this season.
Tight end remains in good position with Damous and co-starters Terrell McDonald and Dallas Payne. Michigan State transfer Jack Nickel should also be in the mix.
Defensively, UAB returns five starters in all-conference caliber defensive tackle Kevin Penn, edge rusher Desmond Little, linebackers Michael Moore and Everett Roussaw Jr., and cornerback Colby Dempsey.
The defensive line should be bolstered by Power 5 transfers LeDarrius Cox (Indiana), Demarcus Smith (Ole Miss) and Derrick Shepard Jr. (Cincinnati), while Linebacker OC Brothers (Purdue) is expected to help anchor the middle of the defense alongside Moore.
In the secondary, Dempsey and Ray Thornton III bring back the most experience, and Dilfer added six players from the portal to help the back end of the defense, all who have a ton of playing experience at their previous institutions (Sirad Bryant – Georgia Tech, Troy Jakubec – Youngstown State, Tyjon Jones – Youngstown State, Donald Lee – Grambling, Adrian Maddox – Alabama State, Tariq Watson – Minnesota).
On special teams, junior Patrick Foley returns as the team's punter after having the sixth highest single season punt average in school history last year in his first season as a Blazer. Placekicker Matt Quinn is gone and the competition will be between redshirt freshman Jonah Delange and true freshman Wyatt Martin, while Caleb Moser returns for his sophomore season as long snapper.

Single game home and away tickets are now on sale for all season ticket holders and will go on sale to the general public Aug. 1. Season tickets are still available to purchase by clicking here.