UAB Fall Camp Snapshot: Day Twelve
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - August 20, 2025
UAB Football Snapshot
UAB’s season-opening football game is just over a week away. Trent Dilfer’s team has transitioned into game preparation. Dilfer stopped after Tuesday’s practice to talk further about last Saturday’s full-scale scrimmage at Protective Stadium and discuss tempering expectations heading into his third season.
On last Saturday’s scrimmage: “Impression on the field was pretty close to what it was off tape. I thought, start defensively, very active. You know, again, continue to show that activity, that energy. I thought they responded well, got some stops after the ball had been moved. They got the ball back, you know, which has been a theme of camp. And didn't really allow any super explosive plays, too. The offense, it’s been a pretty explosive camp. They didn't really have any explosives. Offensively, I thought offensive line play was the best it’s been to this point. Backs ran really hard. We converted, you know, in conversion situations, and that was the point of the scrimmage. We did like 70 percent, so that's encouraging. The quarterbacks were decisive in those situations. But our floors are still wildly low and that's the thing going on. It gives me pause to not get too excited in that we still haven’t figured out, how to make the bad better. That has to be the easiest way say it. The bad has to be at least tolerable. Everybody's going to have some bad, but it can't beat you. And our bad has continued to beat us. We had a punt that was probably going to be blocked in the scrimmage that the guy held up on defense. We had some penalties that allowed the offense to score when they would have been stopped. On offense, weird turnovers, but two turnovers. That's two too many.”
On comparisons to last year: “I'm trying not to compare anything to last year. I think that where I compare is myself, you know, the gauge of the team. I was fooled badly last year. I think the first year I was pretty spot on the way it would be. But last year I was wildly fooled, so I just don't want to be fooled again. I want to know who we are, know what our warts are, know what our strengths are, so that we can coach accordingly. At times, I know I did personally, I speak for myself, I coached as if we were better than we were. I think it hurt us. I want to make sure I have a very clear picture of who we are as a team.
I'm a very optimistic person by nature and I believe in optimism. But I'm also a realist, you know, and I'm trying to be real. And every time I start to get excited about something, I see enough of the low floor that I'm like, well, I've got to be a realist here. No matter how awesome you are at something, if your floor is that low, it's going to negate that awesomeness, because it negates the play. You know what I mean? It gives the other team the ball more often. I guess the scar tissue of my history of winning football has been if you don’t beat yourself, the other team will find a way to eventually beat themselves. Then my history of losing here has been, we'll find a way to beat ourselves. Obviously, that's like, it's a form of football cancer. And I don’t want that to be part of our program. So that's my number one focus this time.”
On balancing positivity and being realistic: “It's hard because we really are staying very positive as a team. I think this team's optimism, enthusiasm, celebration for one another is the best we've had here. I think that's super important. But I think they have to be a realist too, it's just not about making plays. Like, that's fun, and that's a big part of football. But the best play you can make a lot of times is the simple one that doesn't show up in the box score, but also doesn't hurt you. So it's that delicate balance of teaching them how to win without telling them not to lose. I think that's the challenge every single day. But I do think they're starting to understand it. Like, on the sideline during the scrimmage, I heard some offensive guys say, ‘Hey, this is the opposite of what we're trying to be.’ We talk about being ball secure, we talk about being smart. We all want to do that, and yet, false start in the red zone, two turnovers (and) there was something else that hurt us in a field position situation. Oh, it was a missed assignment pass protection on third down. It's all right to get physically beat, that happens, right? But we gotta eliminate some of the self-inflicted mental mistakes.”
On finding a go-to Alpha receiver: “It helps. I think it's awesome when you have that person. We have some guys that have been here a couple of years that have shown the ability to be very productive. But no, I would not say that we've discovered a 100% alpha-trustable wide-receiver. I think we’re more committee-based than a single person. I like our young receivers. We’re a little banged up right now, but I like the guys we have on the roster. I like their traits. I like their competitive spirit. They're smart kids, so we can do a lot with them. They've gotten better. But again, I think they gotta continue to be more trustable in all of their moments.
I think that the Alpha to me was only the guy, and I stole this term from a coach years ago, that can play beyond the X's and O’s. The X's and O’s, a lot of times, can get you open or get you an advantage. But when the X's and O’s nose are bad and he can still get himself open and still finish a play, that's an Alpha.