4 takeaways from UAB football’s first preseason scrimmage of 2026

UAB football reached an important milestone on Saturday — its first scrimmage of preseason camp. The team moved its scrimmage to Protective Stadium, from its usual practice location at covered UAB Pavilion. Under the Saturday sun, the Blazers battled against the heat elements — and it appears the defense won the day. “I thought overall, especially on defense, they played hard and tough today,” coach Alex Mortensen said. “Start to finish, that’s something we were really looking for, guys to play hard to the last play, and especially defensively, they did that.”If there was an MVP it was likely sophomore defensive end J’Quan Mason, who led the way with four sacks. The McCalla native is expected to play a large role this fall after playing rotation snaps last season. “Since I was a freshman, the game was really fast,” Mason said. “It was a faster pace coming out of high school, but now it’s way slower. I understand the details a lot more.” The Blazers’ offense scored two touchdowns, one a 15-yard run by Bam McReynolds, then other a 5-yard pass from Nate Rogers to Brayden Johnson. Both those TDs came during red-zone work. In addition to Mason, Ike Esonwune collected a safety and a pass breakup for the Blazers’ defense. Blanche Gold added two sackes, while Tylin Jackson had a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.Jonah Delange made four field goals, connecting from 25, 35, 45 and 50 yards.The Blazers will hold one more scrimmage in August — next Saturday evening, before looking ahead to week 1 of the regular season at Illinois on Sept. 3. Here are four takeaways from UAB’s first camp scrimmage: A little bit more on defense’s strong day When asked to elaborate more on what made the defense’s performance so effective, Mortensen pointed to a variety of factors. “It was really in all phases: pass rush, stopping the run, playing coverage,” Mortensen said. “I thought those guys did a good job on defense, and especially on a day like today where the practice isn’t scripted. They’re out there responding, reacting to what’s called, and so that was very good to see.” One area in particular where it’s encouraging to see progress is the pass rush, where UAB’s struggled in the last few years. Mason led the way Saturday and there’s growing optimism that the team might be able affect the quarterback in multiple ways. “I thought we did a good job affecting the quarterback when we weren’t blitzing,” Mortensen said. “You know when we were rushing when we were rushing four.. I think we have good pass rushers doing a good job, and then I also think we have good schemes to do that as well. It’s a combination of both.”A few injury updates Projected starting running back Rod Robinson was not dressed out and is dealing with a soft tissue injury that is not expected to linger into the regular season. In his place, transfers McReynolds (Louisiana-Monroe) and Ja’Vin Simpkins (Coastal Carolina) took the majority of starting reps. On a positive note, wide receiver Kaleb Brown — recovering from a spring injury — was a limited participant in Saturday’s scrimmage. He participated in position drills and the 7-on-7 passing portion, where he caught a touchdown pass. Secondary emerging as team strength UAB added 13 new defensive backs, including 12 transfers, during the offseason hoping to fix a unit that ranked 94th nationally in passing yards allowed last season. Through several practices, and again on Saturday, the group has been a bright spot. “I think the coverage was tight,” Mortensen said. “I thought they did a good job playing their coverage principles and playing sound,” Returner Delvon Gulley and transfers Anta’Veon McKenzie (Sacramento State) and Darrell Sweeting (Marshall) led the way at corner on Saturday with a trio of transfers: Jeremiah Jordan (Memphis), Jotavian Pierce (Oklahoma State) and Diezel Wilkinson (Montana) standing out at safety. Gulley recorded an interception during the 7-on-7 period. It’s become one of the fiercest competitions during camp, and the plan is to play several defensive backs and to use him in multiple ways.“I think we got a group back there that has some talent to them,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “They compete, and I think the competition has made them each a little bit better. I think it gives us some flexibility moving into the season.” Separation occurring in backup QB competition Ryder Burton is the established starter but there’s been an ongoing competition behind him for the backup role. Amongst sophomores Nate Rogers, Adrian Posse and Cam Jennings, it’s Rogers that’s been impressing most. He received some situational snaps a year ago as a primary running option, now it appears he has a bigger command of the whole offense. “We’ve given Nate a package in the past,” Mortensen said. “He’s executed well and our challenge has been to run the whole offense. We felt like he’s capable of doing that. He knows he’s capable of doing that, and he has done that. That’s been really positive to see, is that he can operate the offense just kind of inside the normal confines of it.”