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Athlon Sports
UAB Football: 2024 Blazers Season Preview and Prediction
By Athlon Sports,
11 hours ago
Last season’s 4-8 showing doesn’t sit well at UAB. Instant success for the Trent Dilfer regime was probably never a realistic expectation, but even he seemed surprised at the learning curve in his first season. Now that the staff has their feet under them, how the Blazers respond will say a lot. Getting back to controlling the time of possession and finishing drives will be an important step.
The Trent Dilfer era in Birmingham did not exactly get off to a fast start. However, Dilfer’s quarterback expertise from his Elite 11 days is already coming in handy.
A team probably more traditionally known for its running game, UAB got quarterback play from Jacob Zeno that was statistically some of the best the school has ever seen. Zeno set program records for completions (279) and completion percentage (73.6) last season, with his accuracy ranking second in the nation. He finished with 3,126 yards, 20 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He’s one of seven returning starters on offense, including four linemen.
With a bigger emphasis on the passing game comes an increased need to take proper care of the ball. UAB averaged 29 minutes of possession per game in 2023, down from nearly 32 minutes in 2022. They also turned the ball over 20 times in 2023.
UAB struggled on defense last season, surrendering the second-most points per game in the AAC last year at 36.9. They allowed more than 40 points in seven different games last season. That puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on your offense.
An area that needs improvement is a secondary group that allowed 7.3 yards per completion in 2023 and the most first downs in the AAC. The names left in that group in the wake of several transfers are largely unproven up to this point in their college careers, with the exception of Alabama State transfer Adrian Maddox.
Up front, a name to watch is defensive tackle Kevin Penn. Penn had 4.5 sacks with 43 total tackles in 2023. The Decatur, Ala., native was also credited with four quarterback hurries. Middle linebacker Michael Moore also returns after notching 63 tackles with 5.5 for a loss last season.
Blazers punter Patrick Foley is still developing, but he shows promise after 10 of his 41 punts last season went more than 50 yards. Jonah Delange was the Blazers’ kickoff specialist last season with 14 touchbacks and likely takes over the field-goal duties this season as well. The Blazers will have to replace dependable return man Jermaine Brown Jr.
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