UAB Blazers: 2026 offense preview — position by position

Examining the UAB offense for 2026 based on preseason roster. Analysis does not reflect position battles or injuries in camp. Check back for more updates as practice continues.

Conference: American

Head coach: Alex Mortensen (Year 1 as permanent HC, play-caller)

2025 offense: 26.4 ppg, 404.3 ypg

Returning offensive production: 37% (SP+)

Returning offensive starters: 3 (Phil Steele)

THE PICTURE

Start with the math. Three returning offensive starters. Thirty-seven percent returning offensive production. Fourteen offensive portal additions. A quarterback with two career starts, a running back room with zero combined carries in this offense and a receiver corps that lost two of its three most productive players.

Now start with the moment. Oct. 18, 2025 — Alex Mortensen's first game as interim head coach. UAB was a 23.5-point home underdog against No. 22 Memphis. Ryder Burton, making his first career start, went 20-of-27 for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. UAB won 31-24. It was the largest upset of a ranked team in American Conference history, and a spark after what had been the disastrous 2 1/2 season tenure of Trent Dilfer. That win alone didn't earn Mortensen the job, but it became official a few weeks later when the Blazers won at Tulsa to end the season, their first win away from home since the 2022 Bahamas Bowl.

That was eight months ago. The question confronting UAB's offense in 2026 is whether the Memphis game was a glimpse of the future or one great night in a long rebuild.

The evidence says it is both.

Mortensen spent nine years at Alabama under Nick Saban — three as a graduate assistant, six as an offensive analyst. He worked under Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley, Steve Sarkisian and Bill O'Brien. He was a Broyles Award nominee as UAB's offensive coordinator in 2023, the year Jacob Zeno completed just under 74 percent of his passes — 10th all-time in NCAA history — and the offense set a school record for total yards. Mortensen calls the plays. He builds the game plans. The man coaching this offense is not learning on the job. The roster around him is.

The offensive identity he is building starts at the line of scrimmage. Run the football. Control the clock. Adapt the system to fit the players, not the other way around. He said as much when asked about what he learned working with quarterbacks at Alabama during the American Kickoff in July: "Think about these quarterbacks. Blake Sims, Jake Coker. Then you go to a guy like Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, Bryce Young. ... They were all different. And so we were able to, yeah, still have a team that controlled the line of scrimmage, still physical, still tough, but we adapted to the guys we had."

UAB isn't stacking 5-stars, but amid the roster certainty there is the makings of a foundation. Center Adam Lepkowski graded as the best center in the American and top 50 nationally by PFF. Guard Calib Perez entered the transfer portal and came back — a significant statement in this era. RB Roderick Robinson II arrived from Georgia at 6-1, 235, a former four-star recruit who scored 39 touchdowns as a high school senior. Behind him are three more backs with FBS production. The tight end room is deeper and more athletic than anything UAB has had in the Mortensen era. The pieces are here for a physical, run-first offense that controls tempo and shortens games and then rides the swagger of a confident, aggressive quarterback to make big plays around that baseline.

The cracks are equally obvious. Iverson Hooks (72 receptions, 927 yards, 7 touchdowns) transferred to Oregon. Brandon Hawkins Jr. (41 receptions, 540 yards, 5 touchdowns) graduated. Together, the departed receivers accounted for 113 catches, 1,467 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025. What replaced them is deep in bodies and thin in proven production. Kaleb Brown and Jaylen Elder — the two highest-ceiling receivers on the roster — both got hurt in spring. The offensive line lost both starting tackles and its starting right guard. And the turnover margin was minus-12 in 2025, with Burton contributing 5 interceptions across his appearances behind starter Jalen Kitna.

Phil Steele's computer projects UAB to average 28.2 points and 391.3 yards per game — roughly equal to 2025's 26.4 and 404.3. ESPN SP+ ranks the offense 108th nationally with a 20.3 rating. Athlon sees "intriguing upside" on offense but frames the program as a Year 1 rebuild. CFN's Pete Fiutak calls UAB "about to be dangerous" but sets the over/under at 3.5 wins. Lindy's ranked UAB 97th nationally and 13th in the AAC, but featured Burton as the program's highlighted player — a signal that the Memphis game changed how the national publications view the program's trajectory.

Every projection says this offense will be average at best. Every projection also says the pieces exist for something better. What happens between those two outcomes depends on five position groups, and it starts with the quarterback.

QUARTERBACK

Ryder Burton | R-Jr. | 6-2, 200 | 62/98 (63.3%), 708 yds, 7 TD, 5 INT, 32 rush att, 2 rush TD. 2 starts. Memphis debut: 20/27, 251 yds, 3 TD

Nate Rogers | R-So. | 5-10, 190 | Primary backup

Adrian Posse | R-So. | 6-4, 215 | QB3

Cam Jennings | R-So. | 6-1, 225 | In the room

The pundits say:

Lindy's featured Burton as UAB's highlighted player — the magazine views the Memphis upset as the program's calling card and Burton as the face of it (Lindy's 2026). ESPN SP+ ranks UAB's offense 108th nationally with 37% returning production, reflecting how little proven offensive continuity exists beyond Burton and two offensive linemen (ESPN SP+). Phil Steele notes UAB returns just 3 offensive starters and that Mortensen "has done a solid job competing for talent" — his computer projects the offense could match or exceed 2025's production (Phil Steele 2026). CFN frames UAB as a program that is "about to be dangerous" but sets the over/under at 3.5 wins, a number that reflects the gap between Burton's talent and his experience (CFN 2026). Winning Cures Everything placed UAB in Tier 3 of the American and characterized the program as "still figuring out what they want to be" — a framing that puts the burden squarely on Burton and the offense to establish an identity (WCE Podcast).

What we know:

Burton's path to this starting job is one of the more unusual quarterback stories in the conference. He redshirted at BYU in 2023. He transferred to West Virginia and was third string in 2024 — never getting on the field. He transferred again to UAB, where Mortensen recruited him and built a relationship through their shared love of scheme and Xs and Os. Then Trent Dilfer got fired, Mortensen became the interim and Burton got his shot.

His full 2025 stat line — 62-of-98, 708 yards, 7 touchdowns, 5 interceptions — came across multiple appearances but only two starts. The first start was the Memphis game. Strip out that performance and the remaining data is much smaller and much rougher. The interceptions did not come in the spotlight. They came in the other appearances, in situations where Burton was pressing or reading late. That is the tension at the heart of the position.

What is not in dispute is the arm. Mortensen said at the American Kickoff that he believes Burton "can make every throw." The release is quick. He has the athleticism to extend plays — 32 rush attempts and 2 rushing touchdowns in limited action confirm he can move. In UAB's second spring scrimmage, he went 6-of-7 with a touchdown. At the spring showcase, he threw a touchdown to Ty Mims.

The development runway matters as much as the talent. This is Burton's first full offseason as a starter, and he is running the offense of a play-caller who produced Jacob Zeno's 73.9% completion rate in this same system. Mortensen works closely with the quarterbacks. The coaching infrastructure is as good as it gets at this level — Mortensen, QBs coach Danny Mitchell, assistant QBs coach Luke Godsey and consultant Rip Scherer (a former head coach at Memphis and James Madison who has coached quarterbacks in the NFL for the Browns and Panthers and tight ends for the Chargers).

The floor is a quarterback who makes too many high-risk throws behind a partially rebuilt offensive line, presses when the running game stalls and gives defenses the turnovers UAB cannot afford — the same minus-12 margin that plagued the program in both 2024 and 2025. The ceiling is a quarterback who operates within Mortensen's system, lets the running game carry the load, attacks on play-action and grows into a legitimate starter in the American. This offense does not need Burton to be a star. It needs him to be steady, smart and efficient but capable of the big play when all else seems off. Whether that version shows up will shape everything else.

What they said at media days:

"We feel like he can make every throw. He's a better athlete than I think a lot of people realize. He has the ability to extend plays and be creative." — Alex Mortensen

"I think one, there's the preparation component, the hard work. I think Ryder puts a lot of work in. I think the second thing is he probably knows he's talented. Not in an arrogant manner. ... He can throw it. ... He has the ability to extend plays and be creative. So if I had those traits, I'd be confident, too." — Alex Mortensen

"Ryder and I really hit it off from recruiting on. This guy, he loves football. I love football. We love scheme. We love Xs and Os. We love talking about it. One thing I like about him is he can talk it and visualize it. I think that's a trait a lot of really good quarterbacks have — they can see it in their mind as they're saying it." — Alex Mortensen

The question: Is the Memphis game the baseline or the ceiling?

RUNNING BACK

Roderick Robinson II | R-Jr. | 6-1, 235 | Georgia transfer. Former 4-star. 39 TDs as HS senior. SEC Championship opening TD catch vs. Alabama

Marquise Collins | R-Jr. | 5-9, 210 | Duke transfer. Former 4-star. 3 knee surgeries

Ja'Vin Simpkins | R-Jr. | 5-9, 185 | Coastal Carolina. Leading rusher: 591 rush yds, 2 TD, 17 rec

Bam McReynolds | R-Sr. | 5-7, 190 | UL Monroe. 1,817 career total yards (South Alabama + ULM). Mobile, Ala. native

Hudson Higgins | Fr. | 5-9, 180 | Mars Hill Bible School. 1,986 rush yds, 32 TD, 15.4 ypc

The pundits say:

Steve Irvine of the Birmingham Banner calls Robinson "a dude" and "unique for the American Conference" — a player whose SEC-level size and pedigree separate him from the typical Group of 6 running back (Birmingham Banner). Irvine also identified true freshman Hudson Higgins as a sleeper who "really showed up in the spring" despite the loaded room (Birmingham Banner). Phil Steele named Solomon Beebe 1st Team All-AAC as a kick returner — one of three departed backs who combined for over 1,500 rushing yards, leaving UAB to rebuild the position almost entirely through the portal (Phil Steele 2026). Athlon identified the running back room as the center of the "intriguing upside" on offense — a group the magazine views as the position most likely to outperform the program's overall projections (Athlon 2026).

What we know:

This is the room that could define the entire offense, and it is the deepest position group on the team.

The headliner is Robinson, and for good reason. At 6-1 and 235 pounds, he is built like a Power 4 back because he was one — a former four-star recruit from Lincoln High School in San Diego who signed with Georgia, logged 17 career games for the Bulldogs and caught the opening touchdown in the SEC Championship against Alabama. He scored 39 touchdowns as a high school senior on a state championship team. That kind of size and physicality is rare at the Group of 6 level, and it fits Mortensen's identity perfectly. He scored on a 20-yard run in the second spring scrimmage and was fully healthy throughout the spring.

Behind Robinson, the room does not drop off — it changes shape. Ja'Vin Simpkins was Coastal Carolina's leading rusher at 591 yards with 17 receptions. At 5-9 and 185, he is a change-of-pace back who can make defenders miss in space and work as a receiver out of the backfield. Bam McReynolds compiled 1,817 career total yards across three years at South Alabama and one at UL Monroe, where he was the second-leading rusher under former UAB OC and interim head coach Bryant Vincent. At 5-7 and 190, he brings the same quick-twitch ability in a compact, powerful frame. Marquise Collins carries the highest raw talent in the room — a former four-star from Duke with a combination of power and speed that Irvine described as potentially "the most purely talented RB they have." Three knee surgeries likely limit him to 9-10 carries per game. He is not a workhorse back. But in a rotation, he does not need to be, and he's a change of pace and a difficult matchup for coordinators.

Then there is Hudson Higgins. A true freshman from Mars Hill Bible School in Florence, Ala., where he averaged 15.4 yards per carry as a senior and scored 32 touchdowns. His dad was the head coach. The football IQ is described as "off the charts." Despite arriving into a room with four scholarship backs ahead of him, he stood out in spring and could earn a package.

What makes the room special is not any single back — it is the combination. Robinson gives you the 235-pound sledgehammer who wears down fronts through three quarters. Simpkins and McReynolds give you the quick-twitch change of pace who forces defenses to adjust from power to speed on consecutive possessions. Collins gives you both in one player on limited touches. All four catch the ball, which gives Mortensen rotation flexibility that most American Conference staffs cannot match.

The coaching here matters. Hindley Brigham returned to UAB in January after one year at UL Monroe. His previous nine-year stint at UAB produced all three of the program's top career rushing leaders — Spencer Brown, DeWayne McBride and Jermaine Brown Jr. He knows how to develop backs in this program.

UAB rushed for 900 yards from Jevon Jackson alone in 2025. Add Beebe's 338 and Jacobs' 342, and the departed backs produced over 1,500 rushing yards. Replacing that raw total is not a problem — the bodies and the talent are here. The question is whether a room with zero combined carries in this offense can gel with an offensive line that has two new starters at tackle and produce at a level that lets Burton operate within Mortensen's system instead of having to carry the offense by himself.

If this room stays healthy, it will be the engine. If it does not, everything downstream — Burton's development, the passing game, the game-plan flexibility — gets harder.

What they said at media days:

"We like to run the ball. The football, to me — we talk about turnover margin, all those things — it starts at the line of scrimmage. The game starts at the line of scrimmage. So we want to dominate and control the line of scrimmage." — Alex Mortensen

"It kind of starts with Adam Lepkowski, who's a center for us. ... We have a good group up there. It's going to be very competitive. And then we like our running back room. It's a deep room. We've got a lot of guys there that I think are really going to help us. Some of which have collegiate production already. Some have a thousand yards to their name. Some of which — high ceiling, haven't really done it yet. I think they will for us." — Alex Mortensen

The question: Can this room stay healthy enough to be the four-headed attack the spring suggested — and can it produce early enough to keep defenses honest while Burton finds his footing?

WIDE RECEIVER

Kaleb Brown | R-Sr. | 5-10, 200 | Ohio State/Iowa transfer. 17 rec, 255 yds, 2 TD in 10 games/3 starts. Career-best 79 yds vs. No. 15 Tennessee. Hurt in spring (2nd straight spring injury)

Ty Mims | R-Sr. | 5-9, 185 | Southern Miss/Texas State. 96 catches, 1,194 yds, 5 TD in 3 years. Wearing No. 0

CJ Smith | R-Sr. | 6-3, 205 | Memphis transfer. "Might be their best deep threat." 12 games at Memphis

Jaylen Elder | So. | 5-11, 160 | Speed threat. 6 games as true freshman. Hurt in spring. JJ Nelson comp

AJ Johnson | Gr. | 6-3, 205 | East Tennessee State. Biggest receiver on roster. "Had a great spring"

Lamar White | R-So. | 5-11, 200 | Roddy White's son. "Might have had the best spring of anybody in the WR room"

EJ Reid | R-So. | 5-10, 180 | Wake Forest. Shifty, get-the-ball-in-hands type

KJ Daniels | R-So. | 5-10, 170 | Oklahoma. Also kick return candidate

Jailen Holmes | R-Sr. | 5-10, 180 | Oregon State. "Was good in the spring"

The pundits say:

Phil Steele named Iverson Hooks 1st Team All-AAC after his 72-catch, 927-yard, 7-touchdown season — the kind of production that does not get replaced through the portal overnight (Phil Steele 2026). Steve Irvine of the Birmingham Banner projects Kaleb Brown as "the best receiver in that room" if healthy and compared Ty Mims to Hooks — similar build, same No. 0, capable of filling that role (Birmingham Banner).

What we know:

This is the position group that could limit the entire offense, and everyone in the building knows it. Yet at the same time, there is real optimism that the ability in the room is underestimated outside of it.

The production losses are severe and specific. Iverson Hooks was the program's most productive receiver in 2025 and the first UAB player with multiple 10-reception games in a season. Brandon Hawkins Jr. was the reliable secondary option. Together they represented 113 of UAB's receptions, 1,467 of its receiving yards and 12 of its receiving touchdowns. That kind of production does not walk in through the transfer portal fully formed — it takes reps, chemistry with the quarterback and an understanding of the offense's timing and spacing.

Kaleb Brown is the most talented receiver on the roster. He was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school who signed with Ohio State, transferred to Iowa and then came to UAB, where he caught 17 passes for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns in 10 games. His career-best 79-yard performance came against No. 15 Tennessee. When healthy, he can win on all three levels. The problem is the "when healthy" qualifier. He got hurt in spring 2025 and again in spring 2026 — back-to-back spring injuries that have prevented him from building the kind of sustained chemistry with Burton that this offense needs its top receiver to have.

Ty Mims is the most experienced receiver in the room. Ninety-six catches and 1,194 yards across three years at Southern Miss and Texas State gives him a floor of production that nobody else in this group can match. He is wearing No. 0 — Hooks' number — and Irvine has said he "looked like Iverson Hooks" in spring, drawing the comparison not just to the jersey but to the build, the movement and the role he could fill. He caught a touchdown from Burton at the spring showcase. If there is a day-one starter at the position, it is Mims.

CJ Smith is the one receiver in the room with legitimate size. At 6-3 and 205, he is bigger than anyone else in a corps dominated by players under 5-10. He transferred from Memphis and played 12 games there. Steve Irvine identified him as potentially "their best deep threat." He was banged up early in spring but came back and finished. Jaylen Elder, the speed merchant who drew a JJ Nelson comparison from Irvine, represents the kind of vertical threat that stretches the field and opens the intermediate game for everyone else — but he got hurt in spring and his fall availability is unknown.

The rest of the room is deep but unproven at this level. AJ Johnson at 6-3 and 205 from East Tennessee State fills the big-bodied role the roster lacked and "had a great spring." Lamar White, Roddy White's son, "might have had the best spring of anybody in the WR room for where he came from" — a steady route-runner whose stock rose through the spring. EJ Reid from Wake Forest is a shifty, get-the-ball-in-hands type. KJ Daniels from Oklahoma could contribute on kick returns. Jailen Holmes from Oregon State "was good in the spring." There are bodies. There are athletes. There is not a single receiver beyond Mims who has proven he can be a consistent, reliable target in an FBS offense.

The coaching, at least, is not a concern. Kevin Garver spent four years coaching Tampa Bay's receivers — including the Super Bowl LV season — and six years at Arizona working with Larry Fitzgerald. He is a Birmingham native who spent six years at Alabama under Saban. If this room can be coached up, it has the right man.

The schematic implication is clear. If Brown and Elder are healthy and available, this room has a ceiling — Brown wins inside, Elder stretches the field, Mims works the intermediate zones, Smith provides the contested-catch option downfield. That version gives Burton enough targets to make defenses respect the pass and stay honest against the run.

If Brown and Elder miss significant time, the room becomes Mims and a collection of players building chemistry with Burton for the first time in fall camp. In that scenario, opposing defensive coordinators will load the box, dare Burton to beat them through the air and turn this into a test the small sample says he may not be ready for.

What they said at media days:

"Ty Mims has done a nice job. We have a lot of receivers right now that are competing and we're really excited about all of them. Very excited to have Kaleb Brown back. Kaleb suffered an injury in the spring, but he's bouncing back. We brought in CJ Smith, who we're also really excited about. KJ Daniels is another new guy. AJ Johnson returns. Lamar White's been coming on. It's a room that we think has some depth and it's going to be very competitive in camp, but I think they can all help us and we'll find ways to play all of them." — Alex Mortensen

The question: Can the room survive Brown's injury history and Elder's unknown availability long enough to develop chemistry with Burton — or will defenses load the box and force this offense into situations its quarterback is not yet built for?

TIGHT END

Antonio Ferguson | R-Jr. | 6-3, 235 | 10 rec, 115 yds in 9 games/4 starts. Hamstring limited him in 2025. Most well-rounded TE on roster

Sean Persson | R-So. | 6-5, 245 | Toledo transfer. Recruited by Burton from their shared Utah HS circuit

Scott Isacks | R-Sr. | 6-4, 250 | Florida transfer. HS tape: 6-5, 240-lb tailback. "Very Derrick Henry-like"

Gabriel Cline | R-Fr. | 6-4, 230 | "Most athletic TE" on roster. Could be best pass-catching TE eventually

The pundits say:

Steve Irvine named Ferguson his offensive breakout pick, projecting 30-35 catches and an All-Conference ceiling — a significant jump from the 10 catches and 115 yards that a hamstring limited him to in 2025 (Birmingham Banner). Phil Steele's offensive forecast focuses on the tight end position implicitly through Mortensen's system — the play-caller spent nine years in Alabama offenses that deployed tight ends as primary weapons, and Phil's computer projects the offense could match or top last year's production, a scenario that likely requires the tight end room to contribute (Phil Steele 2026).

What we know:

This is the position group most likely to outperform expectations, and it is the one that could quietly rescue the receiving corps' production problem.

Mortensen's offenses at Alabama used the tight end as a featured weapon. This is not a program that views the position as a sixth blocker. Ferguson, Persson, Isacks and Cline give Mortensen four tight ends who can all contribute, and that depth gives him the ability to run multiple-TE sets that stress linebackers and safeties in ways the receiving corps alone cannot.

Antonio Ferguson is the centerpiece. He is the most well-rounded tight end on the roster — a player who can route-run and block well enough to stay on the field every snap. His 10 catches and 115 yards in 2025 came in 9 games with 4 starts, all while managing a hamstring injury that limited his effectiveness. Healthy and with a full offseason as a primary target, the 30-35 catch projection is realistic. In a passing attack that lost Hooks and Hawkins, Ferguson becomes the most reliable short-to-intermediate target Burton has. The tight end zone between the linebackers and safeties is where Burton's quick release and accuracy can do the most damage — and Ferguson lives there.

Sean Persson brings a dimension the room did not have before. At 6-5 and 245, he gives Burton a big downfield target with the kind of catch radius that simplifies throws. The personal connection between them adds a layer the numbers cannot capture — Burton personally recruited Persson from their shared Utah high school circuit. As the story goes, Burton called the coaching staff over the holidays and said, "Hey, I got you a tight end." A quarterback who recruits his own weapons and has a pre-existing relationship with them has a head start on timing and trust that most portal arrivals do not.

Scott Isacks is the wild card. A former Florida walk-on at 6-4 and 250, his high school tape showed what Irvine described as "very Derrick Henry-like" — a 6-5, 240-pound tailback playing tight end. That kind of tailback athleticism at the tight end position, in an offense built on physicality and versatility, gives Mortensen options in short-yardage and goal-line packages that most Group of 6 programs cannot replicate. Gabriel Cline, the most athletic tight end in the room, could develop into the best pure pass-catching option at the position over time.

If the receiver room is thin — and right now, the evidence says it is — the tight end room has the depth, the scheme fit and the personnel to absorb some of that responsibility. Ferguson as a 30-catch weapon, Persson as a red zone target, Isacks as a versatile blocker-receiver and Cline as a developing pass catcher gives Mortensen a four-deep tight end rotation that most staffs in this conference cannot match. The Alabama system was built to use multiple tight ends as offensive advantages. The players are here to do it.

The question: Is Ferguson the 30-catch weapon the projections suggest? And can Persson and Isacks contribute early enough to take pressure off a thin receiving corps?

OFFENSIVE LINE

Adam Lepkowski | Gr. | 6-3, 300 | C. Started all 12 games in 2025. Best center in the American (PFSN College). PFF top 50 nationally, 4th in the American. Walk-on who earned scholarship

Calib Perez | Gr. | 6-5, 315 | G. Entered portal then came back. 39 combined career starts with Lepkowski

Payton Kirkland | R-Jr. | 6-6, 315 | LT. Texas/Colorado transfer. Former 3-star (ESPN No. 39 OT). Started last game of 2025

Kyrik Mason | Gr. | 6-4, 305 | RT. Returning starter

Keyon Cox | R-Jr. | 6-5, 305 | Oregon State transfer. Guard or tackle. Flashed at end of spring

Samuel Riddy | R-Jr. | 6-5, 330 | East Carolina transfer. "Really really good spring at tackle"

Barrett Maddox | Jr. | 6-6, 325 | Itawamba CC. 44th-ranked JUCO transfer

Cooper Young | R-Jr. | 6-4, 310 | West Virginia transfer. 2 games at WVU

The pundits say:

JonDarius Morgan is now with the New England Patriots, and his departure alongside left tackle Brandon Sneh (80.3 PFF grade, Mississippi State) and right tackle Logan Moore (Baylor) stripped 34 of the line's 46 career starts in one offseason. Steve Irvine called Lepkowski the "unquestioned" leader of the offense and projects Payton Kirkland as a potential All-Conference left tackle (Birmingham Banner). ESPN SP+ frames the broader roster turnover at 83 new starts vs. 61 returning — a ratio that hits the offensive line harder than any other position group (ESPN SP+).

What we know:

The interior of this offensive line is the strongest position on the entire offense. The edges are the biggest question mark on the entire offense. The gap between those two realities will determine how much of the offensive upside actually reaches the field.

Lepkowski is the anchor. A walk-on who earned a scholarship and graded out as the best center in the American Conference and top 50 nationally by PFF — fourth in the conference by their metrics. He started all 12 games in 2025. He is the offensive line's best player, its leader and its communicator. In an offense built on the run game, the center is the fulcrum. Lepkowski gives UAB a fulcrum that grades out against most Power 4 centers. Mortensen referenced him by name at the American Kickoff, and the phrasing was revealing: "It kind of starts with Adam Lepkowski." Not "he's a good player." Not "he's done a good job." It starts with him.

Perez is the proof of the culture reset. He entered the transfer portal after the 2025 season. He came back. In the portal era, when the default is to leave, a player choosing to return to a rebuilding program sends a message to the locker room that no recruiting pitch can replicate. Between Perez and Lepkowski, UAB has 39 career starts at the two interior positions. That experience and continuity is the base the entire running game is built on.

The edges are a different story. The three departures — Brandon Sneh, Logan Moore and JonDarius Morgan — combined for 34 career starts and represented two-thirds of the experienced starters on the 2025 line. Sneh's 80.3 PFF grade at left tackle is the single most difficult individual performance to replace. Morgan was a two-year starter who signed with the New England Patriots.

Kirkland, the replacement at left tackle, has an unusual resume. A former three-star recruit (ESPN's No. 39 offensive tackle nationally) who signed with Texas, transferred to Colorado and then came to UAB. He arrived at 350 pounds and worked his body down to the 305-315 range. He started the final game of 2025 and had a strong spring. Irvine projects him as "one of the best offensive linemen in the conference" at left tackle. That is a significant claim, but if the spring performance translates, Kirkland at left tackle and Lepkowski at center gives UAB one of the better left-side combinations in the conference.

Kyrik Mason returns at right tackle, providing continuity at the position. Keyon Cox from Oregon State brings versatility at guard or tackle but was limited for most of the spring by injury — when he did play, at the end of the spring, Irvine noted "you could see why they're so excited." Samuel Riddy from East Carolina had "a really really good spring at tackle" at 6-5 and 330. Barrett Maddox, the 44th-ranked JUCO transfer, and Cooper Young from West Virginia (6-4, 310) add depth.

Run game coordinator Gordon Steele and offensive line coach Matt McCants — a former UAB player (2007-11) who was a 2x First Team All-Conference USA selection and a New York Giants draft pick who played seven NFL seasons — lead the room. McCants returned to UAB in 2021. He knows what the standard looks like because he played at it.

The line's trajectory over the next month will shape everything. If Kirkland and the right side gel quickly, the run game has the interior anchor (Lepkowski/Perez) and the edge protection to let Robinson, Simpkins and McReynolds work behind a complete front. If the tackles need time — if the edges are slow to develop trust and technique against speed rushers — Burton will face pressure, the play-action game will flatten and the offensive identity Mortensen is building will not have time to set before the schedule starts testing it. UAB opens at Illinois. The Big Ten defensive line will provide an immediate answer to whether the edge protection is ready.

What they said at media days:

"It kind of starts with Adam Lepkowski, who's a center for us. I feel like he's a ninth-year senior. He might be today. I mean, you never know. It kind of starts with him, but we have a good group up there. It's going to be very competitive." — Alex Mortensen

"We like to run the ball. The football, to me — we talk about turnover margin, all those things — it starts at the line of scrimmage. The game starts at the line of scrimmage. So we want to dominate and control the line of scrimmage. I did work for Saban for nine years and so teams are physical. We're tough. And so those are things we believe in and we want to run the football." — Alex Mortensen

The question: Can the new tackles protect the edges well enough to let the interior dominate the way the grades suggest it should — and can it happen fast enough for the Week 1 trip to Illinois?

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Five position groups. Three returning starters. Fourteen offensive portal additions. One play-caller with a Saban pedigree, a system that adapts to personnel and a 2023 offense that produced the 10th-best completion percentage in NCAA history. The talent is here. The experience together is not. And the gap between the two is where the 2026 season will be decided.

The identity Mortensen is building is clear, and it is the right one for this roster: run the football behind the best center in the conference and a four-deep backfield that gives defensive coordinators a different problem every series. Use the tight end room — deeper and more athletic than anything this program has had — to bridge the gap between the run game and the passing attack. Let Burton operate within the system rather than carry it. Control the clock. Win the turnover battle. Play physical football that shortens games and keeps a rebuilding defense off the field.

That is the design. Whether it works depends on variables that fall camp has not yet answered.

The ceiling:

Everything aligns. Robinson is the bell-cow back UAB has not had since DeWayne McBride, running behind Lepkowski and Perez for 1,000-plus yards while Simpkins and McReynolds add another 600-700 combined. Kirkland locks down the left side. Brown returns healthy and gives Burton a legitimate No. 1 receiver. Ferguson breaks out for 30-plus catches. Burton completes 65% of his passes, keeps the interceptions under 10 and manages the game the way Zeno managed it in 2023 — efficiently, within the system, without trying to do too much.

In this scenario, Phil Steele's projection of 28.2 points per game looks conservative. The offense controls the clock, wins the turnover battle, and gives new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's defense a chance to grow without having to carry the team. UAB reaches 6 wins or more. Mortensen proves the Memphis game was a preview, not an anomaly. The program is back on a trajectory everyone expected when it transitioned from Conference USA to the American.

The floor:

Brown and Elder miss time. The receiver room cannot replace Hooks and Hawkins. Defenses load the box and dare Burton to beat them — and he cannot, not consistently, not with the interception tendencies that showed up outside the Memphis game. The tackles need time they do not have. The minus-12 turnover margin carries into 2026 because the offense cannot protect the ball and the defense is too new to take it away. UAB scores 20 or fewer points in six or seven games. The run game produces yards but not touchdowns because the red zone offense stalls without a reliable passing threat. Mortensen's system is right, but the roster is a year away.

In this scenario, UAB finishes 3-9 or 4-8 again. Phil Steele's bottom line lands: "This looks like a clear rebuilding year for the Blazers but if Coach Mortensen gets them to top last year's 4-win total then he deserves a raise and a contract extension." The over/under of 3.5 wins holds. The rebuild is real, but it is early.

The variable:

One factor above all others will determine which version shows up: the turnover margin.

UAB was minus-12 in turnovers in both 2024 and 2025. Those are not just bad numbers — they are program-defining numbers. In 2024, the Blazers went 3-9. In 2025, they went 4-8. Mortensen identified it at the American Kickoff as a primary emphasis: "When you look at winning and losing, one of the things that correlates the most is turnover margin."

Burton's 5 interceptions in limited 2025 action are the offensive side of the equation. The running game — multiple backs, all of whom catch the ball, behind an experienced interior — should help by keeping UAB in manageable situations and reducing the number of throws Burton has to make under duress. But if Burton is still forcing throws in October the way he did outside the Memphis game, the margin will not flip. And if the margin does not flip, the ceiling stays out of reach no matter how good the running back room is.

The offensive talent is better than what UAB had in 2025. The coaching is better than what UAB had in 2025. The system is proven. The question is whether 14 offensive portal additions, a second-year quarterback and two new starting tackles can build the chemistry, discipline and execution required to turn talent into production — and whether they can do it fast enough for a schedule that opens at a Big Ten program and never lets up.

The pundits say UAB is 97th nationally, 108th on offense, 13th in the American. The pundits also say this program is "about to be dangerous." Both things can be true. The 2026 offense will tell us which one matters more right now.