What Alex Mortensen said ahead of UAB's game against Memphis

UAB head coach Alex Mortensen walked into his weekly press conference knowing the Blazers' 33-14 win over Samford looked worse than the final score suggested. A fumble inside the Samford 10 turned into a 14-point swing — what should have been 20-7 became 14-13 — and the offense didn't meet his standard.

"It kind of feels like popcorn," Mortensen said of the offensive inconsistency. "There might be 10 guys doing everything right, and it's just one guy on one play that puts you behind somewhere." He traced part of it to anxiety among players getting their first extended run as college starters — they put too much pressure on themselves to be perfect and play differently than they practice. The flip side, Mortensen said, is that it means UAB should improve through the season as those players gain experience.

The Blazers are 3-2 for the first time in four years and have shut out four consecutive opponents in the fourth quarter. UAB (3-2, 1-0 American) travels to Memphis (4-1, 1-0 American) on Saturday for the Battle for the Bones at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2). Mortensen and Memphis head coach Charles Huff worked together on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama for two years.

Full transcript

Opening statement:

Alex Mortensen: "Recapping our last game, overall, certainly glad we won. I thought our defense played really well through the course of the game. I think we held them to something like 220 yards of offense or less, somewhere in that ballpark. And I think shut them out in the second half, so that was really positive. I thought special teams we had some real positives minus the punt that we fumbled and gave them the ball. So there were some good things there.

"Offensively, felt like we need to play better. Clearly need to play better, play more consistent. There are a lot of things we could've done better offensively. I also think a game like that feels worse sometimes than it even is when we're about to go up 20 to seven going into half. We've got the ball inside the 10, and we fumble, and it's really like a 14-point swing because we fumble, they scoop and score. And now it's 14-13 when it's about to be 20 to seven. So that certainly made it worse.

"Any time you give someone points on offense like that — a touchdown when you're inside their five or inside their 10 and they score — it gets uphill. You've got to do a lot to overcome that. The positive is I think we won the second half 20 to zero, so that's good in terms of how we responded. But definitely not to our standard in terms of our offensive performance at all in a multitude of areas. It wasn't all bad. So we're working to improve all those things, and even the things I highlighted defensively, special teams wise, there's areas we're still looking to get better there too.

"We're working on taking the next steps as a program. It's still very early in the year, but I think it's the first time we've been three and two in four years. First time we've had back-to-back wins in four years. And I think the other thing to happen early in the year is kind of a weird thing, but I think we won in Week 2 for the first time in seven or eight years. So there are some good things happening culturally, but far from where we need to go as a program, and far even beyond the long-term projection of the program, far from where we want to be even with this team.

"We still really want to step on the gas and improve. I think that's a big message to our players — we talk about the concept of development a lot, and at their age they can really have accelerated development. They can improve in the season. So that's something we're going to keep stressing.

"We're playing Memphis this week. Memphis has a really good team. Certainly excited about having the opportunity to play them and play them at their place. I've known Coach Huff for some time. Coach Huff and I worked together at Alabama for two years. I've had a great relationship with him there and we have some great memories together, and we were a part of some great teams there.

"He's doing a very good job at Memphis. He did a great job at his prior stops. They've got Kevin Decker running their offense. He did a phenomenal job at ODU last year. And then Lance Guidry is there on defense, doing an excellent job with their Memphis team. So good team, very well coached, have a lot of really good players, and we're excited to go up there and play another conference game."

On what has made UAB good in the second half this season:

Alex Mortensen: "I think there are a few things. One, I think one of the prerequisites for effort is conditioning, and so we work really hard on building conditioning in the offseason. Some of it goes back to winter, some of it's how we handle June and July. I think Coach Lyle Henley's done an excellent job and Bryant Novick and Santonio — that whole strength staff — and then some things we did as a team too. So I think the conditioning part's a factor. I really do.

"And then I also think there's a psychological component with the players. We do really try to create this mindset of being a relentless competitor. And so I think a multitude of guys have bought into that. And then I think the next thing is there's a schematic and tactical component to that, and I think that's where staff on both sides of the ball — Coach Grantham and the defensive staff, the offensive staff — have done a good job tactically making any adjustments or tweaks. Some people talk about halftime adjustments being overstated, but they still can be a factor in a game. And then it's also not just enough for the coaches to be able to make those adjustments, but the players have to be able to keep up with them and execute them. So I think it's really all of those things factoring in, and hopefully we can continue to build on that."

On what jumped out on film about the offense against Samford:

Alex Mortensen: "I think one of the more frustrating things — and probably sounds like coach speak when you hear it — is it kind of feels like popcorn. There might be 10 guys doing everything right, and it's just one guy on one play that puts you behind somewhere. So that's part of it — just having a level of consistency with all 11 people on the field at the same time. You wish you could say it's always this person and we'll just fix that person. But sometimes it might be someone different.

"And then the other thing is, if you were to say, 'Is there a commonality of the errors?' Even as they do kind of popcorn around from a quarterback to a receiver to an offensive lineman — it really is just trying to get guys to do their job first and foremost. One of the things we always want to talk about is having the right intensity on game day, having a mentality to compete at a high level, set an intensity that the opponent can't match. Beat them to the punch. There are a couple times I'm not sure we started the game with that kind of intensity we need to.

"And then there's another thing too. It sounds crazy, but there's an anxiety thing that sometimes happens. Whatever it is, players put so much pressure on themselves to be perfect, to perform perfectly, that they get to a mental state that they don't practice with. And so when you're looking at the disconnect of, why does the guy practice a certain way and play a certain way — sometimes it's just anxiety. They get too anxious. I think some of our guys, it's not the intensity thing, it's getting them to trust themselves a little bit more. Particularly on offense, we have a lot of guys that have not played a lot in college and haven't been starters a lot in college. Now, that's exciting to me because that means we should get better through the course of the year.

"And then always as a staff, you have to say, 'Are we doing the things that our players are capable of doing? Are we playing to their strengths or are we not?' And that's something we're going to ask every week."

On what happened at halftime after the Samford fumble:

Alex Mortensen: "Normally at halftime we get together as a coaching staff and we let the players initially start doing the things they need to do physically to get themselves ready — hydration, nutrition, things of that nature. And then we get with them. But I wanted to go ahead and grab them right away.

"I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make — everyone's frustrated. We know we're way better than that. And again, ton of respect to Samford, Coach Grass, they did an outstanding job. Mickey Conn on defense, their players. But we know we're better than that, and we know we're capable of playing better than that. You should be a little bit fired up and going, 'Man, we've got to be better.' But at the same time, I think there's a balance where one of the worst things you can do is press. And it's why we say, we want to win on the scoreboard. That's part of the idea. But if I'm so focused on just the result, that can sometimes create the anxiety and the pressing and doing things outside the realm of the technique that we coach.

"So that's why it's like, 'Guys, just settle in. Go do our job one play at a time.' And if you do that, you're probably going to end up in the end zone. You're probably going to end up with a better result on the scoreboard. So I grabbed them right away, because what I didn't want to happen is — as the coaching staff goes together to talk about adjustments and how we're going to handle the second half — I trust our player leadership, but we don't need to press the panic button right there either. So I wanted to make sure they understood that."

On rotating offensive linemen — depth vs. chemistry:

Alex Mortensen: "I think you hit kind of the dichotomy right there. You play a lot of guys. One of the positives is, look, I like when as many guys on the team can create a role for themselves, provided they've earned it. I think that's a good thing. We want more guys to be able to play and to practice the way they need to play so they can get out there and we can trust them.

"And the other part you mentioned — guys being fresh, being able to come out there and spell a guy. That's a positive. But the other side of that is, are you creating the chemistry you want — the same two guys working a double team together, the same two guys communicating together. There are some trade-offs there. But right now, as you pointed out, we've had some injuries going back to training camp. And so more guys are getting available and are putting themselves in a position to be able to help us. So we're trying to help them play and create a role for them."

On the UAB-Memphis rivalry in an era of roster turnover:

Alex Mortensen: "I think the players do a pretty good job a lot of times of getting to know the history of the school or the program. I think a lot of them are aware of what those games mean to our fans, and I think games like that are great. It's great for the fan bases. It generates excitement and can draw interest into the game.

"At the same time, for our players, it's not a great point of emphasis for us or for me when we talk about the game. We want a great intensity and focus and energy to every game we play. But I do think games like this are great for the program."

On special memories from the Memphis game last year — his debut as interim head coach:

Alex Mortensen: "One, I'm just really incredibly appreciative of all the players. I think the first thing is when that happened a year ago, it's like, 'Okay, where do I put my focus?' And it was really going, 'Let's go help our players the best we can.' And then in turn, really appreciative for the way they responded and the way they played and competed and had a great week of practice and went out and just let it go.

"They played hard. They really let it go. In terms of memories, it was my first game, and I said this last year — I have to admit, when you get thrust into a position like that in the middle of the year when you're not expecting it, I had some nerves too. And I think one of the things I remember is when we finally ran out on the field, the nerves were gone. It's like, 'Okay, this is time to go compete and play.' That was one of my favorite moments of the week — finally when we were at about 60 minutes to kickoff and it's like, 'All right, it's time to go get ready for a game.'

"But yeah, incredibly appreciative of the players and the way they handled all six weeks there. Even the last game of the year, we won the first road game in three years or so, and they really rallied. That's a credit to them."

On what jumps out about Memphis on film:

Alex Mortensen: "They've got a good roster. I think they've got a lot of good players, and they're well-coached. There's not a lot of times where you're seeing guys and saying, 'They're out of position. They're doing something that's unsound.' They're just a well-coached team.

"Good, really good roster. I think they've done a nice job recruiting, and those are things that really jump out to me."

On the team's response to the Samford fumble return:

Alex Mortensen: "I thought the response in the second half was really good. It was a little bit of a freak play. Doesn't mean it's okay that we had it, but hopefully it's a little bit of a freak play. I didn't love the initial response. It did not spiral into negativity. That's good. I've been a part of that. It did not spiral into negativity, complaining, none of that. But I did feel like we could have used more positive energy. I felt like the air came out a little.

"I don't think that's indicative of our team. The good thing is we talked about it at the half, they reset, and they were good to go. And so the idea is, next time something like that happens, that response needs to be immediate."

On Ryder Burton's progress — decision-making and running the offense:

Alex Mortensen: "I think Ryder's playing very well in a lot of areas. I have the utmost confidence in him, and I think he's doing a very good job running the offense in many, many areas. There's things that you don't know and you don't see where he helps us with things in the run game or communication too. He's outstanding in all of those regards.

"And it's been a little bit of a weird year. I know we had a few games where we had short games — the games got shrunk. Illinois, eight drives. ULM, I think eight real drives in the game. You play Navy, who possesses the ball a good bit. ULM, it rains for a quarter. Ryder will probably be mad I say this, but he's very sick in that game.

"So it's just been a weird year. Not real worried. The number one thing we're trying to do is get the ball in the end zone. We're trying to win. He knows that. I think over time, the numbers will reflect what kind of player he is. Are there things he wants to improve and get better at? Yeah, and he will as long as he's playing. That's just the way he is. And he is on his first real run as a starter too. So there are certain things — just getting game snaps — that are going to help him. I'm very confident in him, and the couple, three things that he needs to improve are all very doable."

On approaching the Battle for the Bones — treating a rivalry game differently in preparation:

Mortensen said he tries to treat it like any other game.

Alex Mortensen: "I've been around some situations where you make a lot of it. I've been around some where you don't. My experience has typically been better when you don't.

"We definitely respect the game, respect the opponent, respect the intensity that's going to be around it. But we're focused on the job we have to do, and I also don't want to diminish what other games mean by doing that. I don't want our fan base to think in any kind of way we don't think the game's important. We think it's incredibly important. We think they're all important. But I love that our fans get into it and the alumni and everyone around the game. I think that's great."

On how much last year's Memphis game carries over — Ryder Burton's first career start:

Alex Mortensen: "Not much. I think it's a good offseason study or something like that, because I do think in terms of his mindset and his demeanor, I thought he did a really good job with his approach to the game. Ryder is a fiery competitor by nature. So am I. And I'm just got a little bit of life experience on him, and I thought that he found a real sweet spot in that game — he had that fiery competitiveness, and yet there was also a steadiness to his mindset that allowed him to have really good judgment and make great decisions through the course of the game.

"I think there's something for him to study about himself there. As it pertains to Memphis, totally different. It's a different defense, different coaching staff, a lot of different players. So from that standpoint, just tactically, it's a different deal."