Tag: UAB Football

What does UAB transfer Jacob Zeno bring to Texas A&M QB room?

Watch what new Aggie QB Jacob Zeno can add to A&M’s quarterback room

This transfer portal season is crucial for Texas A&M as Mike Elko gained a ton of momentum early in the season that tapered off after going 1-3 to finish the season, missing out on the SEC championship game.

The first domino dropped when they brought in 7th-year quarterback Jacob Zeno for a visit and closed the deal with him committing on Tuesday. With both Conner Weigman transferring to Houston and Jaylon Henderson entering the portal, there was an immediate need for a veteran to push the young QB room in Aggieland. Zeno is the prototype QB needed for the role and does some of the things well that Marcel Reed needs to work on to take the next step.

Will Zeno be the starter? Unless he blows away the competition during the off-season, it will probably not happen. I’d expect Reed to do enough to keep his starting job with Zeno as QB 2 and Miles O’Neil in a third-string role.

Ideally, he will put enough pressure on Reed, forcing him to improve while being an experienced teammate to lean on when needed. Either way, he is the exact type of quarterback A&M was looking to bring in, and doing it this early in the transfer window allows them to focus on other needs for the team.

Steven Hamner of the QB Spotlight gives an excellent breakdown of what Zeno can add to the team and some reasons why he might be a good fit.

 

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Texas A&M projected to land veteran quarterback out of the transfer portal

On3’s Steve Wiltfong predicts A&M to land UAB transfer Jacob Zeno

Portal season is here, and there is plenty of talent available for Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko to convince players that College Station is the place for them. A primary position of need is the quarterback spot after losing both upperclassman Conner Weigman and Jaylen Henderson to the transfer portal.

The most experienced quarterback on the team is redshirt freshman Marcel Reed, with freshman Myles O’Neil and 4-star 2025 recruit Brady Hart following him.

Although this is a highly talented group, it benefits from a veteran presence that has proven success. Moreover, even during the era of transfers, the team must foster strong and genuine competition throughout the off-season.

Marcel Reed appears to be QB1 moving forward after taking over the starting job from Conner Weigman late in the season. However, Reed didn’t exactly light it up when the lights were the brightest, finishing 1-3 to close out the season. In the final three SEC games, he threw five touchdowns, three interceptions, and one lost fumble. All the talent is there, and adding some pressure in the off-season will only help him get better leading into the 2025 year.

A frequently discussed option is senior UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno. The Texas native began his college football career in 2019 with the Baylor Bears. After three years in Waco with limited playing time, he transferred to UAB and thrived in his second season with the Blazers.

After visiting on Monday, On3’s Steve Wiltfong confirmed that the veteran signal-caller is predicted to land with Texas A&M.

In the 2023 season, he threw for 3,126 yards at a 73.6 completion rate, with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His 2024 year started rough and was cut short after only several games. Overall, his numbers are solid, and he will be a good addition to the team if Mike Elko can close the deal.

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UAB just needs to break up with Trent Dilfer already

It’s probably a matter of time for Trent Dilfer at UAB.

Hopefully it’s only a matter of time until the University of Alabama at Birmingham makes a football coaching change.

UAB’s 44-10 road loss to Army on Saturday was yet another deflating moment in Trent Dilfer’s tenure as Blazers head coach, and it’s fair to wonder how long Dilfer has to fix the team before administration has seen enough.

CBS Sports Network sideline reporter Tina Cervasio delivered a tough read of the UAB sideline early in its game against Army that makes you wonder if Dilfer has lost the locker room.

“Right as Army scored that touchdown, I looked to the UAB sidelines,” Cervasio said on the game broadcast. “A lot of downtrodden faces. They just looked sad.”

Cervasio did point out Blazers linebacker Jason Riles Jr. trying to pump up his teammates, and kudos to him for fighting the good fight despite almost everything going wrong for UAB this season.

However, Cervasio observation is devastating for Blazers fans. If the team really looked that dejected on the sideline after a single touchdown, Dilfer’s future at UAB looks even murkier than it did last week.

UAB was 7-6 in 2022 after interim coach Bryan Vincent replaced Bill Clark as the team’s head coach. Rather than let Vincent build on his progress, the team decided to poach Dilfer from Lipscomb Academy, a high school in Nashville.

UAB hadn’t had a losing season since 2013 before Dilfer’s arrival, the worst being a 6-6 record during Clark’s first year with the program in 2014.

Dilfer has only known losing records, going 4-8 last season and sitting on 1-5 in 2024. The team’s only win came against Alcorn State, and four of its five 2024 losses have been blowouts.

For comparison, Vincent is 4-1 with Louisiana-Monroe this season in his first head coaching job since UAB, one of those wins coming against the Blazers. Not hiring Vincent and going with a splashy name like Dilfer instead has proven to be an absolute disaster for the school.

Ending things now with Dilfer might be what’s needed to salvage the season if the Blazers can’t get this turned around.

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Don’t worry, Trent Dilfer: UAB fans are definitely angry with you after another blowout loss

Fans are NOT happy with Trent Dilfer after UAB’s awful loss to Tulane on Saturday.

University of Alabama at Birmingham football coach Trent Dilfer is feeling the heat from fans after his team’s abysmal home loss to Tulane on Saturday. The Blazers got trounced by the Green Wave to the tune of 71-20, leaving many wondering how long Dilfer has left UAB football at this point. The 1-4 Blazers only have a victory against Alcorn State this season, and Saturday’s loss is yet another difficult moment for Dilfer’s tenure with the program. After the game, Dilfer fell on his sword for the lopsided loss and said he apologized to his team for not getting them ready for the game. “I apologized to the team for not getting them ready for that type of physical nature of football,” Dilfer said during his postgame presser. “I’ll say to the fans I think you deserve more, the city of Birmingham deserves more. If you are going to be angry, please be angry at me. Don’t be angry at our kids. Our kids are giving us everything they have, and it’s my job to make sure something like this never happens again.” You can watch the full press conference below. Dilfer will likely be on thin ice with UAB from here on out, and fans let him have it for how poorly his team has played since he got to Birmingham. [lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]

Former MSU football DPP to be hired by UAB

UAB is hiring a former MSU assistant

Michigan State football had Lino Lupinetti as the school’s Director of Player Personnel in 2023. After Mel Tucker’s departure from the program, Lupinetti was not retained by Jonathan Smith when he came over to East Lansing.

Now, Lupinetti has found his new home, being hired by UAB as the school’s director of player personnel for Trent Dilfer with the Blazers.

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Breaking: Former UAB CB BJ Mayes will transfer to Texas A&M

Former UAB cornerback BJ Mays becomes the fifth player to commit to Texas A&M through the transfer portal on Saturday.

Ask, and you shall receive! Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has been on fire this past week, already landing 16 confirmed transfer portal additions, including 5 confirmations on Saturday. Already adding former Florida cornerback Jaydon Hill, Elko has already revamped the secondary with four new cornerback additions, including former UAB CB BJ Mays.

Ending Saturday night with a bang, Mays, who is a native of Houston, Texas, possesses an adequate frame (6’1″, 185 pounds) to fit in Elko’s and new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman’s system and is coming off of an impressive 2023 season, recording 41 tackles (31 solo tackles), two interceptions, and 10 pass deflections on the years.

While Jaydon Hill is poised to compete for the starting nickel corner spot, Mays has the size, strength, and press man coverage experience to thrive on the outside, and combined with former Cal Poly CB Donovan Saunders and former Kansas State CB Will Lee Jr., the Aggies have already replaced what was lost on the boundary.

Mike Elko is apparently just heating up, and Texas A&M looks like much more than a “rebuilding team” in 2024 with the new additions.

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Texas A&M offers former UAB CB BJ Mays from the transfer portal

Needing more help at cornerback, Texas A&M has fielded an offer to former UAB CB BJ Mays from the transfer portal.

It’s no secret that heading into the 2024 college football season, the remaining weak spot on Texas A&M’s is at the cornerback postion, as attrition through the transfer portal has hindered the Aggies’ starting level experience, and outside of landing former Kansas State CB Will Lee Jr., the depth is paper thin.

Already offering several veteran corners from the portal, Wednesday’s closing date should help speed up the process, and after landing eight players from the portal thus far, head coach Mike Elko has offered former UAB CB BJ Mays, who has one season of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Mays, a native of Houston, Texas, possesses an adequate frame (6’1″, 185 pounds) to fit in Elko’s and new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman’s system and is coming off of an impressive 2023 season, recording 41 tackles (31 solo tackles), two interceptions, and 10 pass deflections on the years.

During the Aggies’ 31-23 loss to Oklahoma State in the TaxAct Texas Bowl, the freshman cornerback duo Bravion Rogers and Jayvon Thomas, who still have bright futures with the program, struggled immensely against veteran receivers, and placing an even larger emphasis on the need for new additions at the position.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Trent Dilfer threw an absolute temper tantrum on the UAB sideline after a defensive penalty

Trent Dilfer threw a huge hissy fit on the UAB sideline over a sideline.

New University of Alabama at Birmingham football coach Trent Dilfer might want to cool off after throwing an absolute temper tantrum on the Blazers sideline during a Saturday game against Tulane.

After the UAB defense got caught for an illegal substitution for having 12 men on the field, Dilfer lost his top and began screaming at a handful of his assistant coaches over the snafu.

We get being frustrated by self-inflicted penalty like this, but the former NFL quarterback throwing a legitimate hissy fit on the sideline over something like this is just childish.

It recalls the time, while coaching in high school at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Dilfer went viral for shoving one of his players in a loud dispute.

Dilfer behaving like a toddler is a bad look for the first-year UAB coach as he’s going to have to learn how to handle situations like this on a college sideline.

The 1-3 Blazers have a lot of work to do this season, and it looks like keeping his cool will be on Dilfer’s self-improvement plan as a head coach.

UAB 24, Miami University 20: HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What Happened, What It All Means

UAB 24, Miami University 20: HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl what happened, player of the game, and what it all means

UAB beat Miami University 24-20 to win the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means

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HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What Happened

– UAB RB Jermaine Brown overcame an earlier fumble with a 12-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 to cap off a 70-yard drive to take the 24-20 lead with 1:31 to play. Miami University made it interesting in the final moments, but on the UAB 15 with one second to go, the final pass to Miles Marshall came up just short – he was tackled on the two-yard line as time ran out.

– UAB star RB DeWayne McBride – the nation’s leading rusher – opted out just before the game. Brown was able to fill in and finish with 116 yards and two scores.

– The UAB offensive line took over late. Miami University was missing a slew of key parts, but it took advantage of a few UAB mistakes to stay in the game in the second half. When the Blazers needed the big scoring drive, they hammered way, but the D had to hang on for dear life at the very end.

– 2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Predictions

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Player of the Game

Reynard Ellis, LB UAB
He came up with a team-high 10 tackles, with a half a sack, but it’s all about his tenth stop that saved the game, stopping Jalen Walker on the two-yard line in the final moments.

CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 20-27

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Fun Stats

– Turnovers: UAB 3, Miami University 0. However, MU PK Graham Nicholson missed his lone field goal attempt off of one of the Blazer turnovers.

– Miami University was 4-of-5 on fourth downs. UAB was 1-of-3, but that one was the game-winning touchdown.

– In the heat of the Bahamas – both teams were struggling in the 80+ degrees – UAB had the ball for 33:27, Miami 26:33.

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What It All Means

The win makes it a winning season for UAB. It was a bit rocky, but it sent out head coach Bryant Vincent with a 7-6 final season, and now it’s Trent Dilfer’s program to run. With the win, UAB has now had six straight winning seasons since being off for two years. Before that, it went ten years without a winning campaign.

Miami University put up a great fight considering all the key players missing. Two yards – that’s all that came between the RedHawks and a winning campaign. It was still a solid year under head coach Chuck Martin, but it’s the program’s first losing season since 2017.

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– 2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Predictions

Bahamas Bowl: Miami-OH vs. UAB, live stream, preview, TV channel, time, how to watch

The Miami-OH RedHawks will face the UAB Blazers in the Bahamas Bowl on Friday from Thomas Robinson Stadium.

The Miami-OH RedHawks will face the UAB Blazers in the Bahamas Bowl on Friday from Thomas Robinson Stadium.

Miami is coming off a 6-6 season and has been up and down all year as they look to come out strong and get a bowl win today. Meanwhile, UAB finished at 6-6 and went 4-2 in their last six games as they look to bring some of that momentum into today’s game.

This will be a great start to bowl season, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action today.

Miami-OH vs. UAB

  • When: Friday, December 16
  • Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

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