Alex Mortensen is recruiting Birmingham

Alex Mortensen spent last week at the Regions Tradition celebrity pro-am, one of Birmingham’s longest-running and biggest sporting events — a tournament with roots going back to Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley in 1993. He was there supporting Children’s of Alabama. But he was also doing what he’s been doing since he took the UAB job in December.

He was showing up.

“One of the things we really want to do at UAB, just as a program, a coaching staff, players, engage the community more,” Mortensen told The Next Round. “This is right here in Birmingham. So I think every local opportunity we have to get out and engage, I think it’s important and it is fun.”

It was Mortensen’s first appearance at one of Birmingham’s signature civic events as UAB’s head coach. It won’t be the last. Since taking over, he has spent extensive time building relationships with high school coaches across Birmingham and the state, reconnecting with UAB alumni and former players and working to establish himself in the communities that will define UAB’s recruiting future.

The December hire forced Mortensen to lean heavily on the transfer portal for immediate roster needs. He was candid about the financial side, too.

“There’s a gap to close on rev share and we had short time to do it because the portal was about to open,” Mortensen told The Next Round. “We have narrowed the gap. We’re not where we want to be yet, but I’m really grateful to our administration. They are working to narrow that gap.”

But the longer play — the one that will determine whether Mortensen can restore UAB to the standard the Bill Clark era proved was possible — is high school recruiting. The 2027 class is where that work starts to show. Mortensen is targeting Birmingham, the state of Alabama, the Florida panhandle and east Georgia, where he grew up south of Atlanta.

He’s selling the whole package — not just football.

“The facility itself is excellent in terms of where we meet, where we lift, where we train, where we practice. It’s an awesome facility,” Mortensen said. “I think people when they see it in person, they’re really excited.”

“Birmingham is awesome. And I think a lot of people that haven’t been here don’t really understand it. So when we get them in town and they can see a little bit of Birmingham, they get really excited. I think there’s a lot of really positive things to recruit to.”

He acknowledged what every coach in the American Athletic Conference already knows — that for many recruits, the first question is about money. But Mortensen isn’t conceding the conversation to NIL.

“I think that there’s a lot more to sell about UAB than just that,” he said.

“We want to help our fan base, strengthen the fan base, too. And I think there are a lot of UAB people in Birmingham. There are a lot of alum, but there also just a lot of pro-Birmingham people that I think on a Saturday, six Saturdays out of the year, we’d love them to come to Protective and watch us play, too.”

Nine years, four NFL quarterbacks

UAB fans know Mortensen came from Alabama. The broader college football audience may not fully appreciate the depth of what that means.

Mortensen spent nine years on Nick Saban’s staff in Tuscaloosa. During that time, he was personally involved in coaching and developing four quarterbacks who became NFL starters — Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young. He worked alongside an extraordinary rotation of offensive coordinators — Lane Kiffin, Brian Daboll and Steve Sarkisian — each bringing a different system and philosophy through the same building.

An older coach had told him early in his career to move around — build a network, learn from different people. Mortensen’s response was simple.

“Well, Nick Saban, he’s pretty good to learn from.”

The staff turnover that defined Saban’s Alabama became its own education. Every departure brought a new mind.

“I learned so much from Lane Kiffin, but man, now here comes Brian Daboll who’s been in the Patriots,” Mortensen told The Next Round. “And then here comes Sarkisian who had just followed Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta. So there’s always opportunities to learn more and then you’re also learning from Saban on the big picture on how to run a program. So it was really hard to leave.”

He had chances. Power 4 quarterback coaching jobs. Coordinator opportunities. He stayed — and kept building a network of mentors he still leans on, from Saban himself to Steve Logan, the winningest head coach in East Carolina history, to Kevin Steele and Rip Scherer.

“I think it’s dangerous to think you got it all figured out,” Mortensen said.

“Every time when I prayed about it and just thought, ‘Hey, is it time to make the move?’ It never felt right,” Mortensen said. “I got really close to Bryce Young and I said, I’m going to stay here till Bryce leaves.”

When UAB came open, the timing and the city aligned.

“I love living here. I love this part of the world. I think Birmingham’s awesome,” Mortensen said. “I couldn’t be more excited to be right here.”

What spring showed

Mortensen took the Blazers through 15 spring practices. The early returns suggest a team beginning to take on its new coaching staff’s identity.

“I do think we’ve got a group of guys that are hardworking, they’re tough, they’re relentless and they’re competitive,” Mortensen said. “Practice one to practice 15, that showed up every day in spring ball. That was encouraging.”

On the defensive side, Mortensen pointed to the impact of coordinator Todd Grantham — a two-time Saban assistant with extensive Power 4 and NFL experience. It was a hire that signaled intent.

“He coaches hard. He’s intense. It’s an intensity that’s contagious, and I think you got to play defense that way,” Mortensen said. “I think you need 11 guys that are going to go get after it. And yet, he still connects with the players, too.”

The offense is feeling it in practice. Mortensen said going against Grantham’s defense has been a challenge — and he means that as a compliment.

“I think there’s a little bit of iron sharpening iron there in the best way,” he said.

The next step is understanding — moving past execution into comprehension.

“I would challenge all of our players to learn — hey, you kind of know what to do now. Learn the how and the why better,” Mortensen said. “Create a greater understanding of why we’re teaching you to do something because I think that a lot of times leads to better execution.”

Asked about areas that need improvement, Mortensen laughed. “My goodness, we have so many areas to improve.”

But the work ethic is there. And so is the coach.

This interview was conducted by The Next Round at the Regions Tradition celebrity pro-am in Birmingham. The full conversation is embedded above and available on The Next Round’s YouTube channel.