Back When: John Whitcomb Wrote the Standard

When UAB launched its football program, it needed a quarterback who could give it both playmaking and credibility. The Blazers found that — and more — on the depth chart behind Brett Favre at Southern Miss.

John Whitcomb was looking for an opportunity. He found more than that in Birmingham. He found home. And a legacy.

Whitcomb transferred to UAB in 1992 after a winding journey that began in Hattiesburg, where he backed up the future NFL Hall of Famer as a redshirt freshman. He was scheduled to start against Alabama in a 1990 game that marked Gene Stallings’ debut for the Crimson Tide, but Favre made a surprise start coming off his wreck injuries and led the 27-24 upset. Whitcomb played in the first half. But after falling out of the plans in Hattiesburg and making another short stop at Northeast Louisiana, Whitcomb was looking for a landing spot. He had a few offers but didn’t want to sit out a year in I-A. UAB, still in Division III, was a perfect situation.

“I didn’t have any options, really, except NAIA and Division III,” Whitcomb told the Birmingham Post-Herald in 1992. “I didn’t want to go back to that. I’m just glad to be playing football at a place where I’m wanted.”

The Right People at the Right Time

What made it work was the people around him. Head coach Jim Hilyer had the leadership to let his offense take flight. Offensive coordinator Dieter Brock — a two-time MVP in the Canadian Football League who set team rookie records in one season with the Los Angeles Rams — brought a CFL-style passing game to Birmingham. Whitcomb, a coach’s son who had spent a redshirt year studying the game behind Brett Favre, was built for it. He had the arm talent that exceeded the D-III level, the game management skills of a player raised in the profession and the football mind of someone who had already learned from one of the best to ever do it.

“John did a great job last year, and now he’s even more comfortable with the offense,” Brock told the Birmingham News before the 1994 season. “He knows the offense and how to make the reads. He was seventh in the nation in passing in I-AA with 293 yards per game.”

Put Whitcomb with a receiver like Derrick Ingram and a running back like Pat Green — both talents that exceeded the D-III level the program had just left — and UAB had an offense that could compete with anyone at any level. The results proved it.

Taking over as UAB’s starter in 1992 following an injury to Chris Bradford, Whitcomb led the Blazers to a 7-3 record in just their second year of NCAA play. A 9-2 season followed in 1993. Then 7-4 in 1994. UAB football was an immediate winner in Division III, then an immediate winner in I-AA — and that momentum carried the program to Division I-A (FBS) starting in 1996.

The Numbers

In those three seasons, Whitcomb set nearly every school passing record. More than 30 years later, his name still appears throughout the UAB record book:

• No. 2 all-time in career passing yards (7,420)

• No. 2 in career completions (560)

• No. 2 in career touchdown passes (53)

• No. 1 in career completions per game (18.87)

• Still holds UAB’s single-game passing yards record (539 vs. Prairie View A&M in 1994)

• Shares the single-game touchdown record (6) with Jalen Kitna

His final college performance was one of his finest. On Nov. 19, 1994, Whitcomb closed his UAB career by completing 33 of 42 passes for 539 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-6 win over Prairie View A&M. He was named national I-AA Offensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network and finished the year with 3,031 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.

The Memory

But ask him his favorite memory, and he points somewhere else entirely.

“It was our last home game at Legion Field [in 1993], and after the game, which we won, Mike Slive, who was the conference commissioner at the time, presented Coach Hilyer with a trophy to commemorate our conference championship. The celebration that ensued with my teammates — that was something special,” Whitcomb said.

The opponent that day was Dayton — undefeated, ranked and riding a 56-game regular-season unbeaten streak. UAB ended it with a 27-19 victory in front of 7,428 fans. Whitcomb went 15-of-20 in the first half for 236 yards as the Blazers jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The trophy, inscribed “Great Midwest I-AA Champions,” is a story for another day.

Still Connected

Even now, Whitcomb stays connected. He lives in Birmingham, is at nearly every home game and remains close with teammates from those early years. He has never lost the original dream — to build something great at UAB. He invested his blood, sweat, tears, time and money into that vision, and he still owns it.

Off the field, he is the founder and principal of Red Mountain Medical, a Birmingham-based company that provides orthopedic surgical solutions to physicians and facilities across the Southeast. He serves on the board of directors for the UAB Athletics Foundation.

Today, quarterback Ryder Burton carries that torch forward. Burton, UAB’s starter entering 2026, announced himself with a 20-of-27, 251-yard, three-touchdown performance in a stunning upset of No. 22 Memphis last October. The records Whitcomb set are still the ones Burton is chasing.

“Every time I can get together with my teammates now and tailgate at Protective, cheer on our Blazers — that’s really a special memory too,” he said. “It’s always good to get together with the guys.”