What Alex Mortensen said before UAB's game at South Florida

UAB head coach Alex Mortensen spent the bye week focused on fundamentals and self-scouting, with the offense as the primary target. Mortensen said the fix starts up front. "On offense you gotta start off by controlling the line of scrimmage first and foremost," he said. "Whether it is run or pass, you gotta control the line of scrimmage." Mortensen said the technique and discipline issues at quarterback, receiver and tight end are "all very correctable" and that strides were made during the break.

The Blazers (4-3, 2-1 American) return from the bye Saturday at South Florida (5-2, 1-2 American) at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU. Brian Hartline is in his first year as the Bulls' head coach. Mortensen identified the USF defense as the primary challenge — the Bulls are giving up 15.1 points per game, 10th in the country. Mortensen said the defense has good size and athleticism at all three levels and is well-coached schematically.

Mortensen confirmed that center Adam Lepkowski is still not ready to return. Cooper Young, who replaced Lepkowski during the Memphis game, has improved "exponentially" since those first snaps, Mortensen said. At receiver, Mortensen pointed to CJ Smith's strong game against East Carolina and said the whole group is on an upward arc. "There's a few that we have not even begun to see what they're capable of doing," he said. The tight end group has developed since losing Antonio Ferguson — Scott Isacks, Sean Persson and Gabriel Cline have stepped into larger roles.

Full transcript

Coach Alex Mortensen

Opening statement — bye week work:

Alex Mortensen: "There's some individual technique and fundamental things, some scheme things. Allowed us to take a good look at self-scouting in a lot of areas too. So I felt like we were very productive. I think everyone's eager to get back and get on the field, really get focused on an opponent this week, so that's exciting."

Opening statement — East Carolina overtime win recap:

Alex Mortensen: "It feels like it's been an eternity since we played East Carolina and had an opportunity to recap that game. But without us having a press conference last week, I'll touch on it briefly. I thought that it was really a great, resilient, tough, gritty effort by our team to finish the game really strong. I thought our defense, our special teams helped us stay in the game. Offensively, we were very inconsistent early and struggled at a lot of points, but I do think the positive was at least we were able to move the ball enough to get some field goals, to get to field goal range. And then all those things allowed us to finish the game strong.

"Going on a two-minute drive, we were on I think our own seven, had a false start, and then that put us on really our own three or three and a half. And then we had guys with no timeouts and really executed incredibly well down the stretch. Really good focus, intensity, some great competitive efforts in those moments. And then you got into overtime and got the ball and scored. And then of course our defense went out there and they got a stop — it was an interception and I think probably three quarters, if not our whole sideline was standing in the Delta going with the great interception on the play. And Coach Grantham made a really good call. We're all kind of, 'Well, go and get down.' But of course he ran it back. So it was a pretty unique game."

Opening statement — South Florida preview:

Alex Mortensen: "That's long gone and we're on to focusing on South Florida, who's got a really good team. We've gotta go play them at their place on the road. It'll be an eleven AM kick, central time, twelve eastern. They're five and two. Coach Hartline is in his first year there. He's doing a very good job. He's got two good coordinators in Tim Beck and Josh Aldridge, and I think one of the most notable things about that five and two record is their defense has really excelled this year. They're giving up fifteen point one points per game, which is thirteenth in the country. So that gives you an idea. They've got a lot of really good players over there. They do a really good job schematically. So it's gonna be a challenge. We're really excited to get back and play this week and go play a big conference game."

On resetting focus after the bye week:

Alex Mortensen: "I think it's really important that sometimes you take for granted your hunger, your desire. And so I think that's one of the things we really wanted to and will focus on this week is really kind of resetting our focus and not just our goals and the outcomes and all that, but like resetting our passion and our effort in practice, all those things for this final stretch. But at the same time, not looking at the totality of five weeks, but really zeroing in on this week. But I do think there is an excitement that you can maybe carry into it a little bit from the last one, yes."

On offensive consistency:

Alex Mortensen: "There are — I wish there was just one thing, but I think on offense you gotta start off by controlling the line of scrimmage first and foremost. And so that's the first thing, whether it is run or pass, you gotta control the line of scrimmage. And I think we've made efforts to improve that. And then in terms of the other aspects of it, there are really a lot of technique and discipline things as it pertains to quarterback, receiver, tight end play that are all very correctable. So it's actually pretty exciting. We think there are things that we can clean up and we can have made strides in cleaning up in the bye that can really create more consistent performance on offense. I'm confident we can make positive strides there."

On the impact of special teams — Oliver Straw and Jonah Delange:

Alex Mortensen: "I think Jonah's ability in the kicking game to execute as a field goal kicker and that whole unit and then Oliver flipping the field on punt and everyone involved with the coverage does help us in a game like that where it's kind of a low-scoring game. Field position matters and it really probably made a huge difference in the game and our ability to win the game ultimately, where our defense is playing well and we did get the ball in position to kick some field goals. Knowing we could do that probably allowed us not to press. That coupled with our defense playing well probably allowed us to not press and maybe go for it on some fourth downs where you really don't want to if you don't have to, and allowed us to get into a situation where we still had an opportunity to win it late."

On Adam Lepkowski's return and Cooper Young's development:

Alex Mortensen: "We're probably not gonna see A-Train just yet. Cooper is making huge strides every day and a lot of that is just I think there's a comfort level. That position, offensive line, they've all got to work together and be on the same page and be synchronized. So getting Koo to, one, get comfortable playing it, but two, the communication component — I think all that has probably improved exponentially from the first snaps he took against Memphis. And that's not really about his play or his ability, but just getting the reps and getting the experience. And then the bye helped a lot too, because we went to the bye and we worked and so he's accumulated a lot more. I think he's in really a good position to play very well here."

On Jonah Delange's value as a kicker:

Alex Mortensen: "It's a great weapon. It's helped us tremendously to this point. There's obviously, when you look at analytics, there's a lot that's made up of the advantages of scoring touchdowns over field goals. But field goals are valuable. The points are points. They add up. They're probably more valuable in a game where there's less multiples and lower-scoring games. And so it's really helped a lot. I think it's been incredibly valuable. I think we go back and look at a lot of games we've won and see the value in it. And at the same time too, it probably affects how you call the prior downs. There's times too — now we could say maybe we've been a little too conservative knowing we got Jonah there. So that's, again, having a bye week, that's something that we're able to look at too."

On CJ Smith and receiver development:

Alex Mortensen: "Look, we really like CJ a lot and have had high hopes for him. I think I mentioned that we lost him at points in camp. And I thought that he would have even had an even faster start without that. I think one of the things that we don't want to fall into as we evaluate our receivers is only looking at production — receptions, yards, touchdowns, things of that nature. Because sometimes a play just doesn't always dictate you're going to get the ball. And so we're really impressing upon all these guys just to play at a high level, to improve, to get better.

"I'll say this — like CJ, but there's a handful of others that I think we have not seen their best football. And that's exciting. I think they're all on an arc that gives them an opportunity to really make significant progress down the stretch. And some of that will show in production. Some of it will not. But I do feel like that whole receiving core — they've done, a lot of those guys have done a good job. But there's a few that we have not even begun to see what they're capable of doing."

On Kaleb Brown's health and potential:

Alex Mortensen: "Kaleb's getting there. We'll see more in terms of how he is physically this week. It's been something we've had to manage for a little bit. But Kaleb made a tremendous clutch play there. He's capable of that — making fifty-fifty catches. He's got great concentration, tracks the ball really well. And he's a good athlete. He's strong, powerful. When we've had him, he's done good things for us going back to even last year. I think he's on the right track. I'm hopeful that with the bye and having this last weekend, he's going to be even more prepared. And he's one of those guys that we're talking about that in 2026, because of just his availability and all that, we haven't seen everything he's capable of — not even close."

On tight end development — Ferguson, Isacks, Persson, Cline:

Alex Mortensen: "Losing Antonio Ferguson was really disappointing. I think Ferg's a really good player. But these other guys are doing a really good job. I love Scott Isacks, Sean Persson. Gabe Cline is a young one that's coming on. So I have a ton of confidence in that group, and they're only going to get better.

"I've been given this information — I can't say I've verified it — but I was told going into the season that if you looked at offensive units around the country, we were kind of in the bottom ten percent on snaps played going into the year. I don't look at that as woe is me. I look at that as, hey, let's get them as ready and as prepared as we can to start the season, but let's also push and anticipate that we're going to improve a lot. And so I think as they're playing more and getting more snaps, and particularly this tight end group, I think we can see the whole unit really have marked progress down the stretch. Traditionally a lot of people would say, 'Hey, your most progress is game one to game two, game two to game three.' That's not our mindset. Our mindset is to step on the gas and see if we can make our most progress here down the stretch."

On USF's defensive personnel:

Alex Mortensen: "One, they do look the part. It's not a bodybuilding show or a beauty pageant, but they do look the part in terms of what you would expect or would like a defense to look like. They've got good size, height, arm length, all those things at a lot of spots. And they've got good athletes. And it's again, like a lot of these good defenses we play, it's at all three levels — the D-line, the backers and the secondary. And they do a good job coaching them too. They're sound and they have a good scheme. It all works together for them, and it's why they're thirteenth in the country in scoring defense right now, giving up fifteen points a game."

On UAB's defense — No. 1 in the American:

Alex Mortensen: "It's been tremendous. Our defense playing the way they've played has allowed us to stay in games, to win these games that we've won. I think they play incredibly hard. I think they've done a really good job taking on the scheme. I think Coach Grantham's done an excellent job, along with the whole defensive staff. And at the same time too, there's no mindset at any of our three phases that we've arrived or anything like that. There's gonna be greater challenges ahead. But we are very excited and determined to go take those things head on."

On USF's turnover efficiency:

Alex Mortensen: "It's big. I've talked about this before. When I was a player, one of the sayings that I used to hate hearing coaches say is like, 'Hey, more games in football are lost than won. You gotta keep from losing before you can win.' The more I've done this, it's really true. So when you can not turn the ball over, you give yourself a chance, and there's a lot of statistics that support that. What are all the things causative of trying to win a game? Turnover margin is right at the top, and it's been at the top for decades. Of course, the explosive play battle's up there too. And so if you don't give the other team the ball, your odds of winning the game just go way up.

"When you look at some of the games this last weekend, you look at some stat lines and you see some production that looks very similar. Sometimes it's tilted one way even, and just the team that has the greater production — yards per play, total yards, so on and so forth — doesn't win the game. You go, 'Well, why is that?' Well, scroll down, look at the turnover margin. They turned it over five or six times, and the other team turned it over twice or once or none. So it's a big deal. It's a really big deal."

On Marlin Dean's impact:

Alex Mortensen: "Marlin makes a big impact on the game. To your point, it may not always show up statistically. When we talk about defending the pass, we talk a lot about affecting the quarterback. So that doesn't always mean that you get a sack, but if you can affect him, speed his clock up, move him off his spot — and yes, Marlin does get some sacks. And then it also forces — when you have a guy that's that good, it can force people to have to game plan for him or around him. And we have other good players out there too. And we got some guys coming back, without being too specific, that are pretty tough to block as well. I think he's made a pretty significant impact for us so far."

On the American conference race:

Alex Mortensen: "I think the thing that jumps out to me is we're in a really good league. And if you're not prepared to play any week, you can get beat. I had some folks ask me last week, like, 'Hey, did you...' We had SportsCenter on campus, right? It's homecoming. It's a Thursday night game. 'How did you talk to the team about that?' We really didn't. That's not the — we're not caught up in the circumstances around what's the league race, is the game on TV, what are the implications for bowl eligibility or the championship? What's right in front of us is we got a game this week, and we gotta go get after it and compete. That's our mindset. And then we'll see where that gets us.

"At the end of the day, some of those things we can't control. We can't control who plays well, who doesn't play well, but we can control our effort — and that's on game day, and also our effort as we prepare during the week. Do that one week at a time, one day at a time, and see what the results are."

On game rust after the bye:

Alex Mortensen: "There can be. I also think — I hope I'm not misquoting him — I heard him, I thought I heard him say this a long time ago. Steve Young said something like he felt like when they went on a bye, it took them a half to get back in rhythm. And so that can be a thing. I also think if you think and talk about and worry about those things too much, they can be self-fulfilling prophecies too. I think we got a good plan to go out and play the kind of football we wanna play and get off to a fast start. But it is something, and I do think it can be a legitimate phenomenon if you allow it to be, absolutely."