This UAB Blazer Could Legitimately Finish as 2024's WR1... No, Really
Dilfer's pig has my attention; and you should be paying attention too.
I think Tahoe is one of the hidden gems in the country, and I've played a lot of golf around the country.
- Trent Dilfer, UAB head football coach
I’m willing to give Dilfer the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his golf course recommendations. But, while we’re on the topic of hidden gems, his WR—Amare Thomas—should probably change his nickname to Señor Tahoe. The second year player out of Birmingham, Alabama had a strong true freshman season in 2023, and his QB—along with approximately 90% of the OL snaps—returns from a year ago.
Throw in Dilfer—a coach who’s been described as not only a semi-competent golfer but also a decent play caller on offence—and there’s a lot to get excited about here.
Now, you might be reading the headline of this article and rolling your eyes. However, the OG subscribers of this publication will recall an article published around this time last year, which was actually the inspiration for today’s article…
Ricky White might not have finished as the literal WR1 in CFF, but he was pretty damn good (1481 receiving yards), and now he’s being referred to as one of the best WRs in all of CFB. Point being that even if Thomas doesn’t finish as the statistical WR1 this year, he very well could be pretty close (FYI, his current ADP is ~300). Let’s kick things off with a look at the infrastructure in place at UAB.
Coaching & System
The aforementioned Trent Dilfer returns for his second year as head coach of the Blazers. Dilfer—best known for his time as a Super Bowl winning QB with the Ravens of the NFL—never coached in college before joining UAB in 2023.
Prior to last season he was the head coach of a powerhouse program in Tennessee named Lipscomb Academy from 2019-2022. His Mustangs sent several players to the FBS during Dilfer’s tenure, including another rising sophomore WR in Vanderbilt’s Junior Sherrill (article coming on him).
His OC, Alex Mortensen, joined with Dilfer in 2023. Like Dilfer, last season was a first for him, as he had never served in a play calling role previously. Before UAB, he was an analyst with Nick Saban’s Alabama football program (2020-22), the WRs coach for the XFL’s Birmingham Iron (2019), and once again an analyst with Alabama 2017-2019, after spending three seasons as a GA for the Crimson Tide (2014-16). I’m guessing Mortensen really wanted to get on that Tide staff in an on-field role.
UAB’s not such a bad consolation prize, though. Especially considering that in year two of the Dilfer-Mortensen regime the Blazers return a veteran QB who—although a bit inconsistently—had a very solid year in 2023, and an OL that returns nearly every snap.
While the play calling sample size is small, it is still worthwhile to look at some patterns to get an idea of what the plan is here. UAB’s offence was an even 50/50 split in terms of run vs. pass play calling last year. That might not be ideal for the WR room, but what especially caught my eye was that UAB finished 2023 as the 18th fastest team in terms of seconds per play (23.5). For context, Jacksonville State was CFB’s fastest offence, moving at 20.3 seconds per play.
Similar to when I advocated for Ricky White last year, this is a system that moves at a quick pace, and Thomas is going to have a sizeable role in 2024.
In terms of the track record of the staff, there isn’t much to dig into, given that last year was the first year for both the OC and HC calling plays. The Blazers failed to produce a 1000-yard receiver, but they did have some productive assets in the room. Tejhaun Palmer finished the year as the lead receiver, averaging just over 14 PPG (1PPR).
An Opportunity to be UAB’s Unquestioned WR1 in 2024
Amare Thomas (5’11, 210) — 2023 STATS: 53-437-3 (10.1 PPG)1
Among the factors in Thomas’ favour is that UAB is pretty thin at WR currently. Two out of the top three receivers in terms of yardage from last year’s squad have since departed the roster (Tejhaun Palmer and Jermaine Brown Jr.). Between Palmer and Brown, UAB loses 88 receptions, over 1200 yards, and eight receiving scores.
Furthermore, fellow UAB pass catcher Iverson Hooks remains questionable after suffering a season-ending injury last year. Hooks averaged 11 PPG in his three games played.
Although Thomas had the same amount of targets as Palmer (66), his receiving yardage was nearly less than half. Brown, who was the lead back for the Blazers last season, takes with him 52 targets. So, there are a lot of touches vacating this roster, and a wide open WR room.
That’s not to say that there aren’t any other intriguing options in the room, notably the spring game’s breakout player— Kam Shanks. Here’s an update from UAB’s spring game:
Kam Shanks was without a doubt the star of the game, offensively speaking, as the redshirt freshman hauled in six receptions for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His touchdown receptions went for 37 and 33 yards and his legendary speed was on display throughout the scrimmage.
Last season’s breakout freshman, Amare Thomas, led the team with nine receptions for 80 yards and a score, and redshirt freshman Corri Milliner brought down two receptions for 85 yards. T.J. Jones had two catches for 41 yards, tight end Bryce Damous brought down a 35-yard reception and Brandon Buckhaulter had two catches for 28 yards and a touchdown, along with a 41-yard run on a reverse.
Just like with UNLV’s Ricky White last year, another player stole the show during the spring game. In the Rebels’ 2023 spring game, JuCo transfer Jacob De Jesus dazzled the CFF community with a 10 reception, 136 yard and one score performance. White only secured a mere five passes for 100 yards and a score.
Just because someone else had a bigger spring game doesn’t mean our guy here won’t be the go-to guy in-season.
As far as how Thomas’ profile compares to White’s from last year, White averaged 11.3 PPG the year before his breakout, catching 51 of 83 targets for 619 yards and four scores in 12 games. UNLV didn’t have a returning QB like UAB does, and the Blazers actually moved faster on offence in seconds per play this past season compared to UNLV.
Closing
We’ve established that there’s an open opportunity for someone to take the lead among UAB’s skill positions. QB Jacob Zeno returns as the distributor and he should be improved in year two of starting for the program.
Thomas already demonstrated a solid rapport with Zeno last year, seeing season-highs of 13, 12, and 10 targets vs. UGA, UTSA, and Tulane. If you can believe it, he actually had his best game of the season vs. the Bulldogs, catching nine passes for 60 yards and a score (21 points). He also took some carries during the season, including a 33 yard dash vs. USF.
Again, this was his true freshman season. Thomas is going to continue to develop as a player, and now he takes over an offence that moves very fast and has a lot of touches vacating.
The recipe here is such that Thomas could be a player who comes out of nowhere in 2024 to finish as one of the most productive WRs in all of CFB. ◾
Full PPR measurement, 12 game sample size.