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University of Alabama at Birmingham interim football coach Alex Mortensen talked about his team’s determination to play South Florida on Saturday, just hours after a player was arrested for allegedly stabbing his own teammates.
Mortensen cited his player’s wishes, especially with Saturday being the team’s senior day.
“We talked as a team and we talked to the team and those guys really wanted to play today and the conversation went back to the seniors where today was senior day, they wanted to play for them and give them an opportunity to go out and compete and play, so that was probably the biggest thing,” Mortensen told reporters at the postgame news conference.
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South Florida Bulls coach Alex Golesh shakes hands with UAB Blazers interim coach Alex Mortensen after their game at Protective Stadium on November 22, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)
Mortensen added that several players “understandably chose to sit out.”
“We want to be very sympathetic to what everyone is going through and make sure everyone understood that they had the option to seek counseling or anything they needed or wanted,” he said.
“We have a process and a routine that we went through in the pre-game and I think staying dedicated to that has probably helped the guys stay focused on the job.”
Mortensen took over as the team’s head coach in October after the program fired former head coach Trent Dilfer following a loss to Florida Atlantic.
“The team has been through a lot over the last several months,” Mortensen said.
UAB went on to lose the game 48-18 to fall to 3-8 on the season.
Two of the team’s players were allegedly stabbed by another player at the team’s practice early Saturday, a university official confirmed to Pakinomist Digital.
The names of the victims and the arrested player were not released.
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UAB Blazers interim head coach Alex Mortensen watches from the sideline during the UConn Huskies game in East Hartford, Conn., on Nov. 1, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)
An online inmate inquiry from the Jefferson County Jail showed Daniel Israel Mincey, 20, was arrested by UAB Campus Police just after noon Saturday and faces charges of “aggravated assault – A through M – attempted murder.” The university would not confirm whether Mincey was the player involved in the incident.
According to the UAB football roster, Mincey is a redshirt freshman who joined the team after one season at Kentucky.
“We are grateful to report that two players who were injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition. Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover. The suspect – another player – remains in custody and an investigation is underway.”
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UAB Blazers interim coach Alex Mortensen on the court during the game against the UConn Huskies on Nov. 1, 2025, in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The stabbing happened just hours before UAB hosted South Florida at 15 A.M. The spokesman confirmed that the university chose to play.
“UAB’s top priority remains the safety and well-being of all our students. Given the privacy of the patient and the ongoing investigation, we have no further comment at this time,” the university said.
