Hours prior to the UAB Blazers’ regular season home finale against the South Florida Bulls on Saturday, UAB offensive lineman Daniel Mincey was arrested. The 20-year old was taken into police custody, charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder, per the Jefferson County inmate inquiry.
Mincey was accused of stabbing two teammates who were reported to be in stable condition, per UAB interim head coach Alex Mortensen in his postgame press conference. Mortensen did not confirm which players
were affected but stated he could not provide further detail “due to privacy concerns and the ongoing nature of the investigation.”
Mortensen spoke with his players after the incident, and the team ultimately decided to proceed with the game, which was senior day for 29 graduating seniors who were recognized prior to kickoff. The interim head coach cited that several players still elected to sit out of the Blazers’ 48-18 defeat to the Bulls, filled with heavy hearts following Saturday morning’s incident.
“Without going into a lot of detail, we spoke as a team and we spoke with the team,” Mortensen said in his postgame press conference. “Those guys really wanted to play today. Really, the conversation went back to the seniors. With it being senior day, they wanted to go play for them and give them an opportunity to go out and compete and play. That was probably the biggest thing.”
Mortensen, who assumed interim head coaching duties following the firing of Trent Dilfer on Oct. 12, stated the administration stepped up to offer any counseling and support to any player in need.
“We want to be very sympathetic to what everyone’s going through and make sure everybody understood they had an opportunity to seek counseling, or anything that they needed or wanted, we were there to help them,” Mortensen said. “The university was here to help them. Our administration, (athletic director) Mark Ingram, and the whole staff really stepped up to try to support our players and help them. They knew there was help available if they needed it and wanted it.”
Once UAB arrived at the decision to play the contest against South Florida, the Blazers stuck to their normal pregame routine. As heavy underdogs, UAB jumped out to a 10-7 lead entering the second quarter. However, the visiting Bulls concluded the game on a 41-8 run in Birmingham.
“Upon guys deciding they wanted to play, it was really just getting focused on the task at hand,” Mortensen said. “We have a process and routine that we go through in pregame. I think staying committed to that helped guys get refocused on the job.”
Mortensen confirmed UAB will remain on schedule despite the incident, and the Blazers wrap up their 2025 campaign next Saturday at Tulsa.
“There’s a game next week. So we’re going to go compete,” Mortensen said. “That’s the way I’m wired, the way I’ve always been wired. We’re going to get to work. I think the guys will too. Part of our job is coaching, and coaching is about teaching too. There’s a lot to learn from this game. We’ll do that. We’ll talk about the things we did well and the things that would have helped you win this game or stayed in it until the fourth quarter. It’s no different from that standpoint, the technical corrections we have to make to help our team and to help our guys develop as players. That part will be status quo.”
