Real recognized real.

That’s the way UAB running backs coach Hindley Brigham described the first meeting between Blazer standout and returner Jermaine Brown Jr. and transfer running back Isaiah Jacobs.

“They push each other and feed off each other,” Brigham said. “In the beginning, I think they immediately saw that the other was going to make this whole team better. Skull and Isaiah, you can ask them to do anything and they will do it with unbelievable effort and energy.”

Jacobs arrived on campus this summer and quickly ascended the depth chart during fall camp, earning a counter-punch role to Brown in the process, and the duo is now set to lead an incredibly deep running back unit that has the potential to deploy a six-man rotation this season.

“The first thing to obtaining a long-term goal is by taking it day-by-day,” Jacobs said. “Every day I just try to come with the mindset of attacking the day, getting better than the day I was before and capitalizing on mistakes.”

Read more on UAB fall camp:

Mac McWilliams ready to complete full season for Blazers

Kevin Penn and Fish McWilliams taking charge to UAB’s defensive line

Nikia Eason Jr. leading UAB’s fresh-faced pass rushers

Ike Rowell parlaying impressive spring into fall intensity

UAB’s revered rushing attack was the offensive fulcrum during the Bill Clark era and accounted for 48.4 percent (9,316 yards) of the offensive production in the four seasons since Brown’s true freshman year in 2019, when former Blazer running back Spencer Brown initially claimed the program’s all-time rushing record.

Although the Blazers are expected to evolve their passing game under head coach Trent Dilfer, the program’s running back success lead to retaining Brigham as running backs coach and that did not go unnoticed by Jacobs.

“I know the run game is very important in our offense and also understand Coach Brigham and his background, not only coaching running backs but being a running back himself,” Jacobs said. “Being able to put yourself in the running back shoes is on a different level. When I first came up here on my official visit, he showed me some of the things where they didn’t practice and how to translate it to the field. A lot of chaotic things, a lot of ways to be calm in the chaos, and that was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Exactly what Jacobs will be a part of is a running back group composed of Brown and Lee Witherspoon, along with West Alabama transfer Demetrius Battle and redshirt freshmen Taven Curry and Lee Beebe.

“It’s the deepest group I’ve ever had, for sure,” Brigham said. “We have six guys that could start a game and rush for over 100 yards.”

The running back deployment the last four seasons was primarily (Jermaine) Brown supplementing the generational talent of (Spencer) Brown and DeWayne McBride, amassing 2,450 total yards and 16 touchdowns as the second option, but is now atop the pecking order and primed for his own lead role in the backfield.

“Skull is definitely a leader,” Jacobs said. “He’s a back who has that dog mentality and he’s definitely going to be a guy that we need in the season. You can tell he has a really strong love for the game and it rubs off on the entire running back room.”

Jacobs own example may prove as valuable as Brown this season, especially arriving fresh off a junior college campaign after two seasons at Maryland.

The Oklahoma native, and brother of former Alabama and current Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, was a three-star prospect in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and signed with Maryland and his brother’s former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.

“He (Josh Jacobs) definitely has a different mindset of the game and, just watching him growing up, he has a natural feel,” Jacobs said. “That’s something that runs through our blood. I’m happy for him to be my big brother and be that guy.”

Following in his brother’s footsteps at Owasso High School, a suburb of Tulsa, Jacobs excelled on and off the field and the attention his brother brought to the east Oklahoma metro area not only paid off for his own recruitment but for the community as a whole.

“I believe his class set the tone with the way they were recruited,” Jacobs said. “Once that happened, when he committed to Alabama, the doors were wide open. I believe, going from freshman year to sophomore year, I was not really playing, but in my junior year I ended up having 18-21 Division I offers. A lot of kids around the state got those opportunities and after our class, it kept trickling down and it’s becoming a recruiting area for sure.”

Jacobs rushed for 177 yards in nine games during his two-year stint with the Terrapins and opted for the JUCO route before returning to the FBS. He accounted for 514 yards and two touchdowns in nine games while at Independence Community College and is fully healthy after dealing with a couple of nagging injuries early in his career.

“He is a complete football player,” Brigham said. “He is not only good but great in almost all phases – as a blocker, as a receiver and as a runner. His mentality is different than anybody I’ve ever had, maybe other than Skull, in terms of there’s nothing he’s not trying to do to get better. Him coming in, in addition to Skull being at the pinnacle of his progress as a player, which has raised the standard in the whole room.”

Considering his pedigree and talent, Jacobs is a productive season or two from becoming a viable draft pick but more concerned with making an impact on UAB’s success in its first year under a new coaching staff and with a large influx of freshmen and fellow transfers.

“I really don’t want to look too far ahead, the goal right now is to win here at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and do whatever I can for my team to succeed,” Jacobs said. “But when it comes to just being a running back and a lead, I would put more emphasis on things that I can do without the ball. What kind of locker room guy are you? How do you lead when you don’t have the ball?”