It’s a little more than three weeks until the UAB football team opens fall camp and there’s new management with Trent Dilfer at the helm.

The Blazers return 10 total starters — five on offense and four on defense — from last year’s unit that finished 7-6 overall and champions of the Bahama’s Bowl.

Jacob Zeno enters the 2023 season as the expected starter at quarterback, due to the transfer of incumbent Dylan Hopkins to New Mexico, and the majority of the quarterback room followed the latter’s lead by entering the portal. Landry Lyddy (LA Tech) and Trace Campbell (Ole Miss) arrived in the spring, along with Northeast Mississippi Community College transfer Carter Putt, while Zeno and Harrison Barker are the only remaining Bill Clark-era quarterbacks on the roster.

Departed: Dylan Hopkins (New Mexico), Damon Stewart (Alabama State), Dylan Mehrotra (Southern), Bryson Lucero

Returning starter(s): Jacob Zeno, Jr*

Other returning players: Harrison Barker, Jr*

Spring/Summer arrivals: Landry Lyddy, So — Trace Campbell, Fr* — Carter Putt, Jr*

2023 position preview: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | OLB | LB | CB | S | ST

Outlook: Most coaches are committed to the running game, Trent Dilfer notwithstanding, but the Blazers have a quorum of quarterback minds eager to progress the position to new heights. The days of a boom or bust mentality in the passing game are gone and a plethora of new and familiar playmakers should make the job easier for whomever is taking a snap.

Jacob Zeno has the most experience of any quarterback on the roster and should fend off any challenges to the starting position during fall camp. The redshirt junior transferred in from Baylor last season and took over for an injured Dylan Hopkins at Western Kentucky and went 0-2 as the starter against FAU and UTSA. He passed for 721 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions and efficiently led the UAB offense despite three straight one-possession losses.

Coincidently enough, the last game action Louisiana Tech transfer Landry Lyddy saw was against UAB in the 2022 regular-season finale. He appeared in seven games as a true freshman, the most experience of any UAB quarterback not named Zeno, and passed for 767 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.

Ole Miss transfer Trace Campbell is the only other quarterback with FBS game experience but that came as a reserve tight end playing special teams for the Rebels. He did lead Fort Union Military Academy to an undefeated record while prepping between his senior year of high school and walking on at Ole Miss.

Hailing from the JUCO ranks, Carter Putt was tutored by former UAB quarterback and Northeast Mississippi Community College offensive coordinator A.J. Erdely. Putt played in 16 games and passed for 2,680 yards, 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions while adding three scores on the ground.

Harrison Barker has been with the program his entire career but has yet to see the field in a live game.

Battle to Watch: Besides Zeno, Landry Lyddy is the only quarterback on the roster with FBS-level experience so the odds are in his favor to secure the backup position. The third option, however, will see an all-out competition between the remaining members of the room. Carter Putt has the most recent experience of the lot, playing two seasons of junior college, Harrison Barker has never taken a live snap and Campbell requires further development at the position.

Keep an Eye on: Campbell. After suffering an injury in high school that forced him to receiver his final two seasons, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback prepped at Fort Union Military Academy before walking on at Ole Miss last season. He played three games at tight end for the Rebels and entered the portal during the offseason. Campbell participated in spring drills and possesses the tools to develop under UAB’s quarterback whispers.

Projected depth chart:

Jacob Zeno, Jr*

Landry Lyddy, So

Harrison Barker, Jr* OR Trace Campbell, Fr* OR Carter Putt, Jr*