Ike Rowell doesn’t really know the feeling of losing a game in which he had a guiding hand.

In fact, the redshirt sophomore safety for the UAB football team only experienced the thrill of victory during his prep days at small-school powerhouse Fyffe.

“There was not a lot of competition, because there’s not very many people,” Rowell said. “But when you’re in, you’re expected to play hard. Here, it’s competition every day. You got to come work every day to get better.”

Only two years removed from leading his team to a third straight state championship, Rowell embraced opportunity under a new coaching staff in the spring and is battling in fall camp for a crucial role in UAB’s secondary with the season opener against North Carolina A&T only three weeks away.

“He’s trying to retain information and develop every day on the little things,” UAB special teams and secondary coach Kenneth Gilstrap said. “He cares, puts the work in and is really attentive to detail on learning how to play position. He’s a natural leader and has the sense of urgency it takes to win a game because of the success he had playing quarterback in high school.”

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Rowell was a three-year starter on both sides of the ball for Fyffe and never lost a game during his high school career, helping lead the Red Devils to a 45-0 record (2018-2020) and three straight AHSAA titles. He was selected to the ASWA All-State First Team as both defensive back (2019) and athlete (2020) and named the Class 3A Back of the Year in his senior season.

In his final game, Rowell rallied Fyffe to 21 unanswered points over Montgomery Catholic in the AHSAA Class 3A title after trailing 16-0 more than halfway through the first half. He finished 5-of-7 passing for 155 yards, including passes of 29 and 34 yards to former UAB and current Troy tight end Brody Dalton, and amassed 143 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Rowell began his career at UAB as a walk-on wide receiver, arriving with the 2020 recruiting class, but ultimately transitioned back to a more desired position on the opposite side of the divide.

“I always liked playing defense more,” he said. “I like being the hammer and not the nail.”

Although Rowell’s listed measurable have not changed much since arriving on campus, the redshirt sophomore restructured his body and mind for the rigors of FBS-level football and earned a scholarship along the way.

“He’s revealed himself as a guy that’s not just a height, weight and speed guy,” UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said. “Playing quarterback in high school and changing positions twice once he got to college, he was viewed as a really good athlete. What’s he going to become? Well, he’s revealed what he’s going to become, he’s going to become a really good safety.”

Rowell shot up the depth chart during spring practice, working with both the first and second groupings, and sustained his progress through summer workouts to open fall camp securely on the depth chart.

Taking into consideration the losses inflicted by graduation and the transfer portal, the rise of Rowell compliments the already stalwart play of defensive backs such as Keondre Swoopes, Mac McWilliams and Damien and Damon Miller.

“I worked on a lot of footwork stuff,” Rowell said. “I knew in the spring — I noticed in my film that it was bad — and it’s gotten a lot better, along with my drops and breaks. We worked hard all summer and got better as a whole group. That’s going to really help in the long run from top to bottom.”

Rowell’s ascension, however, did not come by accident and is a testament to the work ethic derived from his days under legendary Fyffe coach Paul Benefield.

After redshirting his initial season on the Southside, Rowell appeared in 11 games last season and recorded five tackles with his work on special teams. Although he was arguably the best athlete on his high school team, the northeast Alabama native had to conquer the path of most resistance upon joining the Blazers and that experience did not go unnoticed by the new coaching staff.

“He’s owned that, he loves it and he’s got his body bigger and stronger to match his speed,” Dilfer said. “He’s a very sound tackler, which is something you never know when you change a guy’s position, and he proved that in the spring. He’s got very good ball skills because he’s touched the ball his whole life. The hardest thing for young players is finding their voice and being a communicator. He’s really learned at a high level how to communicate.”

Without a doubt, the loss of both Starling Thomas V (Detroit) to the NFL and Jaylen Key (Alabama) to the transfer portal is considerable but leaders and talent remain from a UAB secondary that held two top-five passing offenses (Western Kentucky and Georgia Southern) to well below seasonal averages last year.

Dilfer and his coaching staff brought in considerable talent from the transfer portal and there exists a possibility for a couple of two freshmen to make their way into the rotation. Despite its departures, the UAB secondary has the opportunity to cultivate a lethal dose of flak for opposing aerial assaults.

“I see it, man, it seems like the group smells blood right now,” Gilstrap said. “With Starling (Thomas V) and Jay Key leaving, those are two guys that held positions in the vacuum, there’s this urgency to learn and to compete to see who’s going to get the snaps and play. Those guys, they just smell blood. A whole bunch of sharks. I don’t like to use the dog term, we’re a whole bunch of sharks smelling blood for opportunities to make plays for their team.”