UAB coach Trent Dilfer explains why he was on his phone on the sideline before Tennessee game

Trent Dilfer said he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. When SEC Network cameras caught him on his phone just before kickoff against No. 15 Tennessee Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium, he was just checking in with his daughter — and showing off his view.

Dilfer had his phone out on the UAB sideline, panning around the capacity of crowd of 101,915 before putting the phone down.

“My phone is out on the sideline every game,” Dilfer said during his postgame press conference, after UAB’s 56-24 loss to No. 15 Tennessee. “I have a daughter who is getting ready to give birth. I wanted to show her the environment. 

“And I always FaceTime or send a video to my grandson.”

Tennessee led UAB 42-7 at halftime

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only viral moment for UAB during the loss. 

Cameras also caught UAB safety Sirad Bryant in the first quarter stomping on the foot of Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert after an extra point. 

Tennessee punter Jackson Ross, who holds for Gilbert on extra points and field goals, had to be held back from going after Bryant after seeing his teammate get stomped. 

Dilfer said he was aware of Bryant’s actions, which drew a personal foul penalty, and would punish the player.

“I’ve seen an Instagram video of it,” he said. “I’m not happy with it. I want to get the full video of it. He will be disciplined because of it.”

Bryant issued his own apology on social media on Saturday night.

“First off I would like to apologize to Max Gilbert for stepping on his foot,” Bryant said. “Not only that, I would like to apologize to my teammates, coaches and also to Blazer Nation.

“What I did was inexcusable no matter the circumstances. I am better than that and take full accountability for my actions. It is not a representation of who I am as a player and person.”

‘(Tennessee was) just destroying us at the line of scrimmage’

Tennessee led 42-7 at halftime Saturday and was up 56-10 in the second half when the Vols started emptying the bench. 

UAB’s Jalen Kitna completed 38 of 51 passes for 364 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception in the loss. The Blazers ran 19 times as a team but were held to just 23 total rushing yards.

“(Tennessee was) just destroying us at the line of scrimmage,” Dilfer said. “Just their ability to create a wall at the line. We want to run the football, we want to be creative in the run game, they just blew up our run game. They got enough pressure on the passer, especially in long-yardage situations.”