Alex Mortensen

American football player and coach (born 1985)
Alex Mortensen
Current position
TitleOffensive coordinator
TeamUAB Blazers
ConferenceThe American
Biographical details
Born (1985-11-24) November 24, 1985 (age 38)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Arkansas
Playing career
2004–2005Arkansas
2006–2007Samford
2008Arkansas
2009Tennessee Titans[a]
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2012New Mexico Highlands (QB)
2013St. Louis Rams (AC)
2014–2016Alabama (GA)
2017–2019Alabama (Analyst)
2019Birmingham Iron (WR)
2020–2022Alabama (Analyst)
2023–presentUAB (OC)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships

Alexander Christian Mortensen (born November 24, 1985) is an American football coach and former player. He played college football as a quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Samford Bulldogs. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2009.

High school career

Mortensen attended Landmark Christian School in Atlanta, Georgia. He was named the 2003 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class-A Offensive Player of the Year at Landmark Christian. As a senior, he completed 159-of-269 passes for 2,565 yards and 29 touchdowns, was named first-team all-state by the Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was a three-time all-state selection. The team posted a record of 29–7 over his last three seasons. He was also selected to the Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report All-America squad, which ranked him as the No. 25 overall quarterback in the country and the No. 1 quarterback in Georgia and was rated as the No. 29 pro-style quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com.[1] He received the Headmaster's Award for student leadership in high school.[2]

College career

Mortensen began his college career at Arkansas before transferring to Samford, then returning to Arkansas to finish. Mortensen's cumulative stats in college were 40-84 for 372 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.

In 2005, Mortensen announced: "On Friday, I had a bittersweet meeting with Coach Nutt when I told him that I would be leaving the University of Arkansas and that I will transfer to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, beginning this fall of 2006."[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m)
222 lb
(101 kg)
4.82 s 1.64 s 2.75 s -- s -- s 33+12 in
(0.85 m)
9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)
21 reps --
All values from Arkansas Razorbacks pro day.[4]

Tennessee Titans

After going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, Mortensen was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent. He played an offensive series in the Hall of Fame Game against the Buffalo Bills on August 9, completeling 1-of-2 with an interception returned for a touchdown by Bills cornerback Reggie Corner. Two days later, the Titans waived Mortensen.



Coaching career

In 2012, Mortensen joined New Mexico Highlands University as their passing game coordinator.[5] He then spent 2013 as a coaching assistant with the St. Louis Rams. In 2014, he joined the Alabama Crimson Tide as an offensive graduate assistant.[6]

In 2018, Mortensen became the wide receivers coach for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football.[7]

Mortensen was named offensive coordinator of the UAB Blazers by head coach Trent Dilfer on December 2, 2022. [8]

Personal life

Mortensen is the son of late ESPN NFL analyst Chris Mortensen and Micki Mortensen.[2]

Notes and references

  1. ^ Offseason and/or practice squad member only
  1. ^ "Alex Mortensen". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Player Bio: Alex Mortensen :: Football". SamfordSports.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  3. ^ Focil, Andres (November 7, 2014). "Alex Mortensen Statement". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Alex Mortensen, DS #999 QB, Samford". Draftscout.com. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  5. ^ Henry, Clay (May 2, 2013). "COMMENTARY:Mortensen assembles all-star cast for passing academy". WholeHogSports.com. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Casagrande, Michael (February 18, 2014). "Alex Mortensen, son of ESPN's Chris Mortensen, to join Alabama staff (report)". AL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Inabinett, Mark (December 10, 2018). "Birmingham Iron names defensive coordinator, 3 more assistants". The Birmingham News. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Dodd, Dennis (December 2, 2022). "UAB hires Alex Mortensen, son of NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, as Blazers offensive coordinator". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

External links

  • Tennessee Titans bio
  • v
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Samford Bulldogs starting quarterbacks
  • Bobby Bowden (1951–1952)
  • Joe Milazzo (1959–1960)
  • Johnny Shoemaker (1961–1962)
  • Larry Wyatt (1963–1964)
  • Jerry Colvin (1965)
  • Jim Lovette (1966–1968)
  • Waylan Trammell (1969–1971)
  • Jimmy Nipper (1972)
  • Steve Loflin (1973)
  • Scotty King (1986)
  • Jimbo Fisher (1987)
  • Ted Darby (1988–1990)
  • Ben Wiggins (1991–1992)
  • Bart Yancey (1993–1996)
  • Jake Rackley (1997)
  • Mike Cain (1998)
  • Josh Kellett (1999–2002)
  • Ray Nelson (2001–2004)
  • Jefferson Adcock (2005–2007)
  • Dante Williams (2006)
  • Alex Mortensen (2006)
  • Dustin Taliaferro (2008–2011)
  • Connor Lowery (2010)
  • Andy Summerlin (2012–2013)
  • Michael Eubank (2014–2015)
  • Devlin Hodges (2015–2018)
  • Liam Welch (2019–2021)
  • Chris Oladokun (2019–2020)
  • Michael Hiers (2022–2023)
  • Quincy Crittendon (2022)
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2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football—consensus national champions
Head coach
Nick Saban
Assistant coaches
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
Doug Belk
Burton Burns
Scott Cochran
Keary Colbert
Mario Cristobal
Bo Davis
Rob Ezell
Eric Kiesau
Lane Kiffin
Dan Lanning
Tosh Lupoi
Alex Mortensen
Billy Napier
Freddie Roach
Glenn Schumann
Kirby Smart
Mel Tucker
William Vlachos
Charlie Weis Jr.
Bobby Williams
Jody Wright
  • v
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2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football—consensus national champions
Head coach
Nick Saban
Assistant coaches
Derrick Ansley
Burton Burns
Scott Cochran
Brian Daboll
Karl Dunbar
Rob Ezell
Brent Key
Mike Locksley
Tosh Lupoi
Mike Miller
Alex Mortensen
Brian Niedermeyer
Joe Pannunzio
Nick Perry
Jeremy Pruitt
Shea Tierney
William Vlachos
Chris Weinke
Bobby Williams
Jody Wright
  • v
  • t
  • e
2020 Alabama Crimson Tide football—consensus national champions
Head coach
Nick Saban
Assistant coaches
Major Applewhite
Javier Arenas
Jeff Banks
Max Bullough
Rob Ezell
Kyle Flood
Pete Golding
Charles Huff
Butch Jones
Charles Kelly
Shiloh Keo
A. J. Milwee
Alex Mortensen
Nick Perry
Freddie Roach
Steve Sarkisian
Karl Scott
Mike Stoops
Charlie Strong
Sal Sunseri
Tino Sunseri
Holmon Wiggins