The 2024 North Alabama Lions football team represented North Alabama University in the United Athletic Conference (UAC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by second-year head coach Brent Dearmon. The team played its home games at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.
Offseason
Transfers
Outgoing The Lions lost 5 players to the transfer portal. PlayerPositionNew school Tylen Campbell WR South Alabama Elijah Elmore DL Alabama State Demarcus Lacey RB Jacksonville State K.J. Trujillo DB Idaho Noah Walters QB None
Incoming The Lions added 22 players from the transfer portal. PlayerPositionPrevious school Jayvian Allen RB Tennessee Tech Travelle Anderson RB Central Arkansas Anthony Bauer OL Louisiana–Monroe Christopher Burnett DB Copiah–Lincoln CC Dominic Braesch OL Georgia State Jackson Bratton LB UAB Logan Collier WR Lindsey Wilson Travis Collier DB Jacksonville State Hayden Edge OL Stetson Walter Goggins DL Mercer Jahbari Hill DB Florida Atlantic Michael Jordan Jr. DB Lehigh Marlon Krakue DL Florida Atlantic Cade Mansmann RB Troy Caleb McDougle DB Alabama Ari Patu QB Stanford Scott Payne K Middle Tennessee Jermaine Ray Jr. DB Northeast Mississippi CC Tanaka Scott WR Kansas Jayme Motley-Simmons OL Samford Rayqwon Smith DL Tennessee State DC Tabscott QB New Mexico
Recruiting class
Preseason Spring game
Over 1,500 fans packed Bill Jones Athletic Complex for the 2024 University of North Alabama Purple vs White Spring Game. Both teams were stocked with its own respective players and coaches. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wewers coached Team White, while defensive coordinator Brock Caraboa coached Team Purple.
Team White led 17–0 after 1 quarter. Quarterback TJ Smith ran for an 8-yard touchdown to start the game, and then tight end Kaleb Heatherly caught a 23-yard touchdown from Smith, with transfer kicker Scott Payne closing the scoring with a 47-yard field goal. Team Purple would cut the deficit to 3 before halftime, after a 1-yard touchdown run from Dennis Moody and an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JJ Evans from quarterback Noah Walters, but receiver Takairee Kenebrew caught a 20-yard pass from TJ Smith to take a 24–14 lead at the half. Team Purple would start the 2nd half strong, after Noah Walters ran for an 8-yard touchdown and receiver Justin Luke caught the two-point pass from Walters. Team White would immediately answer with Sam Contorno hitting a 53-yard field goal. On the final play of the game, Kevin Wewers of Team White called a trick play, with transfer running back Jayvian "Juice" Allen taking the snap, handing it off to TJ Smith, who threw it to quarterback Ben Harris in the endzone for the 8-yard touchdown, capping the action with their 33–22 win.
Media Day The 2024 UAC Media Day was held on July 23, 2024 at Texas Live! in Arlington, TX. The Preseason Polls were released on the 23rd as well. Each team had their head coach available to talk to the media at the event along with a few players. Head coach Brent Dearmon, along with players Takairee Kenebrew and Jackson Bratton, were made available for media availability. Coverage of the event was televised on ESPN+.
UAC coaches' poll 1Central Arkansas 77 (5) 2Tarleton State74 (3) 3Southern Utah 54 4Eastern Kentucky 53 5Austin Peay 46 (1) 6Abilene Christian 43 7North Alabama 26 8Utah Tech 19 9West Georgia 13
Preseason All-UAC honors
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Position Player Class DBEdwin White Schultz JR
All-Conference Team Selections Position Player Class Offense WRTakairee Kenebrew Graduate DefenseDBEdwin White Schultz JR
Source:
Schedule North Alabama will begin its 2024 campaign with a slate of four non-conference games. The Lions will start with a Week 0 face off against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on August 24. This was originally slated to be held in Cape Girardeau, Missouri before becoming the FCS Kickoff game in Montgomery, Alabama. This game will also mark their first matchup since 1956. The Lions' first road game will be an against the Division I FBS-level Memphis Tigers on August 31. This will be their first game against one another since 2022 and the second all-time meeting of the 2 schools. North Alabama will stay on the road to face UT Martin on September 14 in Martin, Tennessee. The Lions' home opener will be on September 21 as North Alabama welcomes Illinois State Redbirds to Braly Stadium. This will start a home and home series between the schools and it will also be the first ever meeting of the 2 teams.
North Alabama and the UAC announced the 2024 football schedule on November 14, 2023. This schedule was later revised on June 10, 2024 as Stephen F. Austin left the conference. The 2024 Lions' schedule consists of 5 home games and 6 away games for the regular season. North Alabama will host four UAC conference opponents Tarleton State, Abilene Christian, Austin Peay and Utah Tech at home and will travel to four UAC opponents West Georgia, Central Arkansas, Southern Utah and Eastern Kentucky.
West Georgia is the newest member of the United Athletic Conference and will join in July 2024 as a part of their transition to Division I athletics. This will revive a former Gulf South Conference rivalry as West Georgia and North Alabama played each other for 35 consecutive years from 1983 until the Lions made the jump to Division I after 2017. Their meeting on September 28 will mark their first meeting since 2017.
Game summaries vs. Southeast Missouri State
Statistics UNASEMO First downs 16 23Total yards 320 372 Rushing yards 216 176 Passing yards 104 196 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 12-24-2 24-31 Turnovers 4 1 Time of possession 23:21 36:39 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing Ari Patu 12/24, 104 yards, 2 INT Rushing Jayvian Allen 13 carries, 100 yards, TD Receiving Kobe Warden 5 receptions, 50 yardsSoutheast Missouri State Passing Carter Hensley 10/14, 100 yards Rushing Payton Brown 19 carries, 97 yards, 3 TD Receiving Dorian Anderson 5 receptions, 71 yards
at Memphis
Statistics UNA MEM First downs 11 17 Total yards 185 372 Rushing yards 67 64 Passing yards 118 308 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17-28-2 22-30 Time of possession 32:44 27:16 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing Ari Patu 15/26, 103 yards, 2 INT Rushing Dennis Moody 13 carries, 39 yards Receiving Kobe Warden 3 receptions, 34 yardsMemphis Passing Seth Henigan 22/30, 308 yards, 2 TD Rushing Mario Anderson Jr 10 carries, 46 yards, 2 TD Receiving Roc Taylor 5 receptions, 87 yards
vs. No. 21 Illinois State
Statistics ILST UNA First downs 20 17 Total yards 478 411 Rushing yards 325 83 Passing yards 153 328 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16-26-1 21-36-1 Time of possession 30:31 29:29 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois State Passing Tommy Rittenhouse 13/21, 142 yards, TD, INT Rushing Wenkers Wright 26 carries, 153 yards Receiving Dylan Ford6 receptions, 52 yardsNorth Alabama Passing Ari Patu 21/36, 328 yards, TD, INT Rushing Jayvian Allen 14 carries, 63 yards Receiving Takairee Kenebrew 7 receptions, 129 yards
at UT Martin
Statistics UNA UTM First downs 16 21 Total yards 377 416 Rushing yards 122193 Passing yards 255 223 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 14-33-3 18-35-2 Time of possession 27:48 32:!2 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing DC Tabscott 6/13, 149 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Dennis Moody6 carries, 53 yards Receiving Takairee Kenebrew 5 receptions, 173 yards, 2 TDUT Martin Passing Kaiya Sheron 14/18, 170 yards, TD Rushing Patrick Smith 15 carries, 123 yards, 2 TD Receiving Trevonte Rucker 6 receptions, 83 yards, 2 TD
vs. No. 16 Tarleton State
Statistics TAR UNA First downs 10 24 Total yards 334 385 Rushing yards 284 189 Passing yards 50 196 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 6-13 20-35-1 Time of possession 22:08 37:52 Team Category Player StatisticsTarleton State Passing Victor Gabalis6/13, 50 yards Rushing Kayvon Britten 21 carries, 273 yards, 4 TD Receiving Darius Cooper 2 receptions, 33 yardsNorth Alabama Passing Ben Harris 7/12, 100 yards, 1 INT Rushing TJ Smith 14 carries, 72 yards Receiving Dakota Warfield 6 receptions, 91 yards
at West Georgia
Statistics UNA UWG First downs 21 16 Total yards 354 223 Rushing yards 170 80 Passing yards 184 143 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18-29-0 10-18-0 Time of possession 43:16 16:44 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 18/29, 184 yards, 2 TD Rushing Dennis Moody 12 carries, 54 yards Receiving Dakota Warfield 5 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TDWest Georgia Passing Davin Wydner 10/17, 143 yards Rushing Rajaez Mosley 9 carries, 66 yards Receiving Chase Belcher 2 receptions, 75 yards
vs. Utah Tech
Statistics UTUUNA First downs 13 27 Total yards 240 501 Rushing yards 10 257 Passing yards 230 244 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15–30–1 14–20–0 Time of possession 22:13 37:47 Team Category Player StatisticsUtah Tech Passing Bronson Barben 5/8, 137 yards, 2 TD Rushing Bretton Stone 4 carries, 28 yards Receiving Bryce Parker 3 receptions, 98 yards, 1 TDNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 13/17, 207 yards, 4 TD Rushing Jalen Fletcher 9 carries, 73 yards Receiving Takairee Kenebrew 5 receptions, 75 yards
vs. No. 10 Abilene Christian
Statistics ACUUNA First downs 26 22 Total yards 468 506 Rushing yards 193 286 Passing yards 275 220 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 30-48-1 17-24-1 Time of possession 31:38 28:22 Team Category Player StatisticsAbilene Christian Passing Maverick McIvor 30/48, 275 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Sam Hicks 13 carries, 99 yards, 2 TD Receiving Nehemiah Martinez I 13 receptions, 93 yardsNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 17/24, 220 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT Rushing Jalen Fletcher 10 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD Receiving Kobe Warden 9 receptions, 112 yards, 2 TD
The Lions' victory over the #10 Wildcats marked the program's first-ever win over a ranked Division I team. This also served as their first win over a ranked team at any level since 2018 when the Lions beat Division II #24 Azusa Pacific.
at No. 12 Central Arkansas
Statistics UNA UCA First downs 24 15 Total yards 353 306 Rushing yards 107 56 Passing yards 246 250 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–34–2 21–31–0 Time of possession 30:01 29:59 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 14/31, 191 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing Jayvian Allen 12 carries, 65 yards Receiving Dakota Warfield 6 receptions, 80 yardsCentral Arkansas Passing Will McElvain 21/31, 250 yards, 3 TD Rushing ShunDerrick Powell 14 carries, 70 yards Receiving Malachi Henry 2 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD
vs Austin Peay
Statistics APSUUNA First downs 26 20 Total yards 528 394 Rushing yards 122 116 Passing yards 406 278 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 31-35-1 25-39-1 Time of possession 33:48 26:12 Team Category Player StatisticsAustin Peay Passing Austin Smith 31/35, 406 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT Rushing La'Vell Wright 14 carries, 61 yards Receiving Jaden Barnes 12 receptions, 241 yards, 3 TDNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 25/39, 278 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Jayvian Allen 10 carries, 62 yards Receiving Dakota Warfield 7 receptions, 84 yards
at Southern Utah
Statistics UNA SUU First downs 18 23 Total yards 487 407 Rushing yards 35 177 Passing yards 452 230 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–34–2 21–31–0 Time of possession 20:32 39:28 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Alabama Passing TJ Smith 21/34, 452 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Rushing TJ Smith 7 carries, 31 yards Receiving Takairee Kenebrew 5 receptions, 187 yards, TDSouthern Utah Passing Jackson Berry 21/31, 230 yards, TD Rushing Targhee Lambson 31 carries, 165 yards, 3 TD Receiving Gabe Nunez 7 receptions, 94 yards
at No. 25 Eastern Kentucky
Statistics UNA EKU First downs 26 16 Total yards 441 395 Rushing yards 116 241 Passing yards 325 154 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 23-39-2 9-15-1 Time of possession 31:55 28:05