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Blake Shrader

Blake Shrader enters his third season with the Gators after joining the program in the role of quality control - defense prior to the 2023 season. 

He arrives to Florida after spending seven seasons (2016-22) at UAB as the defensive backs coach and four of those as the passing game coordinator as well.   

Shrader was an instrumental part in helping the Blazers finish top 20 nationally in total defense in four of his last five years, including ranking top 10 nationally from 2018-20.
 
UAB was ninth in total defense in 2018, eighth in 2019, seventh in 2020 and 16th in 2021. The defensive success has resulted in UAB winning three Conference USA West Division titles (2018-20), two C-USA Championships (2018, 2020) and two bowl games (2018, 2021).
 
Shrader’s unit has been the catalyst for the defensive success as UAB finished seventh nationally in passing yards allowed in 2020 (173.2/game), and has finished top 50 in passing yards allowed every year since returning to action in 2017 (22nd in 2017, 14th in 2018, 8th in 2019, 7th in 2020 and 48th in 2021).
 
UAB finished 2021 at 9-4 overall and capped the season with a 31-28 victory over No. 13 BYU in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. The Blazers held one of the nation’s most high-powered offenses to just 195 passing yards. The win was UAB’s highest ranked victory in program history.
 
Shrader’s unit had four All-Conference USA performers in 2021, led by Grayson Cash who was a Second Team All-C-USA honoree.  

The defensive backs had five players earn All-Conference USA honors in 2020, led by cornerbacks Brontae Harris and TD Marshall who were Second Team All-Conference USA selections. Additionally, safeties Will Boler, Dy’jonn Turner and Damon Miller were Honorable Mention selections.
 
The defense specifically stepped up in UAB’s final two games of the season which led the Blazers to the 2020 C-USA title. In its final two games against Rice and Marshall, UAB held the two teams to a combined .474 completion percentage, 304 total passing yards and tallied two interceptions.
 
In 2019, Sharder’s unit helped UAB allow the eighth fewest passing yards in the country, giving up just 183.6 yards per game. The Blazers were also able to get off the field on third downs, finishing third nationally in third down defense at .283.
 
A pair of All-Conference USA safeties in Will Boler and Dy’jonn Turner led the way in the secondary. Boler finished third on the team in total tackles (58) and led the Blazers with two interceptions and finished second with nine pass breakups. Turner led the team in pass breakups with 10, and finished fifth in tackles with 45.  
 
In 2018, the Blazers finished ninth nationally in total defense en route to winning a program record 11 games and capturing the school’s first Conference USA title and bowl victory.
 
Shrader’s secondary unit was a catalyst the entire year and it resulted in the Blazers finishing 14th in the country in passing yards allowed (181.1/game). The Blazers also set the school record in sacks (48) and TFL (111) which was in large part a result of coverage sacks due to the secondary shutting down the passing game.
 
UAB boasted three All-Conference USA performers in the secondary in cornerback Brontae Harris and safeties Broderick Thomas and Mar’Sean Diggs in 2018.
 
Opening the season against Savannah State, the Blazers allowed SSU to complete just 1-of-17 pass attempts for 23 yards, establishing a new school record for fewest completions in game.
 
In 2017, Shrader guided the UAB defensive backs to one of Conference USA’s top units in 2017 which finished as the league’s second ranked pass defense (189.7 yards/game) and third in interceptions (14).
 
Highlighting Shrader’s group was senior cornerback and current Jacksonville Jaguar standout Darious Williams, who finished the season as a First Team All-America honoree by Pro Football Focus and a First Team All-Conference USA selection.
 
Williams climbed the ranks as one the nation’s top shutdown corners. He led Conference USA in passes defended (20), interceptions (5) and pass breakups (15), and finished the season tied for fifth nationally with 1.5 passes defended per game.
 
Shrader began his second stint with the UAB football program in January of 2016.
 
Shrader was a part of UAB’s remarkable turnaround in 2014 as he helped head coach Bill Clark and the Blazers reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004. Shrader served as the director of player personnel that season.
   
Prior to his return to Birmingham, Shrader spent the 2015 season as a quality control coordinator at the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs were 10-3 in 2015 and capped their season with a 24-17 victory over Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl.
 
Shrader’s first full-time appointment came in 2013 with Bill Clark at Jacksonville State as the cornerbacks coach. In his lone season with the Gamecocks, JSU went 11-4 and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, marking the school’s first-ever victories in the NCAA Division I playoffs.  
 
Before JSU, Shrader was a part of Bill Clark’s defensive staff at South Alabama from 2010-12 as a graduate assistant. In 2012, USA’s first year in Sun Belt, the Jaguars ranked second in the league in total defense.
 
Shrader got his coaching start at his alma mater of Auburn University as a defensive quality control assistant from 2008-09.
 
A highly-touted recruit out of Stevenson, Ala., Shrader played safety at Auburn from 2004-07 and graduated in 2008 with a degree in health promotion. He was an all-state performer for North Jackson High School both as a junior and senior.
 
Shrader is married to the former Shanda Thomas. They have one daughter, Maelee Kate, and one son, Hutton Thomas.

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