What Alabama Defensive Coordinator Kane Wommack Said About Poor Play Against Vanderbilt

Full transcript and press conference video from the Crimson Tide defensive coordinator on the Monday after Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt.

Kane Wommack press conference- Oct, 7, 2024 / BamaCentral

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Alabama defense has struggled for six straight quarters. Dating back to the second half of the Georgia game, the Crimson Tide has allowed 67 points and only forced four punts.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack spoke to the media Monday morning about his unit's performance against Vanderbilt, and the response he's seen from the players heading into this Saturday's matchup with South Carolina.

Full Transcript

Opening statement

"Alright, I thought reviewing back on last week's game, I didn't think we played the way the game is supposed to be played from a defensive perspective, which is, for us, playing with tremendous effort and finish, hard-shoulder tackling, playing with violent hands and block destruction up front, and then certainly having an urgency to create takeaways. We did not to that to any level of consistency. Certainly that's not acceptable. Not something any of us coaches or player are going to accept from ourselves. I thought when you look at the game, our keys to victory, number one was to do our job and do it with consistency and when the ball declares, play with a high level of intensity and urgency. I thought we played too much on our heels against them. Number two was to be situationally elite, which we have been at times this season, but I thought one of the real keys to the game as we started making adjustments against the run is that we were not able to get off the field in 3rd-and-long situations. That's something we've really been -- we've excelled at this season thus far. We were not able to do it in the game, so certainly some things we've got to make sure we get adjusted and tweaked so that we can get back to playing great third down defense. Then create takeaways was our third key to victory. We felt like it was an opportunity for us to take the ball off them if we played aggressive and physical. Credit them they did a great job of taking care of the ball and still having an aggressive mindset on certain downs. They managed the ball and the clock very well.

"When we don't get any of our keys to victory done and we don't play with 'Bama fundamentals, that ultimately falls on me as the defensive coordinator. It's my responsibility to make sure we get our players to play at the highest level possible, and to become the best versions of themselves on game day, and we did not get that done on Saturday. We are all having urgency to get that cleaned up and to get that better moving forward. I thought the guys had a really good demeanor yesterday as we met with them, I thought they had the right mindset, very workmanlike. Ready to get back to work, challenging each other, challenging themselves. Had some great conversations with our staff, had some great conversations with our leadership on defense in order to make sure we're giving the players the things they need to be at their best on gameday. Credit them, they played with an edge, they had a bye week, they had a really good plan. They executed on all their new things that they did, a lot of new things that we saw consistently throughout the game. Not just in the first series. For us, I thought when we adjusted to some of the things they did in the run game, but we didn't do it consistently. Then obviously on third down, we didn't get off the field. Really those are the two things we feel like we have to be focused on moving forward. Becoming more consistent when we do see some of those non-traditional run pictures that the triple option presents to you, and getting back to playing third down defense the way that we have played. Felt like, really, you look at third down defense this past week and fourth down defense in the second half against Georgia, not to the standard. For six quarters there, third and fourth down, we have not operated to the level we're capable of, otherwise we're looking at different stories in both those games.

"That being said, the guys are ready to respond on Saturday. We're already working and have a good plan thus far against South Carolina. Have tremendous respect for Shane Beamer, another coach's son, and have tremendous respect for his dad and the legacy and pedigree he's grown up under. He's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been, both as an assistant and as a coordinator and special teams. Certainly what he's doing in terms of building momentum for that program overall. Dowell Loggains, their offensive coordinator, I've known for a number of years. He was a walk-on quarterback at Arkansas when my dad was the defensive coordinator there and then he kind of left right as I came in at Arkansas as well. He's done a tremendous job in his career, numerous years in the NFL. They have done a really nice job of fitting their personnel, getting quarterback in position to be able to go make plays for them both in the passing game and with his feet. We'll have a tremendous challenge for us, for sure. But our guys, myself included, our coaches cannot wait to get back out on the field on Saturday at Bryant-Denny. I think we're gonna play with a level of urgency that our fans will appreciate, and a response that we all expect for Alabama to have on defense going into this week."

On the adjustments the defense tried to make against Vanderbilt...

"Some of the plays they had in the first half were things that we had not seen on film before — some things they were doing out of on-ball tight end pictures, off-ball tight end pictures. We made some adjustments with our front and some things we were doing with our defensive ends, in terms of assignment responsibility. That helped us out on first and second down. Got them to a number of third-down situations, where we didn’t execute and get off the field.

"They did a really nice job of holding some things throughout the game, so they would throw new wrinkles in consistently throughout the game, which kept us in a constant pursuit of adjusting to what they were doing. I thought they had a really good game plan in that regard.

"But because we were not able to get off the field on third down, we also gave them more opportunities to keep throwing those wrinkles on us. You could point to probably 8-10 different third-down situations where if we just get off the field right there, we’re having a very different conversation about how we played.

From the press box, we can’t hear what’s being said on the field, but it appeared from our vantage point that Malachi refused to be substituted out in the final minute. Can you clarify if that was the case?

"Malachi Moore, I’m not sure anybody cares more about Alabama football than Malachi. In that moment, when emotions are running high — certainly he has been held accountable for some of the actions and the penalty he incurred there at the end of the game. I think Malachi handled it really well with his teammates. We are continuing to work to make sure we address it the right way across the board.

"But I have to tell you, when we first got here, Malachi has had our back from day one, as a coaching staff coming in. He’s been incredibly supportive and a great leader for our players. He really does things to the level and the standard that we want them. In that moment, he got a little bit emotional, so we were going to try to settle him down just a little bit. Sometimes, those situations, it’s better to let them calm down at a later time.

"But again, I thought he’s handled things really well since that point and has taken the level of accountability that coach DeBoer implemented. He’s done a really good job moving forward.

On the pass rush through the first five games...

"I think right now, we have elements to being able to sustain being a good pass-rushing defense. Right now, I think we’re inconsistent against some of the athleticism that you’re going to see week in and week out from some of these quarterbacks.

"It’s really critical that you keep quarterbacks in the pocket. It limits their ability to see windows. It limits their timing. It constricts some of these throwing lanes that quarterbacks can see. We didn’t do a good enough job of that and that’s probably one of the biggest indicators of us not executing on third downs. We gave them space. We gave (Diego Pavia) time to make decisions. We didn’t address some things in man coverage well enough either, even when we had a chance to get a guy on the ground.

"From a pass-rush standpoint, I think we’ve shown some really positive attributes, but not consistently enough to play at the level we think we’re capable of on third down on defense.

What's the next step of growth for young cornerbacks?

"The number one key to victory we talked about this week was do your job consistently with urgency and physicality. Do not get bored at doing the same high-level job over and over again. That’s really challenging for a corner, especially when you’re dealing with an option-style team. You’re getting ran off, you’re getting ran off, and then all of a sudden, now you’re getting ran off and it’s a go-ball, and it’s one-on-one. You look at our corners, those guys defended the ball in the air at times well, but we didn’t do it consistently enough to be able to make the play when it mattered most. I thought that really was an overarching theme. We didn’t make the plays we needed to make when the ball came our way, as a defense, and they certainly made their plays. That was ultimately the difference."

On Jehiem Oatis deciding to redshirt… 

“I think for Jehiem, obviously, he’s been battling some injuries, has not been able to perform or produce the way that any of us would like. But my focus is really on the players that are going to do everything they can to help us to win football games. So that’s really where my focus is right now.”

How do you get the defense back on track?

“I think for us, it’s making sure that we’re keeping the main thing, the main thing. For us as a defense, there’s a lot of good things that we’re doing. Certainly when you deal with the triple option style offense, there’s certain elements and things that you need to make sure you get cleaned up moving forward. There are certain things that we put on tape that we may see moving forward, and there's other things that you’re not going to see from a more traditional style of offense. 

“I think in times like this, it’s natural for everyone to hit the panic button. And for us, I think we need to make sure that we're keeping the main thing, the main thing. Are we playing with great Bama fundamentals? Are we leaning into our keys to victory on game day, and are those things showing up on tape? And then certainly for us when you asked specifically, I think there’s some things we’ve certainly got to clean up on third and fourth downs that really the last six quarters I don’t think we’ve done to the standard that we’re capable of. 

“That being said, probably the only other piece of that is there’s a way a game is supposed to be played from a defensive standpoint with physicality and urgency. And I thought we played a little too much on our heels last week, and certainly that’s going to be the No. 1 thought process as we game plan this week is getting our guys to play at a really high physical level.”

Are there any fundamentals that need to be improved from last six quarters?

“I think specifically when you look at really against Georgia, it was fourth down, not getting stops on fourth down. There’s some things in man coverage that we need to make sure that we’re handling, and that goes across the board from the corners to the safeties to the linebackers’ support in man coverage. There’s some things that we’ve got to make sure… man coverage is handled differently be it off the situation whether it’s red zone, open field. But on third and fourth down, those windows have to be as tight as possible. And there’s some things fundamentally that we can keep working to clean up. We have shown those things. Again, to answer the question that was brought up before, it’s about building consistency in your young men. It’s about building consistency in your young players. And so there’s some things that we’ve got to continue to be able to work through. I wish I had the magic genie button, whatever you want to say, to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to give these guys the experience they need to be able to maneuver moving forward. But sometimes you’ve got to go through some of these hardships and these challenges and adversities, and then expect your coaching and those players have an urgency to get things fixed moving forward. That’s certainly what I expect from us this Saturday.”

On the process of in-game adjustments…

“You go into a game, right, knowing specifically this past week, right, anytime a team has a bye week, there’s going to be a lot of wrinkles that you didn’t see. Particularly if you’re dealing with a triple option style team, those wrinkles are going to be even more so because there’s things that you don’t see. You have a rep base in the spring ball and fall camp that you’re going through, and then the first four opponents that obviously when you deal with a team with this style of offense, there’s a lot of things that formationally you’re going to see different. And then really from an angle and leverage standpoint, you’re going to see some different things as well. 

“I thought we had a really good plan going into the game. I thought there were adjustments that as we went in, we saw that there were some things in the first half that they were doing. We waited a couple of series to make sure that we’re seeing things properly. Made small little tweaks and adjustments and calls, and then in the second half I thought we made some adjustments that allowed us to get them into second-and-8 plus situations and then really third-and-7 or 8-plus situations as well. On the run, I think they averaged three yards per carry in the game. So when you look at it, some of the exposure runs that we had early on were new things that I did think we adjusted to well. But you constantly are having those conversations about what schematically you want to call different, and then just fundamentally what you want to do differently in the game. And a lot of the things for us were just reinforcing fundamentals in our players. Hey, they are doing the things we thought they were going to do, or they may be doing one or two things that are a little bit different, and here’s how  we need to adjust fundamentally.”