What Kane Wommack Said on Monday Before South Florida Game

The Crimson Tide defensive coordinator saw his unit pitch a shut out in the season opener.

Mar 6, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack gives directions during practice of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team Wednesday. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Alabama Crimson Tide defense pitched a shutout in the season opening win over Western Kentucky. Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack didn't meet with the media after the game, but didn't spend time in the Naylor Stone Media room on Monday to talk about his unit's performance and set up the upcoming game against South Florida.

Below you can find everything the Alabama defensive coordinator said on Monday.

Opening statement... 

"Days where the days can get long competing against your offense day in and day out and I thought our guys brought energy, focus, and a level of detail that was consistent throughout fall camp. Coach DeBoer said it best to the team the other day, you get what you deserve and and I thought our players got what they deserved on Saturday in terms of their their effort, focus, and those things were really good. 

Our keys to victory: We said we had to swarm tackle. We had to do a great job with these guys, they force you to make space tackles. I think for the most part we did that. There was a drive where we had a couple of missed tackles on some critical third downs and we got to get those things cleaned up, particularly some vision coverage where our guys did not have their eyes on the quarterback and so their feet weren't in the ground to drive on the ball once the ball was thrown. So we'll get those things cleaned up. We had to handle some of the tempo and the formations and all the and-go's and there's a lot of different screens and screens and go's and all that stuff, trick plays. I thought we handled those things well early. We showed that we could handle some of their tempo early, and their formations out of tempo early. Then we really had to play a dominant style of defense up front in particular, and I thought our defensive line against the run, linebackers and safety support did a tremendous job throughout the game. 

We also were able to affect the quarterback and pass rush. We hit him early in the game and I think that paid dividends as we started taking the ball away and getting off the field on third downs. Then also as you got going, we didn't get a number of sacks as the game went but I thought we affected him. I think we had maybe four past breakups coming from the D-Line, guys getting their hands on the ball, tip balls in the area as well. I was really proud of our guys and their fight in the red zone. 

We went on a 21 play drive which is never fun for a defense, but our guys did a really good job of staying focused during that time. And really half the battle in the red zone is just finding the will to be able to fight when it matters most. I thought our guys did that to be able to get a great fourth down stop down there. I thought the two takeaways early were positive, but I did not think we capitalized on takeaways as a defense. I thought we had opportunities to score on defense multiple times and we did not make the most of those opportunities. We also had opportunities in the backfield-- sacks are great, but sack fumbles are way better to get the ball back for our offense right there on the spot. So those are things that the guys have really been challenged on. I did not think we met the standard of what we capable of as the defense there. I hope to see a response in our players, just in terms of their intentionality to take the ball away, punching, raking at the ball, all those types of things did not show up to the level that I think we're capable of. So we will make that a huge point of emphasis. 

Moving on this week, it's critical that our players manage their time well. This is the first actual week right of the season where you have a Sunday to a Saturday. There's a finite amount of hours and there is a finite amount of work that has to be done. The work is the work. If you don't stay ahead, you start falling behind on a Tuesday and Wednesday practice, then that shows up on a Saturday. So our guys got to do a tremendous job getting ready for that. Looking ahead to South Florida: I think this is a team that is very well coached. I think they have a great identity in what they do, particularly with their offense. (USF coach) Alex Golesh, I've known for a number of years, I think he does a tremendous job. Those guys are very detailed in what they do in the run game. They have a lot of volume in the run game, they do a number of things in terms of finding space in their passing game. They create space with lateral alignments. You're going to see those big, wide splits that we've seen over the last couple of years from from this style of offense, and then find different windows in the passing game be it through the drop back, play action or through the RPOs. We've got our work cut out. Of course, I think this quarterback is dynamic with his feet, you saw that a year ago. He can extend plays, particularly in passing downs with his feet. So we've got to do a tremendous job of containing him this week, so it'll be a great challenge for our players and one that we're all looking forward to preparing for." 

On playing a lot of guys on defense …

"There’s different levels of substitution. As the game went on, we felt like, as we moved into the second half, we had the game in hand, so you certainly want to get some younger players involved in the game during that time.

I think players that showed through fall camp that they could be trusted — that they were, what we call, above the line, to be able to go in during meaningful snaps during the game. There were younger players that we knew might make mistakes, but they needed to be able to work through those mistakes.

As a staff, I think it’s really important early that you push yourself to get players in games, because if you don’t, they can’t learn and grow from those experiences as the season goes on. We’re going to need those younger players to continue to elevate their game as the season goes on. They can only do that if they get those reps.

Certainly, we’re going to try to get people in the game, but we’re never going to put a player in that has not shown that he is above the line."

On Qua Russaw …

"I thought Qua, so workmanlike in the way he goes about his business. He’s not a real vocal guy on the team, but he’s a great teammate and has really leaned into what we’re doing from a defensive standpoint with that Wolf position. There’s a lot of things we ask that guy to do. He’s got to play off the edge. He’s got to play in the box as an inside, stand-up, move-around ‘backer. He’s got to drop out in coverage.

There’s a lot of things we’re asking that guy to do, and I think Qua is a well-rounded individual. He’s gifted from a physical standpoint in terms of his ability to run. He can make space tackles. He can also set an edge at the point of attack. His versatility, coupled with the way he was able to handle our scheme and all the things we were going to try to do against Western Kentucky, I thought he was very impressive in the first game."

On Zabien Brown …

"Not just Zabien, right? A number of those young players played meaningful snaps in the game, which was impressive.

With Zabien — I think Maurice Linguist has done a tremendous job with those young defensive backs and getting those guys prepared. That’s a hard transition to make in eight months, going from playing high school ball to playing at this level in college. Those guys were very consistent in their process. They were very detailed. When they made a mistake, they worked to get it fixed.

Zabien probably, from the start of spring ball all the way through fall camp, I thought was the most consistent, in terms of fixing issues as they came, consistent in his fundamentals, his approach, every single day, and I thought he was well-deserving to be able to go out there as one of the first eleven to represent our defense. Very proud of the work he’s put in.

The challenge to those younger players is they cannot stay the same. They have to continue to elevate their game, their level of focus. It’s a great thing, but also a challenging thing, in terms of setting standards and expectations. Those standards continue to rise as the season goes on, so those younger players will have to continue to elevate their game in order to compete at the level we’re going to need them to as we maneuver through the season."

On Red Morgan’s performance

"I thought Red again is another example of a younger player who got out there, took meaningful snaps in the game, and really, I thought he communicated pretty well for the most part. I thought from a fundamental standpoint he was relatively consistent. Those things have to grow as you maneuver throughout the season. But one of the things that’s exciting about Red is just he did not play hesitant. He pulled the trigger when he needed to. He played fast, and when you have somebody like Red, he’s very bouncy. He’s very athletic. He’s got a high motor, and that’s the type of player that we need to see as he continues to just build more consistency in his game. So I was pleased with what we saw from him the first week."

On James Smith’s strides heading into his second season

“I think James has really taken some great leaps in terms of his consistency and what we’re doing playing in the framework of the scheme. I think coming out of spring football there was too much inconsistency in his game. We really challenged him in the offseason to live within the framework of the defense. He always is going to make plays, he’s a special playmaker. He’s got that knack, which is what you want to see. Then you just have to build some consistency within those things and I thought the level of growth from him in that three-month window from when we finished A-Day to when we into fall camp, I thought he took really great ownership of that. Freddie Roach did a tremendous job as well in that regard.

So, very pleased with him. I think he’s taking steps in the right direction and, again, when you have a guy like that, that’s a playmaker, you want to get those type of players on the field."

On DaShawn Jones’ injury

"Yeah, Day Day was battling a little bit this week with a little ding and so we wanted to be cautious with him, but we felt like there was enough there that he felt good enough on game day that he could go. He had not gotten as many practice reps during the week of preparation, and so we expect him to make a full recovery this week."