Alabama’s red zone defense has held up well in its first two games of the season. The Crimson Tide has only allowed one touchdown from the six red zone drives it's faced, and particularly stepped up to the challenge against South Florida when the offense struggled to get going.
Against Western Kentucky, Alabama allowed just nine red zone yards and prevented the Hilltoppers from coming away with points during both of its trips to the red zone. After the game, Alabama safety Keon Sabb discussed defensive coordinator Wommack’s red zone philosophies and said Wommack has a unique rallying cry that helps the Tide wall up in a key area of the field.
“He always preaches ‘yibambe,’” Sabb said. “It’s basically just ‘don’t flinch.’ So they can get a little but don’t give up. So if they just get a little bit, we just keep stopping them, make them go again, I think we’ve got the advantage for sure.”
Yibambe’s introduction to the language of Alabama’s defense is thanks to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s affinity for Marvel movies. Yibambe was popularized in the 2018 Marvel film Avengers: Infinity War. The character T’Challa, better known as the superhero Black Panther yells yibambe as a rallying cry to his troops before running into battle.
Wommack, who described himself as, “A nerd,” for Marvel movies wanted to look into the meaning of yibambe. The term derives from the Bantu language spoken in Africa, and translates to “hold fast the line."
“I thought, ‘What a fitting chant for a red zone defense, to hold the line,’” Wommack said. “So we talk about that. It doesn’t matter how they get down in the red zone, whether we’ve turned the ball over or whether they’ve gone on a 16-play drive and it’s first and goal from the five-yard line, everyone has to yibambe. We have to hold fast the line. We have to do our one-eleventh to be able to hold the line in that situation.
Yibambe has helped Alabama’s defenders make superhero plays of their own in the first two games of the season. Keon Sabb had two interceptions against Western Kentucky. Tim Keenan led Alabama’s bulldozing rush defense in the red zone with nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
“I think that’s something that our players have leaned into over the years,” Wommack said. “We have been successful at a number of different places in the red zone and I think we’re taking the steps in the right direction as well.”
Through two games, Alabama has embraced yibambe and walled up against a pair of capable offenses. The mantra will face its biggest challenge thus far when Alabama travels to face a bruising Wisconsin team in its next game.
The Badgers will test the Crimson Tide’s defensive stamina with their physicality and ability to methodically work down the field and get into the red zone. In a tough road environment, Wommack will continue to peach yibambe as Alabama’s defenders look to make superhero plays against the Tide’s first Power Four opponent of the season.
