TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Three days removed from Alabama’s first preseason scrimmage over the weekend, Kane Wommack spoke with reporters Tuesday, breaking down where the Crimson Tide’s defense stands halfway through camp. The first-year defensive coordinator spoke for roughly 11 minutes, providing his thoughts on the scrimmage as well as updates on several positional groups. Here’s everything he said during the interview.
On his impressions of the first scrimmage
"I thought early on the offense did a really good job. We've challenged our guys to be able to respond early in games. That's hard for a defense because when you think about it an offense is working all week long, right? They've got a game plan. They've got whatever they want to call it-- usually people call it their openers or their starters. So they've got their first 8-10 plays of the game that they're they really feel good about and honed in on. The challenge for a defense, but also an opportunity, is if we can limit them in the first drive of the game it creates a little bit of doubt in their mind in the things they've been working all week long. But our offense did a really good job in that and I thought our defense responded immediately after
"I thought our tackling was just okay. We're running to the ball probably as good as I've seen since we've been here, but I think overall from a tackling standpoint, those are things that you got to get better at from scrimmage one to scrimmage two."
On if young defensive backs are able to pick up his defense easily
"I think we're really intentional about having a short term development plan to get young players on the field. We've always done that in this system. We've always been able to play freshmen because of that. Certainly, we're a complicated defense. If you look at the top three coverages in the NFL last season, it's our number one, two and three coverage that we're running here now.
"So there's some there's some details that are challenging for young players to come in and learn, but we feel like we have created a system that is simple enough for a young man to learn and then detailed enough for the nuances as you go. There are certain things that maybe an older corner may understand, but it's more about offensive recognition or recognizing a split or concept.
"We really spend most of our time on the offensive recognition. So the way we install the defense is we teach them the concept of what we do. Never just their role, never just here's what the field corner has, or here's what the mike linebacker has. When we talk about situational application, how does it apply to third down, red zone, two minute when they need a field goal versus two minute when they need a touchdown? Totally different scenarios and the concepts are different. Then what we're getting ready to go into is straight offensive recognition so by the time we get to the season, it's all about when the offense comes out in a three by one and the back is set out a little bit wider versus tighter, you're either going to get this or this so that we can play with anticipation as opposed to reaction. Defense is inherently reactionary, so we're trying to play with anticipation."
On LT Overton
"LT's got a great skill set and you can tell he's honed in his pass rush ability. He's got really good complimentary answers to his fastball. He's a great speed to power rusher, he's done it probably a million times over his life, right? and he can feel whether the offensive lineman is on his top hip or his bottom hip, and know how to counter back inside or outside. So he's a really great on-body rusher, is what I would say, so when he gets in to the man, he knows how to counter back very quickly."
On if Overton is the ideal Bandit
"I think him and (Jah-Marien Latham) are really the frame, that's the ideal person. That person has to play a four-tech, tey have to play a five technique, play nine technique occasionally. They'll fall back inside on run fits and some of those things. They can do a lot of different things. I'm impressed with their athleticism, those guys can really move for guys to be that big. I would say from a prototype bandit position it makes things really challenging to establish runs when you have a 280-pound ass kicker over there."
On how the technology/headset is going and if it will advantage the offense or defense?
“Great question. Time will tell.
“In the NFL they have a picture, so a picture 4 seconds before the snap and 4 seconds after the snap. In high school they’ve got big screen home entertainment systems that they work on.
“We have the I-pads. I think what it will do is it will confirm from a defensive perspective, ‘Did the ball hit in the B gap here?’, ‘Did it fold outside our defensive end here?’ or ‘Did it go inside?, What route concept did they run?,’ ‘This was a Number Two receiver on an over route.’
“Those are the things you can confirm immediately and get corrected. You never have those moments where you go on Saturday night after watching the game, ‘Oh, that’s what they were doing.’
“Good coaches, right. You try to minimize that. You try to be a human I-pad so you can see things in real time and make adjustments, and we’ve taken great pride in doing that. So I wonder if it will be an equalizer for coaches who can’t see in real time quite as well, but at the same time it’s certainly going to be something we can utilize as best we can.”
On Jaylen Mbakwe’s progress
“What I’ve been impressed with from Bak is a guy who has played another position pretty much all of high school, the growth he has made to learn the details of the position very quickly. He made strides in the spring time and has taken his game to another level through the summer and what he has shown in fall camp where we feel he is going to have a role for us. He had a great day out there today. He’s just really starting to hone in and play with anticipation as opposed to ‘I’ve got to get my feet right,’ and all that. He’s starting to recognize and anticipate. It’s good to see.”
On Tim Keenan III as a leader
“When I first got here that was one of the things that Tim and I talked about; we take pride in this defense, creating production in the defensive line room and and on the interior. I think Tim has taken to that really well. You can tell that he is maximizing value for himself from a pass rush standpoint. He’s mindful of it. We try to give run-pass indicators for our players and let them call out those run-pass indicators. I may have called a run-stopping call that can transition into a pass down rush defense. They are doing a really good job with those communications. Tim’s a leader. He does everything right and he’s starting to get rewarded in terms of his production. Exciting to see how that translates to the field.”
On helmet communication with Deontae Lawson.
“Great question.
“We’re doing it with a number of guys, but he’s my voice on the field. It’s not just getting the call in, but there may be things I want to communicate to him about the situation, about what the offense is going to do.
“You could write a book on the headset communication and how different it is from where we were with signaling to where we are now. I think you’re going to see all things over the spectrum. I think you’re going to see some people that still do all the signaling and some who go exclusively to the headset communication. I think there’s a fine line there because it cuts off at 15 seconds, so what happens afterwards when an offense is going to make a check. You’re going to see some offenses that goes really fast. I think that’s going to be helpful to us on defense because I can immediately get a call to the core, and they can communicate to seven or eight guys immediately.
“When teams are going fast, you can see some teams that wait until after 15 seconds and then they go, and so now the defense is back to the normal signaling. It will be a cat-and-mouse game. I’m excited to see how to navigate that. I want to stay ahead of the curve.”
On the cornerback room as a whole during camp
“I think Mo Linguist does a tremendous job from a technical standpoint. He’s one of the best teachers that I have seen. I think those guys are very fundamentally sound. Even those young freshmen, they don’t look like freshmen out there in terms of what they’re doing from a fundamental perspective in their footwork, hand placement. Very detailed, very organized and very intentional about their individual time, and I think it’s showing up in practice right now.
“What I’m excited to see is some of those younger players are playing with anticipation. Defense is inherently reactionary, right? So the offense comes out in a personnel formation, whatever, and we react to whatever those things are. But if you can say, ‘Under this personnel and that formation on third-and-6, now it’s either going to be this or that.’ Now we can play with anticipation. I think the corners are leaning into that right now.”
On Jihaad Campbell and the younger inside linebackers
"Jihaad is such a versatile skill set. I think he came here as an outside linebacker originally and then made that transition to inside linebacker. That is not an easy transition. I think people just hear the word linebacker and think it’s about the same. They’re different worlds playing the outside linebacker and inside linebacker position. I think he’s really done a great job of understanding the details that it takes in the run-fits in the interior, the communication piece to get everybody lined up as well. I think Jihaad’s another guy who can be a green-dot type guy for us.
"So what I’ve been impressed with those younger backers is they see a standard of Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson. I think Justin Jefferson is really playing at the same level. So those guys are really pushing every single day.
"It’s a hard road as a freshman linebacker for us right now. We put a lot on those guys and demand a lot of them. It’s back and forth every day."
