Alabama DC Kane Wommack Excited About 'Something We Didn't Have a Year Ago'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Nick Saban's retirement from coaching created a lot of outgoing transfers from Alabama several months before the 2024 season. Many position groups were impacted by this, but perhaps the defensive backs faced the most turnover.

Nevertheless, the Crimson Tide secondary still came up big in several games thanks to the efforts of safeties Malachi Moore (now out of eligibility and headed to the NFL Draft) and Bray Hubbard, then-freshmen cornerbacks Zabien Brown and Jaylen Mbakwe (switched to wide receiver in the offseason), then-incoming transfers Domani Jackson and Keon Sabb and more.

There's no doubt that the Crimson Tide struggled with depth last season in the defensive backfield, which made things difficult from both a player's and coach's perspective. However, the success of the slim unit helped create more freshmen commits like Dijon Lee and Ivan Taylor and also an incoming transfer from Cam Calhoun to hopefully make an impact during the 2025 season. In fact, Alabama may have the good problem of too many players in the defensive backs room.

“We have something that we didn't have a year ago, which is depth in our backfield," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said during Monday's press conference. "And that’s exciting. Quite honestly, it's what I expected when I came here to Alabama––that we would have great depth.

"You're always going to have years where you have to kind of rebuild some of that depth. You've found yourself in a position of guys that left for the draft and guys in the transfer portal and the transition from coach Saban to coach [Kalen] DeBoer to where we just didn't have the depth probably that we needed to be consistent on the back end throughout the year. And even that, I think our guys did a tremendous job."

The offseason additions give Wommack "some bodies that (he) can work with." That being said, the secondary is made up of a plethora of sizes, speeds and strengths with numerous players having a healthy mix of these three assets––which is key for Alabama's defense.

"I think some of those guys have position versatility," Wommack said. "You know, we're going to be able to move some pieces around between the corner and safety room and dual-train guys so that we find creative ways to get the right packages on the field.

"These are the questions that I ask myself and the staff all the time––How do we get our best 11 on the field in the right moments? And that's really my job, to be able to figure those things out, be it packages, be it situationally, and then ultimately, how do we make sure that the best 11 represent us when we step on the field for the first point and the last point.”

There's obviously still a lot of work to do before Alabama faces Florida State in Week 1, but the newcomers in the defensive backfield seem to be really grasping what Wommack and DB assistants Maurice Linguist and Jason Jones are teaching.

This was also a challenge for last season's secondary as these coaches were in Year 1 with the Crimson Tide following the hiring of head coach Kalen DeBoer. But now in Year 2, Wommack is pleased with the returners being a lot more comfortable with his 4-2-5 Swarm Defense system and the small details that come with it.

“I think without question there's a comfort level," Wommack said. "There's a difference between knowing and understanding. Our players knew at times what to do a year ago, I think now they understand what to do right. And when you have an understanding of our concepts and how they're applied situationally, you can fix things on the fly when you add that offensive recognition piece.

"We have more players that are just experienced, not just in our defense, but in terms of understanding the game of football and how it's supposed to be played. And then, you know, I think there's a tremendous amount of buy-in right now. I think our guys are excited about what we're doing.

"You know, we've been able to have continuity in the defense, and also add some wrinkles that the guys like. You want them to have fun. You want them to be excited to come to work. You want them to be challenged mentally and physically. And I think that we have kind of hit all of those metrics this spring.”

Alabama just wrapped up its final practice of the spring this past Saturday during the annual A-Day event. The Crimson Tide secondary will continue to mesh together with its vast amount of depth and understanding of Wommack's system throughout the summer.

All this being said, the spring transfer portal window opens Wednesday, April 16 and closes Friday, April 25, inviting college athletes across the country to consider spring practice and where they stand on their respective rosters. This will be something to keep an eye on regarding Alabama's large number of members in the secondary, but nothing is known at this time.

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