Everything Kane Wommack Said After Eastern Illinois Win, Previewing Auburn

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack had a press conference Monday morning to preview the No. 10 Crimson Tide's (9-2, 6-1 SEC) upcoming trip to Auburn for the Iron Bowl (Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT). A full transcript is published below, along with video.

Opening Statement:

"Obviously really, really proud of the guys from last week, just from a standpoint of they seem they're very locked in. During the week of practice, great preparation, saw some younger guys take some strides and steps in the right direction and felt like there were a number of guys that earned their way in the field. And we talked about that, we said 'You have to earn your way on the field. It's not just given to you'. If we happen to get up in a game, you have to earn the right to go out there and represent our defense. We had a number of guys that did that. We were able to play 38 players on the defensive side of the ball, which I don't think I've ever done before, and impressive. As we get into down our depth chart, that we still were able to execute with relative consistency outside of really the first third down of the game, we get them to a third-and-15 and they convert a first down, which is truly unacceptable. But outside of that, I thought our guys did a really nice job in that situation. So looking ahead here, obviously another great rivalry game, another great SEC game and one that we look forward to playing in. This is always a fun time of year. The guys are out of school right now, so they get a little bit of extra sleep. They get a little bit of extra time to focus on the game they love. So we enjoy having them around the building a little bit more throughout the day as well, and getting them ready for some things. So we feel like we're in a really good place in terms of our preparation. We've kind of took some time to prepare a little bit in advance, obviously, for Auburn as well, so should be a really good matchup. lot of great connections on that staff, as you guys know, my brother-in-law is there as a strength coach, and I think the world of Derrick Nix and glad that he's getting an opportunity to call [Auburn's offense]. I know he's waited a long time to do that. I've known him since I was probably seven, eight years old. Got great family ties. My sister actually was a surrogate for him and his wife and carried their daughter, Ava. And so just really happy for Derrick, and he's doing a great job. I mean, you can tell a noticeable difference. And some of the things they're doing, from an execution standpoint, they're playing within the framework of what their players can do. They're getting the ball to their playmakers and and creating some explosive plays both in the run and pass game. So it will be a great challenge for us as always, but certainly we are very much looking forward to the game."

On Qua Russaw:

"I think Qua's really taking steps in the right direction. It was great to get him out there on the field. He has pushed himself in practice and it's paying off. He's just getting better and better day in and day out. We feel like the steps that he took last week got him in position to go play, and then we just feel like that we can continue to add to his pitch count as we go here in the season. So, feel like he's in a really good spot. Qua is a very physical presence. You think about some of the physicality that it's going to take for us to be successful on Saturday, and he's certainly a piece of the equation."

On Ashton Daniels and the other Auburn quarterbacks:

"I think Ashton has done a really nice job. Again, I think they've come up with a game plan that he can operate very efficiently. And thought he did a really good job against Vanderbilt of taking care of the football, putting the ball in the right direction, working through his progression properly. Then certainly he does things from the run game that cause challenges and issues for you, and really every quarterback does. I wouldn't say that they are drastically different no matter what quarterback comes in the game plan. Sometimes you get a throwing quarterback or a runner, vice versa, they're relatively similar in what they're doing. We will anticipate the potential that we might see two or maybe three of them, but from our standpoint, I don't think it's really going to change how we see them and how we view them from a game plan standpoint."

On challenges of game-planning against three quarterbacks:

"Well, you certainly want to identify each of them and are there things that one of them does that the other one does not. There are certainly elements to, I thought Deuce had a really good game the other day. There's things in the passing game that with a young quarterback, you're not going to go maybe farther down in some of the schematics that they're doing there. But at the same time, he did a really nice job of pulling the ball down and he ran all over the field there. When he got out in the open field, he was able to create the big, explosive play. I think rushed for four touchdowns, something like that. But for us, when you look at it structurally, I think they're doing the same thing. I think they have an identity of what they do and how they do it, and I don't think that changes from one quarterback to the next. But you certainly want to be mindful of what each quarterback does well. Like anything, you try to identify those things and make them play left-handed, or in Ashton's case, right-handed."

On Eric Singleton and Cam Coleman:

"I think Derrick's doing a good job of getting those guys the ball. You know, you notice an effort to get them the ball, specifically in terms of their game plan and just in terms of their targets. And those guys are playmakers. I mean, they do a really nice job when the ball is in the air. They do a nice job in one-on-ones. They find creative ways to get them out in space. You know, formationally, they're doing some things right now to create a little bit more space in the passing game and get easy-access throws and then let those guys go to work. And so both those guys present challenges. They're different receivers, and yet, at the same time, when they have the ball in their hands, they're both very explosive and can create yards after catch. And so that's something that we've got to do a great job of mixing it up enough. And then, you know, like all SEC games, right? This is a physicality war. It’s, you know, limiting explosives and certainly limiting yards after contact, you know, which is going to be critical for both of those guys."

On his name coming up in coaching searches:

"I appreciate the question, but you know, I'm just not going to address any job opportunity stuff."

On how he's challenging the defense:

"Yeah, you know, I think for us this is a physical game, right? The SEC is physical. The Iron Bowl has always been a physical football game. They're going to do some things to establish the run game. I think they've got a really good running back. I think, you know, all of their quarterbacks can run the ball, and so we've got to do a really good job, just from a physicality standpoint, up front, getting off the blocks when they're trying to create a one-plus offensive system, and they get RPOs off of it. So, they're going to stretch you enough to where you can't just load the box every single play. And so some guys got to get off the blocks and make plays. So that's one of the things that you know that we have to do, I think for us the confidence of going on the road knowing that you can execute at a high level, our guys are playing at a high level right now, and it's our job to keep them in that sweet spot right now, and their jobs, in terms of leadership, the defense, I think it's been fantastic, it’s been phenomenal. But good defenses, good football teams, good players, just find ways to keep getting better throughout the week. And those are the things that we're trying to keep them focused on. So, nothing flashy, just good old hard-nosed football."

On what the Eastern Illinois game showed for players' futures:

"I think we've done a nice job of building depth throughout the season in our defense. And I think when you look at it nowadays, like, you're going to have players that are operating in critical moments in the game that you likely didn't need or didn't put on the field at the beginning of the season. And so, you know, just, you think about even a guy like Yhonzae Pierre. Yhonzae has been playing for us, but he's just continually gotten better, and then when we had injuries, he stepped up into a role that he's operating at a really, really high level. But there's a number of guys that you can point towards in our secondary and our linebacking core and certainly up from the defensive line. I think Freddie's [Roach] done a really nice job in terms of the development of some of our young defensive linemen that are playing a lot more consistent than where they were at the beginning of the season. And so those are things that when you think about potentially playing more games that we've ever played in the history of Alabama football this season, you know, hopefully, you’re going to need that depth and it's going to show up here in the back half of the season. And to this point, that has been the case, and I would anticipate it moving forward."