Everything Kane Wommack Said Ahead of Georgia Game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack held a press conference on Monday morning to preview this weekend's matchup at No. 5 Georgia on Saturday. Among the topics he touched on: Tim Keenan III's status, Geogia's running game, Gunner Stockton and more. A full transcript is below.

Opening Statement:

“Before I get going on our plan for Georgia and answer your questions, I do want to just take a minute and offer my condolences to one of my good friends, Shawn Clark, and his family, Jonelle, and their two kids, Braxton and Giana. Just to hear of his passing — the last couple of weeks, we've gotten updates, and just a sad, sad, sad moment. And when you think about a person that I would want my sons to be coached by, I can't think of anybody in this profession better than Shawn Clark. He’s a fantastic human being, great energy, loyal, thoughtful, and certainly, I was glad to be able to call him my friend. The profession is tough sometimes when you lose people in any profession, but certainly, you move on and you continue to work and do the things that you need to do. And so for this week, looking at Georgia, we're certainly excited about this opponent. I have tremendous respect for Coach Smart and Coach Bobo and the way they operate offensively. I think they've done a really good job with their quarterback in Gunner Stockton. I think he's operating very efficiently right now. I think what they're doing with him and the grit and toughness that they have shown, a great football team. They will be a tremendous challenge. They've shown some grit and toughness on the road, as they showed last week in Knoxville. And that's something that we've gotta become more consistent as a football team, of how we handle adversity on the road. And can't think of a better place than being able to test and prove that than Athens, Georgia, this upcoming Saturday. So, looking forward to the game, and there's a lot of work to be done between now and then. And certainly our players have done a great job in the bye week in preparing ourselves to kind of get a jump on the week. So, we're in a good place, looking forward to the work in the week ahead.”

On Georgia's run game and run fits:

“I think we are taking strides. Every team is working to get better, and those are the things that I've told our guys. Everybody has issues right now, but everybody's gotta work to get themselves better, and the good teams are the ones that just better themselves week by week. I think our run fits are improving as we go. I don't think we're where we want to be, and certainly, I think there's some things that we've put on tape that we're gonna have to answer for as we go down the season — things that I would imagine Georgia and other teams in the SEC are gonna try to expose. And so we wanna make sure that we have a plan for those things, but I think our guys have been very locked in, the work that we've done thus far. We've had a good off week of practice. And I think for — you think about this team, this is a tough, gritty, their backs run hard, they're physical. And so it's ultimately gonna be about bringing a grown man to the ground, right, and the physicality that it takes to do that over and over, because I think Coach Bobo does a really good job of just staying committed to the run game as it goes on. And those are like body blows in a boxing match, right? You gotta be able to match pound for pound for as many times as they wanna run the ball.”

On Gunner Stockton as a runner:

“I think they do a really good job with Gunner in the run game. It's just enough to keep you honest. You see the run game at the right time. Certainly, third downs and red zone, and those are things that will always be the case for offenses. But he's a physical kid. He's tough. He's gritty. He's willing to get the yards in the read game. He makes the right decisions the vast majority of the time. And so he has certainly brought an element to their run game that maybe they didn't have as much with Carson a year ago. And I think that's something that certainly we're gonna have to account for.”

On the progression of the pass rush:

"I think we're taking steps in the right direction. I think we'll know a lot more as we move into SEC play. And we'll know a lot more about our ability to pass rush after Saturday. Going up against a good team, and a good offensive line, big, physical. And certainly, they've got great athletes. I think pass rush is, you look at it through different facets. Just as a four-man rush, how you're blitzing, how you're simulating pressure, but certainly I think just when you look at our defensive line and outside linebackers that are rushing off the edge, I think we're taking steps in the right direction, but I'm excited to see the progression on Saturday."

On Georgia's screen game:

"I think they've done a fantastic job in their perimeter screen game. You look at their screens, you look at the actual double-screens, and slip-screens, and tunnel screens and all those things, and then just the perimeter-now screens that they're getting out there. They're blocking on the perimeter at a very high level. You can tell their wide receiver room takes pride in it. They do a good job of taking good angles, breaking tackles. I think that's certainly an element to the game that we have to defend. For us, we have been a pretty consistent space-tackling team. That's certainly something that's gonna have to show up on Saturday because they're gonna test you. They're gonna stretch you laterally, the width of the field, and make you defend all 53 yards there laterally. For us, that'll be a good challenge."

On avoiding timidity on the road:

"I think it's on the forefront of all of our minds. We've talked about it and made an emphasis, and yet at the same time, you've gotta take the next steps forward. But I think locking your jaw on the road, having a mentality of 'Adversity is coming,' and how you're going to be responsive and not reactionary to adversity, is a major aspect to overcoming adversity on the road. I think that's something that we have to show that we can do a better job of as a football team. I think it's something that we have stressed to our players. Our players have taken great ownership of it. Our coaches have taken great ownership. We've gotta make sure when adversity comes, as a sideline and as a football team, we're ready to go not just mentally but physically respond. Emotionally respond in that moment. Something that I'm looking forward [is] for the opportunity to respond to adversity. I think us as a coaching staff, us as a defense, that's something that we're kinda looking forward to the opportunity to showing."

On Tim Keenan 's status:

"Tim will be back for the game. Tim, he's done a great job. He’s been practicing, you know, the last couple of days here, and has looked pretty good. And so, you know, credit to him and [head athletic trainer] Jeff Allen and our staff for getting him ready to go. So excited, certainly to have him back. You know, just the physicality that he brings, the experience, the block recognition, the ability to get off of blocks. And, certainly, what he does for us, not only in the run game, but I thought he has taken some strides in pass rush as well from an interior pass rusher. So excited to have him back this week."

On the approach to road games:

"Yeah, conversations that we have, I think, Coach DeBoer has a very good pulse for our football team right now. I think we've made some adjustments to give our ourselves the best chance to be able to play responsive football on the road in adverse situations. And so for us as a football team, it's a mindfulness. I think our players, they're great young men, they're great kids. Whatever we emphasize, we tend to get from our players. And so we have made that a huge point of emphasis. I think you've seen that at home in the energy and juice that we've brought from our sideline, the passion that our guys have played with the last two games. But there's a difference when you have to go on the road, particularly in the SEC, and in a hostile environment and respond to adversity. I thought at times, we have been a team that has been reactionary to adversity, and we have to be more responsive. It's at the forefront of our minds, and I expect to see a very responsive football team on Saturday."

On what to fine-tune during the bye week:

"The first thing is you look at some self-scout things. What have we put on tape? What are we going to have to answer for as the season goes on? What are we doing well? What do we need to continue to show and do more of? So those are different elements — personnel, match ups, all those types of things. But I think for us, keeping the main thing, the main thing. Getting our cleats in the ground, identifying where the ball declares, and then playing a swarm D football mentality. And I think that's something that our players have kind of leaned into. We have done a good job of — really the last year and a half year of playing with great offensive recognition. That did not show up really any way near the standard in the first game. And so getting back to playing that style of recognize where the ball's going to be, where the ball declares, and then going and finishing and playing. I think that's something that we've got to make sure continues as we get into SEC play."