Kane Wommack's Teaching Point on Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.'s Ejection vs. ULM

The sophomore defensive back was ejected late in Saturday's win over Louisiana Monroe.

Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. (21) forces a fumble against ULM. | Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama football legacy Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. may have tied for the team lead in tackles against ULM with four, and despite that as well as his forced fumble, he will not play in the first half of the No. 19 Crimson Tide's upcoming game against Wisconsin.

The sophomore was ejected in the fourth quarter of the 73-0 victory over the Warhawks for a targeting foul. The play was not originally ruled as such, but a review decided Kirkpatrick's fate for both the balance of that contest and the first two quarters this coming weekend.

He had productive reps at safety, rather than Husky, before his departure from the game. When his father played at Alabama, that hit would not have resulted in an ejection since the targeting rules which were first instated for the 2013-14 season had not yet taken effect.

"Dre did some good things at the safety position," defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday morning. "He's been doing that all spring. He's been doing that all fall camp... When you're moving towards a ball-carrier in the manner that he was in the targeting call, you just can't leave your feet and put yourself in a position to eject with your helmet being the first part of your body that's gonna make contact."

In ways more than just his jersey number (21), Kirkpatrick's playing style evokes memories of his dad, who spent most of his 10-season NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Dre Kirkpatrick Sr. was a cornerback, but like his son, was not shy about being intent on fierceness in games.

"He [Kirkpatrick Jr.] plays the game with a lot of effort and energy, and some good things happen from that," Wommack said. "He created one of our takeaways in the game, just flying around and hitting people... Those are the things we talk to our guys about, taking the extra step, not leaving your feet. That's bad football in general, but taking that extra step to make sure that we don't launch."

Head coach Kalen DeBoer gave no indication that he disagreed with the officiating crew's decision to toss Kirkpatrick. If he did, that didn't come across at all during his press conference. The Crimson Tide has still never been the less-penalized team in a game during the DeBoer era.

"The targeting? Yeah, we have to lower our center of gravity. We have to do a better job and play through the ball carrier with a lower target. We can’t launch ourself helmet first. That’s the rules of the game. We have to be better. That’s a fundamental thing we continue to stress," DeBoer said.