Why Kane Wommack Still Feels Good about Defense Despite Low Turnovers in Camp

Alabama's coaches have been pleased with the lack of interceptions from the offense, but what does that mean for the defense?

Alabama defensive coordinator talks to defense during first fall scrimmage | UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— When a team is scrimmaging against itself, almost an positive can also be viewed as a negative. If the offense breaks it open for a big touchdown, that means the defense didn't do its job. If the defense busts through for a sack, that means the offensive line didn't perform well.

So with Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb about how well the offense has been taking care of the ball, with only four interceptions through the first two weeks of fall camp, should that be a concern for the defense?

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack doesn't see it that way.

"I don’t know what the exact number [of interceptions] is out there, but I think our offense is doing a fantastic job of taking care of the football," Wommack said. "It was an emphasis coming out of last season that we had to a better job as a team taking care of the football and creating takeaways. Certainly we were able to do that a year ago. They’re making it more difficult on us. When the bullets are flying, and it’s live, and you can affect a quarterback, that’s always the indication of how we’ll do. I feel good about where we are defensively there.”

Creating turnovers wasn't a problem for the Crimson Tide defense last season. Alabama was tied for seventh in the nation with 17 interceptions in 2024. However, the offense did struggle at times with protecting the ball. Alabama lost 10 fumbles, and Jalen Milroe threw 11 interceptions.

One of the reasons that came up repeatedly in why Ty Simpson won the starting quarterback job was because of how well he has done with protecting the football so far throughout fall camp. Alabama's defenders gave Simpson a lot of credit, but that doesn't mean it still isn't an area where they want to improve.

"We’ve got to do a better job of getting the takeaways than we do because we’re getting some tipped passes and stuff like that, but we’ve just got to come down with them," Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III said after Wednesday's practice. "They have been doing a very good job of protecting the ball, taking care of the ball. We’ve got to execute better and make the plays that are the gimmes." 

Sophomore defensive back Zabien Brown said he had an interception during Wednesday's practice, and he described it as a chess match between the offense and defense at practice.

"We had a couple plays today," Brown said. "We’re moving around well out there. The offense, they’re being real smart with the ball. They know our defense, and we have a lot of good battles out there...They know us. We know them. It’s just a good back-and-forth, good work out there."