Why This is a 'Really Big Week' for Alabama Defensive Players

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Kane Wommack shot it straight with his players as Alabama football enters another week of fall camp. The Crimson Tide has one remaining fall scrimmage this Thursday, and the defensive coordinator will be making decisions after that scrimmage to determine who will be able to start and contribute in the rotation Week 1.

"I told the guys this is a really big week," Wommack said after Tuesday's practice. "Decisions are going to be made in my mind about who takes the field against East Carolina based off of what you do this week. I'm telling guys, I'm a human stock market. You know what I mean? Stock is up, stock is down, but there's a line that I'm going to draw of guys that we trust to go do their job at a high level that I feel like we can go put in the first game pretty much regardless of the situation or time on the clock or score, any of that kind of stuff."

Under Wommack the last two seasons, Alabama uses a heavy rotation of players at all levels of the defense, especially on the defensive line. This allows a fairly large group of defenders to play at least 15 to 20 snaps a game on top of the starters.

"We'll ride with those guys," Wommack said. "Doesn't mean that that can't change as the season goes on. Doesn't mean that we can't add pieces to the puzzle as the season goes on, which we most certainly are going to have to do. But coming out of this Thursday, I have a pretty good idea of who we're going to be, and who we're going to ride with."

There are some positions, like Bray Hubbard at safety or Zabien Brown at corner or Yhonzae Pierre at Wolf, that were pretty set in stone before fall camp even began, but some positions, like inside linebacker, still have position battles going on. There are a couple of transfers, including Devan Thompkins, Terrance Green and Caleb Woodson, that are expected to be immediate starters for the Crimson Tide with a few others supplementing the rotation.

Alabama does some 11-on-11 periods during regular practices, but this Thursday will be the final scrimmage on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium before the the team opens the season on Sept. 5 against East Carolina. A scrimmage is the most game-like experience the players get during camp. On both sides of the ball, it's a final push for players to prove why they belong in the starting lineup or rotation before the team begins game preparation.

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