Alabama DC Kane Wommack, Players Hoping for Growth Between Scrimmages

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Last week, the Alabama football team held its first scrimmage of spring practice. The defensive unit hopes to see some growth in the practices leading up to the second one this weekend.

Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Wednesday that his group was challenged at leveraging the run by the offense, particularly in the secondary. In the last two practices, the players have worked to shore up those issues. "That's really all you want to see," he said, "young defensive backs make a mistake and then they're able to get it corrected moving forward."

He described the group as hungry and urgent to get things fixed. "They have an awareness of what mistake they made and how they need to get it corrected," Wommack said. Freshman players have been taking the opportunity to get better and learn from their coaches, almost as if they've been there before.

Linebacker Deontae Lawson is expected to be a leadership figure on the 2024 defense. The biggest thing he wants to see in the next scrimmage is the defense playing faster, as well as being aware of all situations. "Just being able to fly around and compete all day," the redshirt junior said. "We [the linebackers] can run... We can blitz, we can cover, fill the gap. I feel like we're elite."

"[There's] always room for improvement," said defensive lineman Tim Keenan III. The first scrimmage last Thursday wasn't bad in his eyes, but he also doesn't want to carry the negatives into the next scrimmage on Saturday. The offense has also challenged the defense with what it brings to the table. "The offense makes us bring it every day, guys like Jaeden Roberts, Tyler Booker, James Brockermeyer, who's been stepping up," Keenan said. If they're not trying to put Keenan on his back, he's not happy. The intensity of practice has helped Keenan with both skills and confidence.

In Wommack's estimation, the first scrimmage is sometimes the hardest one. Head coach Kalen DeBoer was happy with what he saw but hopes to use it as a means to help his team improve. Womamck wants his group to be able to attack the run, which was a challenge because of the number of pass plays it faced in the first number of practices leading into the first scrimmage, and stay consistent with the fixes it's made.

"I just wanna see those guys make corrections and sustain corrections," Wommack said. "The worst thing as a coach is to know that you have gotten something corrected and then it shows back up two or three practices later."

The calendar flipping to April means that spring practice is nearing its end. Amidst a backdrop of considerable anticipation on the part of the college football world, the first A-Day game of DeBoer's Alabama tenure (as well as Wommack's) is scheduled for just one week after the scrimmage this weekend: Saturday, April 13.