Everything Alabama DC Kane Wommack said after fourth spring practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack spoke to reporters after the Crimson Tide’s fourth spring practice on Friday, March 13. Here is everything he said.

Wommack on getting Bray Hubbard, Keon Sabb, Yhonzae Pierre back…

“Those are the decisions that are made in January that affect us from September to the next January, hopefully. And those are some of the biggest wins in recruiting. We try to be very open with our players about what we think the best decision is for them. And we’re really fortunate. We have such great connections with all NFL organizations that we get great feedback. We’re able to give them accurate information, and then they make the best decision possible. But if you look over the past here, when you’ve had a grouping of guys that have kind of made that decision to come back as a group together, there’s typically been success to follow. And so, it certainly puts us in a great position.”

Wommack on what Alabama’s offseason self-scouting showed…

“One of the things that we just have to continue to do is find ways to create negative plays. We still haven’t been able to generate the pass rush for the first year and a half until towards the back end of the season, and then Yhonzae was able to kind of give us something coming off the edge. And just that affecting the quarterback, and when we get in two-minute situations, having to be able to have something where we can go four-man rush, where we’re not having to play man coverage and pressure out of it. Those are things that we’ve got to continue to work on.

“I think we’ve done some good things here, and I know our numbers and all that stuff have been pretty solid for the last two years. We just haven’t been a dominant defense, you know what I mean, consistently throughout the season. We’ve shown flashes of it. But I’d like to be more dominant up front. I think we’ve addressed some of those needs with the guys that we’ve got in the transfer portal. Really excited with some of the new defensive linemen. Excited about the growth that I see from some of the guys that have been here in our program. And so, we’re finding creative ways to get them in the backfield a little bit more.”

Wommack on if the Bandit, Wolf positions are interchangeable…

“We kind of started to evolve to that this past season. We moved Yhonzae to Wolf, Bandit. We did different things with those guys and tried to create a lot of packages. I think we do have some pretty good depth right now at those positions. Finding creative ways to kind of get those guys matched up based off the situation or the personnel we want on the field. Those will be things that we’re making sure we explore every avenue there.”

Wommack on who has stood out at the Bandit, Wolf positions…

“I think Yhonzae’s continued to take that next step forward. He’s carrying himself like a guy that has accomplished a lot of things this past season, and should. The opportunity he’s created for himself going into this season, he can create a lot of value in his draft stock. Those are things, I think he’s stood out.

“Obviously, we’re doing a lot with DT. Devan Thompkins is moving around a lot for us. He can move outside, he can move inside. He’s kind of a force to be reckoned with. But I’m excited about a number of those guys. Justin Hill has taken a step forward. Kevonte Henry is really starting to come on. Typically when you come from a junior college, it’s always kind of been the case, that first year is two steps forward, one step back. But I think he’s in position now to push himself. And then really fortunate to get Desmond Umeozulu out of the transfer portal, that was a big win for us.”

Wommack on USC transfer Devan Thompkins…

“You try to find versatility, right? Guys that can do multiple things, multiple positions. That, to me, is something he brings to the table. Because of his athleticism and because of his size and strength, he can do things inside and outside at a pretty high level. Once we got to know him and you started doing your research from his time at USC, this guy’s a captain. He’s a leader. He carries himself with a professional demeanor day in and day out. And he has absolutely shown that in the first two months of being here. The level of maturity that he brings, the work ethic, he wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed. He has a really, really high ceiling.”

Wommack on Mercer transfer Carmelo O’Neal…

“It’s funny. You pick up on things, right? We were watching Auburn, and they had played Mercer the week before. I was like, ‘Damn, who is this long DB they got at Mercer?’ Then, Mo and our recruiting staff, we kind of found him through our transfer portal evaluations. Kid’s great, hungry, he wants to take a step forward. He knows that there are some things from a fundamental standpoint that he could grow in. He’s like a sponge right now. You teach him something; he picks up on it really fast. You don’t see a guy that – we’re already long in the secondary and all of a sudden he’s taller than Dijon Lee, which is hard to believe, and still have corner feet. There’s a lot of things we could do with him, but right now he’s doing a really good job on the outside. I’m excited about him.”

Wommack on freshmen Jireh Edwards, Jorden Edmonds…

“The nice thing for us is we’re gonna make an investment in the high school market. We can get the best players in the country coming out of high school. The key is, you’ve got to make sure you get a return on your investment. The days of waiting around two and a half years for those players to develop and get on the field, that’s really not feasible, that’s not a good business structure. For us, we’ve got to make sure we identify guys that are not only the most talented, but have a maturity to be able to come in and do the work. Zabien Brown, Dijon Lee, Ivan Taylor, Zay Mincey. Those guys have all come in, and they’ve been able to contribute for us in Year 1. I think both of those guys are very much on pace to do that.”

Wommack on which players are working at the Husky position…

“It’s such a versatile position. We talked about that before. You’ve got to play man. You’ve got to blitz off the edge, play the run fit, zone drop, all those things. Red, he is taking his game to another level right now. I mean, he’s just playing — it’s a very instinctive position, right? And Red has great instincts, and he has the ability to go make some of those plays in a number of ways. But Chuck McDonald is doing a really nice job at that position. And obviously, can play corner and also just has the size and frame and athleticism to play at the nickel. And then, Dre Kirkpatrick is going back and forth between Rover and the Husky position. So, we’re in a really good place right now. Our secondary is, one, you have these guys that are coming back, but it’s also highly competitive right now. So, excited to see what that competition brings out of that group.”

Wommack on what he’s seen from the inside linebackers…

“You identified guys in the last two years, and we knew we were going to have this kind of void of experience that we thought was going to show up last year. And then, the ruling came out where JJ could come back, and then Deontae Lawson made the choice to come back, and we get Nikhai Hill-Green out of the transfer portal, and now you’ve got experience again. And so, now, all of a sudden, that void has kind of hit this year.

“Caleb Woodson has been a really great presence in that room, just from an experience maturity standpoint. But we knew we were building to this, and so, we tried to bring a great young class the last couple of years. And now, it’s time for those guys to step up and make plays. So, they’re in a good spot right now. I’m excited for them. They’re deep. But I want to see that grouping of guys separate themselves into the top four or five guys that we can really enter into the season with.”

Wommack on making sure a player is versatile vs. knowing their assignment/position…

“The consistency of doing your job. Most of the guys that we do that with, that play multiple positions have been in this scheme for a couple of years. So, typically when a guy comes in as a freshman, we set him into kind of one thing, and then we build and grow from that from there. And so, that’s something that Dre Kirkpatrick, Red Morgan, Zabian can do those things, Bray Hubbard. I mean, they’ve just been repping the same plays for two and a half years now, and so, it gives us a chance to be able to do those things more. But to your point, if a guy can’t handle that, then we got to make sure that we settle them into one position. And there’s a value in that that the NFL puts on players, that we put on players. What type of position versatility do you have?”

Wommack on Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson…

“He’s a professional. I mean, he’s very much business-like, about his business. He uses the resources of this program, which are obviously vast here. So, he’s up here a lot. He’s around the program. You can see he’s already engaging some of the younger players. He’s not just here for himself. He wants to be a good teammate. He wants to be a leader. He’s hungry. He asks a lot of questions.

“But probably the biggest thing that stands out over the first four days is just how hard he plays. I mean, we are really stressing the effort and finish that we play with. Do we play hard as a defense? Yes. But there’s a level of when you turn on the tape, and historically in our defensive system, this has been a staple of who we are. … When you turn on a nationally televised game, the effort and finish that you see is something that should stand out about our defense. It has been solid, but it hasn’t been elite. And so, we want to make sure we’re doing that. Caleb is really setting the tone for those things right now.”

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting, and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!