Alabama Defense “Not Up to Standard”

Outside of the injury to Kadyn Proctor in pregame warmups, Alabama fans don't have much to complain about from the first game of the season.

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Alabama shut out Western Kentucky to the tune of a 63-0 win over Western Kentucky in the first game of the Kalen DeBoer era. Alabama's defense held the Hilltoppers to just 145 yards of total offense. The Crimson Tide forced two turnovers, broke up eight passes, and recorded seven tackles for loss against the Hilltoppers.

It wasn't enough according to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

Wommack spoke to the media on Monday, where he shared a strong sentiment that the Alabama defense did not meet the standard despite the strong performance.

"The two takeaways we had we had early were positives, but I did not think we capitalized on takeaways as a defense."

Keon Sabb tallied two turnovers for the Tide's defense on Saturday. He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

"I felt like we had opportunities to score on defense, multiple times we did not make the most of those opportunities," Wommack said. "We also had opportunities in the backfield. Sacks are great, but sacks that cause fumbles are way better and can get the ball back for our offense."

Wommack's "Swarm D" mentality showed in his comments about the Tide's defense. Alabama wants to put its players in the best position to succeed, and Wommack's defense did exactly that on Saturday. However, Wommack is not content with just a good performance on Saturday.

"Those are the things our guys have been challenged on. I did not think we met that standard of what we are capable of on defense. I hope to see the response from our players in their intentionality to take the ball away."

Alabama will have a chance to capitalize on turnovers on Saturday when the Crimson Tide takes the field against the USF Bulls at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.