Malachi Moore shares Kevin Steele's plan to limit Alabama penalties

Alabama needed to make some changes on defense heading into 2022. Pete Golding had a few good seasons in Tuscaloosa but his time felt to be up. Ole Miss decided to take Golding while Nick Saban went out and got Kevin Steele. While the wheel is not going to be reinvented, there are some changes coming with Steele running the show.

One of them will be penalties, something Alabama severely struggled with last season. Steele is already implementing methods to make sure defensive players are sharp come the Sept. 2 opener. Defensive back Malachi Moore says if there is a penalty committed during practice, an extra set of up-downs are required.

If they keep occurring, the entire position group will have some post-practice work. Not something any player wants to have their teammate do because of them.

“The first penalty that you get, you go 10 up-downs by yourself after practice,” Moore said. “After that, you get one or more, it’s 10 up-downs for every penalty that your position group gets. That keeps guys conscious of not making mental mistakes or some mistakes that are going to keep us back.”

Alabama was the second most penalized team in the SEC last season, having 103 called against them. Going for a total of 893 yards, the Crimson Tide suffered an average of 68.69 penalty yards per game. The only team worse was Tennessee, as both were in the bottom 10 in all of college football.

Everyone knows the two losses Alabama suffered last year. Tennessee and LSU handed Saban a multi-loss regular season for just the fourth time in his career. And when you look at the penalty stats, everything begins to make sense — even if the offense and defense did not play a perfect game either.

Against Tennessee, Alabama committed 17 penalties for a total of 130 yards. A few weeks later in Baton Rouge, LSU was able to draw nine flags for 92 yards. Totally uncharacteristic of a program usually known for good on-field discipline.

Even in wins, the numbers are not great.

Against Texas, 15 penalties for 100 yards. Arkansas was similar, with 101 penalty yards on 10 flags. Even against ULM in Week 3, Alabama took six penalties for a total of 60 yards.

Steele is going to make sure things are different under his watch. Instead of trying to adjust in the middle of the season, he is getting out of the way during fall camp.