Everything Alabama DC Kane Wommack said in final press conference of spring

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack spoke to reporters on Monday, two days after the Crimson Tide concluded its 2025 spring season with an A-Day practice.

Below is everything Wommack said in his second and final press conference of the spring.

Wommack’s opening statement…

“I’m gonna be brief in some of the things that overview the spring, but I do want to hit a couple of things that we emphasized coming out of this past season. One of the great advantages, right, is continuity. Both coaches, players, and being able to take upon your experiences from a year ago and apply that to how you’re gonna build your roster and your defense going into our second season here. 

“The first thing that we wanted to make sure we did was continue to build depth that we can trust when it matters most. You think about certain games that we had this past season, particularly on the back end, we did not have a lot of depth and it showed up. You’re playing Tennessee, you’re playing really well in the second half of that game, five of our top six defensive backs were out and we had not built enough depth there at that position to be able to handle that. Those are things that I think, guys that are efficient in their execution, guys that we can trust to go out there and do their job. I think we’ve addressed those needs in a number of areas, which I’m excited about.

“We wanted to create more negative plays. When you look at some of our measurables and statistics and all those things last season, there’s a lot of great numbers to point towards, but one thing we wanted to focus on was creating negative plays and getting to the quarterback in the backfield. That’s something that schematically we can get better at, point of emphasis we can get better at it, fundamentally we can get better at it. A lot of it is just doing your job. A lot of times when you create negative plays and you affect the quarterback in the passing game it doesn’t just mean you win a 1-on-1 battle, but you rush as a unit and you keep the quarterback in the pocket as we show them different coverages on the back end. Those are things I think we took steps in the right direction.

“We wanted to continue to become more and more disciplined in limiting explosive plays and also keep the penalty numbers lower. I think we’ve got guys playing with more discipline, playing within themselves, doing their job. Nothing extra, no foolish penalties. In three scrimmages that were all over 100 plays that we ran, we only had five penalties amongst those three scrimmages on defense. That’s a really tremendous number to look towards and really I think three of those five penalties happened on guys that were maybe third or whatever on the depth chart. Some real positives there in terms of the discipline we’re playing with right now coming out of spring.

“Then, probably the last thing is continuing to bring more people along to understand how to play with offensive recognition. That ultimately, right, when you get to a red zone or third down or 2-minute drive, whatever it may be, to have that offensive recognition to recognize what the offense is getting ready to do and to play with more anticipation. Those are things I think we’re starting to bring some younger players along to play with a little more offensive recognition that now needs to continue to carry into the summertime. Then certainly fall camp and you get all those reps, right, before we open up against Florida State.”

Wommack on defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman…

“Really pleased with Beam and the way that — the steps that he has taken this spring. I think you saw pieces of that at the end of the season, even in bowl preparation and the what he was able to do and execute in the bowl game. He did a really nice job for us in the bowl game and I thought took his game to another level in the spring. So there’s a big body and a big frame that can move, he’s athletic, and he is operating with consistency that we can trust. I’m excited about his trajectory.”

Wommack on what role cornerback Dijon Lee can play…

“I think time will tell. But I think Dijon is very much on pace to contribute for us as a freshman. That’s always impressive to me when you can have a freshman that can compete in the SEC. Obviously, the measurables, the talent, the skill level, the discipline, he reminds me a little bit of Zabien and how disciplined and detailed Zabien was when he got here. Mo Linguist does a tremendous job with that group in terms of building in the fundamentals and the discipline to do your job over and over again.

“You can have 60 snaps as a corner and you can play 58 of them really well, but if you’re not consistent in those other two plays you had a bad day. I think he’s done a really nice job of some of the things that I have seen him not do well enough or get exposed on, he gets those things fixed and he can sustain that fix throughout the rest of spring. If he’ll continue on that trajectory through the summertime and into fall camp you’re gonna see him on the field.”

Wommack on defensive lineman LT Overton…

“I think LT is a guy that you feel like when he’s out there on the field, you can trust him. He’s gonna do his job, he’s very consistent, he’s a team player. I think that he can do some things in terms of generating pass rush that he can take another step from where he was a year ago. At times he affected the passer, but I think in terms of being able to finish in the backfield, that’s something that we hope — that I think you see him taking steps in the right direction amongst a number of other guys up front there. To me, LT has worked his tail off to put him in position to compete at the highest level of the SEC, so we’re excited for him and excited to see him take that next step.”

Wommack on Alabama’s returners being more comfortable in the defense…

“I think without question there’s a comfort level, right? There’s an understanding. There’s a difference between knowing and understanding, right? Our players knew at times what to do a year ago, I think now they understand what to do right. And when you have an understanding of our concepts and how they’re applied situationally, you can fix things on the fly when you add that offensive recognition piece. And so one, we have more players that are just experienced, not just in our defense, but in terms of understanding the game of football and how it’s supposed to be played.

“And then, you know, I think there’s a tremendous amount of buy-in right now. I think our guys are excited about what we’re doing. You know, we’ve been able to have continuity in the defense, and also add some wrinkles that the guys like. You want them to have fun. You want them to be excited to come to work. You want them to be challenged mentally and physically. And I think that we have kind of hit all of those metrics this spring.”

Wommack on where he fits all of Alabama’s cornerbacks in…

“We have something that we didn’t have a year ago, which is depth in our backfield. And that’s exciting. Quite honestly, it’s what I expected when I came here to Alabama, that we would have great depth. You’re always going to have years where you have to kind of rebuild some of that depth. You’ve found yourself in a position of guys that left for the draft and guys in the transfer portal and the transition from coach Saban to coach DeBoer to where we just didn’t have the depth probably that we needed to be consistent on the back end throughout the year. And even that, I think our guys did a tremendous job. But now you feel like you have some bodies that you can work with.

“And I think some of those guys have position versatility. You know, we’re going to be able to move some pieces around between the corner and safety room and dual-train guys so that we find creative ways to get the right packages on the field. Because I think, to your point, these are the questions that I ask myself and the staff all the time. How do we get our best 11 on the field in the right moments? You know what I mean? And that’s really my job, to be able to figure those things out, be it packages, be it situationally, and then ultimately, how do we make sure that the best 11 represent us when we step on the field for the first point and the last point.”

Wommack on safety Ivan Taylor…

“Ivan Taylor is doing a really good job with us as well. He’s really done a nice job. Ivan, he’s got a ton of energy. He’s excited to be out there every single day. He’s got a hunger to learn and I think he’s probably one of the best open-field tacklers I’ve seen as a freshman. Being able to get people on the ground, you know, that is a very challenging, difficult skill, and certainly one that I think he’s really come in probably way above average for what you would see for a young freshman. He’s got a real knack for the ball and I’m excited to kind of build upon that. He’s got to become more consistent in what he’s doing, and that really speaks to all freshmen. But if he’ll continue to strive at the level he is right now I’ll have to see a path for him to be able to contribute.”

Wommack on safety Dre Kirkpatrick Jr….

“Dre is a great example of a guy that took a really big step from Year 1 to Year 2 in the offseason. Dre is another playmaker. He’s a football guy, understands the game, makes plays when it matters most. And I thought he flashed in a number of ways this spring.The thing that is exciting to me is you saw some of those things a year ago, but with the highs and the lows, there was too much of a polarizing player there. Whereas now, I think he’s playing at a much more consistent level and he’s also making plays. He’s another guy that has position versatility. We can play him at the safety position and the nickel position. And so I’m excited to kind of work with him this summer and carrying into fall camp as well.”

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