Kalen DeBoer sent a message that Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack can’t afford to ignore after performance against FSU
The Crimson Tide escaped with a victory, but the defensive performance exposed issues that could haunt Alabama against tougher opponents.
The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, but the win was way too close for comfort. Kalen DeBoer made that clear in his postgame press conference, and his words should serve as a direct message to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and the secondary. Alabama’s defense let Florida State hang around well into the fourth quarter, and that simply cannot happen for a team with championship aspirations.
DeBoer calls out his defense after the win
DeBoer was asked about the big plays his defense surrendered throughout the game, and he didn’t sugarcoat it.
“That’s disappointing, and I know our guys can be better there. That’s really what kept them in the game,” DeBoer said via the Alabama Crimson Tide YouTube channel.
That is 100% the truth. The defense was the only reason Florida State had any life, and the Seminoles had life deep into the fourth quarter because of it.
Why this is so concerning for Alabama
The truth is, while quarterback Keelon Russell is putting on a Heisman-caliber performance, the secondary has been a different story entirely. Wommack’s defensive backfield was arguably the best in the country heading into the season, with returning starters like Keon Saab, Bray Hubbard, Dijon Lee, and Zabian Brown. Many people, myself included, believed that group would be elite.
Instead, they were getting toasted. It was pitch and catch for Ashton Daniels and the Seminoles, an offense with a mediocre passing attack at best. That’s the part that makes this so alarming. Florida State didn’t need to reinvent the wheel to move the ball through the air against Alabama’s vaunted secondary.
Ashton Daniels’ passing stats vs. Alabama
- Average of 22 yards per completion
- 377 passing yards
- 2 passing TDs
The film review is coming, but the problems are obvious
We are going to get into the All-22 film and see exactly what went wrong for Alabama. But some of the issues were visible in real time. Whether it’s the coverage Wommack is dialing up to complement what’s happening with the front seven, whether it’s players missing assignments and communication, or whether it’s Dijon Lee falling down in the back of the end zone to let Duce Robinson score a touchdown, none of it is going to fly going forward.
It won’t fly when they take on South Carolina this Saturday. It certainly won’t fly next week against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. And it absolutely will not work when they face LSU, Georgia, or any of the other heavyweights on the schedule. That defensive performance simply cannot happen again.
Alabama can’t rely on Russell to bail them out every week
The bottom line is this: you cannot be reliant on a first-year starter at quarterback to go out there and bail you out on offense every single Saturday. It’s just not a sustainable product in Tuscaloosa. Russell has been phenomenal, but asking him to overcome a leaky defense week after week is a recipe for a loss that nobody in Tuscaloosa wants to experience.
Good on DeBoer for coming out and clearing the air, making it known that the effort on defense was disappointing and that it absolutely, positively cannot happen again. Now the question becomes whether Wommack and his players respond.
