Alabama
Kane Wommack’s Game Plan Provides Another Stout Evening for Alabama Defense
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban showed love to both sides of the ball throughout his 17-year tenure with the Crimson Tide, but it often seemed that defense was slightly closer to his heart. This is mainly due to his experience playing defensive back many many years ago, while also serving as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for several collegiate and NFL teams over the course of 20 years.
The legendary head coach, who won six National Championships at Alabama, earned perhaps the greatest honor in the sports world on Saturday evening as the Crimson Tide’s mecca of a gridiron received a new name: Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In an entire day honoring Saban, his somewhat preferred phase of the sport also gave him flowers that night, as Alabama’s defense was stout against South Florida’s offense from practically start to finish as the Crimson Tide won 42-16.
Wommack’s Swarm D, which shut out Western Kentucky last Saturday, proved its worth once again, and the players seem to enjoy it. Wommack refers to his 4-2-5 defensive scheme as the “Swarm D.” It’s a physical, fast, aggressive style he wants his defenses to be marked by.
Wommack spent the past three seasons as the head coach at South Alabama and said earlier in the week that one of the things he had missed most and was most looking forward to was calling the defense for Alabama this season. He’s gotten off to a strong start in the first two Saturdays of the season.
South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown gave Alabama’s run defense hell for most of the first half as logged 88 rushing yards on 12 attempts. But some Wommack adjustments and motivation lowered Brown’s pace rapidly declined in the second half as he ran for just 20 yards on 11 carries.
Unlike the run game for Brown, it was all quiet on the passing front in both halves on Saturday night, as the Crimson Tide allowed Brown to complete 15-of-35 attempts (43 percent) for just 103 yards (6.9 yards per completion).
Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III had one of the best games of his Crimson Tide career as he recorded nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks (the latter two numbers were team-highs). Keenan who hit Brown more than anyone else opened up about the quarterback’s difference between halves.
“We [had to] get hands on that guy,” Keenan said of Brown, one of the better athletes outside the Power Four and one of the best running quarterbacks in college football period. “Kudos to him. He’s a great player, a great athlete… We did what we had to do. We got the best of him.”
Alabama led South Florida 14-13 entering the fourth quarter. Truly eye-popping. While the Tide defense was stout all night, Keenan and his unit wanted to take it to another level.
“[We had] just the mindset of, don’t get stopped, I gotta get home,” Keenan said. “Pressure makes diamonds… I love moments like that, because everybody looking for somebody to be the play, and it’s like, why not me? So, just being able to have that mindset, I’m gonna make something happen, I’m gonna make a play.”
Linebacker Que Robinson was one of those players making diamonds as he flew around the middle of the field and also USF’s backfield on plenty of occasions, despite his stat sheet not being other-worldly: seven tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Robinson attributed the game plan and coaching to his performance as well as the rest of the team’s.
“Credit goes to the staff and defensive coordinator coach Wommack,” Robinson said after the game. “He just calls plays to give us an opportunity. He puts me and my teammates in a situation where we can just go out there and play. We don’t have to think too much and we were able to execute.”
Nevertheless, although Robinson was pleased with his team’s performance in Wommack’s system on Saturday, he explained that it was far from perfect.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Robinson said. We’ve got to create more turnovers. Effort is a huge part of the game and we’ve got to give more effort. Doing our assignments, being fundamentally sound, getting to those gaps and getting the quarterback off his spot.”
Perhaps the word Robinson used most in the interview, in both a good and bad connotation was “effort.” Robinson said multiple times that he needs to do better and mentioned that “multiple guys were out there were screaming, yelling, telling guys to stay focused and locked in.”
But the main positive that he associated with effort was the defense’s performance on third down. Alabama held Western Kentucky to 3-of-18 on third-down attempts and a somehow even more impressive 2-of-18 against South Florida. Truly remarkable and something to keep in mind for the Crimson Tide defense for the next few weeks.
Many of these third-down stops involved Keenan’s efforts trenches. Robinson detailed that Keenan’s personal-top-tier performance from Saturday was a reflection of the entire team, and it’s been that way for quite some time.
“If Tim’s hype, everybody’s hype,” Robinson said. “He’s that person we feed off of. When he’s out there creating plays it makes everyone else hungry.”
Good coaching, leadership, accountability, effort, high standards, in-game improvement…what else could Saban enjoy in a Wommack-led defense on the day the field is named after him?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— To say that the Alabama basketball team is familiar with the repertoire of junior Mississippi State point guard Josh Hubbard would be understating the level of impact Hubbard has had against the Crimson Tide in the recent past. On Tuesday night, No. 18 Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) gets to deal with him again in its trip to Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville (8 p.m. CT).
Hubbard led all Bulldogs scorers both times Mississippi State played Alabama last season, putting up 38 points during the matchup in Humphrey Coliseum last January and 21 in a lopsided loss in Tuscaloosa the following month. This season, he averages 29.3 points per game against SEC opponents. He’s one of the best guards in the league, and plays like it opposite the Crimson Tide.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats hasn’t forgotten what Hubbard has done against his squad. Alabama may have escaped Hubbard’s season-high scoring game with a win last season in Starkville. That doesn’t mean the team is comfortable giving him a chance to repeat a performance where he made 14 shot attempts from the field and six three-pointers.
Oats said the coaching staff advised last season’s team of Hubbard’s talent before facing him in his home arena, but felt like there were too many plays the 2024-25 Crimson Tide let up against him on the road, especially early on.
“We better have a better plan than we did last year when he had 38. They’re a good team, and he can score it. We gotta have some guards be ready to play him. They can’t fall asleep off the ball,” Oats said on Monday afternoon. “As soon as you fall asleep, he’s sprinting off an off-ball screen or sprinting back to get it back from the big after he threw it to him.”
The Bulldogs’ (10-6, 2-1 SEC) star player is currently averaging 22.8 points, 2.3 boards and 3.8 assists per contest while shooting 42.8 percent from the field. Unsurprisingly, Hubbard is Mississippi State’s leading scorer; he also leads the Bulldogs in assists. Oats (as many would) interprets the challenge of stopping Hubbard as an approach requiring the Crimson Tide to spare no expense defensively.
“You gotta be alert that he’s probably coming back towards the ball at any point. When he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s been elite in ball screens. If you don’t have your big up to level the ball screen, he comes off. He’s pretty good shooting pull-ups,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure to put your guards on, but if you bring your big up, [and] he gets too aggressive, he’s also been splitting and turning around.”
Oats has been vocal about wanting Alabama’s guards to defend better. On Monday, he chalked up sophomore Jalil Bethea’s recent decline in minutes to his defensive form. If the Crimson Tide coach wanted a trial-by-fire test in that department for his backcourt players, Hubbard is more than capable of obliging. That goes for the frontcourt as well.
“Our bigs gotta be ready to do their job correctly, and we probably gotta have a little bit [of] change-up in our ball-screen coverages with him,” Oats said. “Our guards can’t fall asleep. They gotta be elite, and he’s also pretty good at drawing fouls… He kinda kicks his legs out on his jumper. Seems like it’s kinda part of his jumper, but he seems to draw a lot of fouls, so we gotta be able to guard him without fouling too.”
Defending without the foul was not an area in which the Crimson Tide excelled during Saturday’s loss to Texas at Coleman Coliseum. Four players finished the game with four fouls, one of whom was junior shooting guard Aden Holloway. Freshmen Amari Allen and London Jemison, along with forward Keitenn Bristow, also picked up four fouls. Guard Houston Mallette had three.
Alabama has won eight games in a row against Mississippi State. Its last loss in the series came at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 15, 2022. Four of the Crimson Tide’s past five losses against the Bulldogs have been on the road. Keeping Hubbard, who has reached 30 points or more in three of his past six games, in check is a critical component to Alabama avoiding that fate in 2026.
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James Smith and Qua Russaw will be college teammates once more after transferring from Alabama last week. Per On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Monday evening, Smith and Russaw have committed to continue their careers at Ohio State.
Both former Crimson Tide starters and high school teammates at Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., the two players came to Tuscaloosa as part of the 2023 recruiting class. Smith saw the field at Alabama first, playing in nine games during Nick Saban’s final season, while Russaw took a redshirt for that season.
During the 2025-26 campaign, Smith played in every game and started 12 contests, logging 28 tackles with 2.5 sacks along the defensive line. Russaw began the season as a starter at Wolf linebacker, then was injured during the first half of a game against Georgia on Sept. 27.
Russaw made it back to the field in time for the regular season home finale, playing against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 22, but finished his third season with the Alabama program playing in only nine games. Yhonzae Pierre broke out at the Wolf spot in Russaw’s absence, and Russaw’s entry to the transfer portal became known one day before Smith’s intentions to join him there. Russaw recorded 14 tackles and one sack this past season.
Both players put themselves in a position to be among the key players on the Crimson Tide’s defense in year two of the Kalen DeBoer era. Russaw and Smith each played in every game over the course of the 2024-25 season. Smith earned praise for his explosiveness during fall camp last year.
“James is such an explosive player,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said on Aug. 25. “[He] is in a really good position going into [Florida State] game week. Excited about him.” Also during fall camp, Wommack described Russaw as the freakiest athlete on the defense.
“He’s a special talent,” Wommack said Aug. 6. “What I like about Qua is [him] knowing when to and when not to, from a physical standpoint, be too aggressive. I think he’s learned a lot last year with the experience that he has.”
When Russaw got hurt, DeBoer said it wasn’t expected that the injury (a broken foot) would end his season. As it turned out, the Rose Bowl loss on Jan. 1 against Indiana was the last game in a Crimson Tide uniform for Russaw and Smith. The two combined for one tackle, an assisted stop credited to Russaw.
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This is an opinion column.
It’s tough to see the Crimson Tide take it to the teeth again and again and again.
First it was the pummeling at the Rose Bowl and now Texas is taking its turn rearranging Alabama’s battered face.
The image of Alabama football might never be the same again.
Alabama forgot how to run the ball last season. It was embarrassing to watch. The Tide’s top running back rushed for 13 yards on five carries in the 38-3 loss to Indiana. Quarterback Ty Simpson had the longest run for an Alabama back, but he broke a rib and fumbled the football on the play.
Not good. Sad stuff.
The problems with Alabama’s running game were all going to change in the offseason, though. Coach Kalen DeBoer had big plans. He was going to bring in a transfer running back and reignite the flame.
Yeah, about that …
Alabama was set to sign a new running back last week. Hollywood Smothers (great name) was planning to leave N.C. State for Alabama. That Alabama didn’t already have five running backs better than a guy at N.C. State would make Nick Saban toss his Oatmeal Creme Pies, but let’s focus on one new reality at a time.
On Friday, Smothers flipped his commitment to Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian.
Oof.
But the hits didn’t stop there.
Texas also landed former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman on Sunday despite a max-effort push by Alabama that included hiring Coleman’s receivers coach away from the Tigers.
Is it just the money, or is the problem Alabama’s coaches and their broken offense, too? Either way, these are bitter days in Tuscaloosa. Don’t forget that Alabama also lost receiver Isaiah Horton to the transfer portal. On Sunday evening, news broke that Horton was headed to Texas A&M.
A new week is here and so is a different perception of Alabama. The Crimson Tide is officially a college football underdog. Alabama can’t run the ball against Indiana, and it can’t outspend the schools in Texas.
Is Alabama poor?
Oh, wait. I know. If that’s the case, then no doubt future football governor Tommy Tuberville will know how to fix it.
Until then, Alabama football is looking more and more like Ole Miss every day.
Is it enough for Alabama to simply limp into the playoffs these days? Maybe that’s the new measure of success. I’ll take 11 wins and a beat down by Indiana over missing the party altogether.
How does Alabama football get off the ropes and punch back? I don’t have an answer for that, but the beatings continue.
Alabama’s loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff was the kind of thing that can reshape college football history, but losing all of Alabama’s players to Texas year after year is worse. First it was receiver Isaiah Bond after the Iron Bowl. Bond was the hero of the 2023 Iron Bowl. He’s the player who caught the pass from Jalen Milroe in the back of the end zone.
Bond was going to be an Alabama legend forever. Then he made a “business decision” to leave Alabama for Austin.
We thought it couldn’t get any worse, but that was just the beginning of Alabama’s losses to Texas.
Coleman and Smothers would rather play with Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, and I can’t really blame them. Who’s going to be Alabama’s quarterback next season? No one knows. It’s either forever backup Austin Mack, or unproven underclassman Keelon Russell.
I was hoping the Tide could maybe lure former Arizona State triggerman Sam Leavitt out of the transfer portal, but that was a pipe dream. Leavitt, the top-rated quarterback in the portal, is expected to choose between Miami and Tennessee.
Some readers thought I was crazy on Saturday when I wrote that Auburn is better positioned for the future than Alabama. Then Sunday happened.
Will Alabama ever win another national championship? Seems ridiculous to even ask the question, but things come and go.
Remember when Yale and Princeton ruled college football? Then it was Notre Dame and Michigan for a time.
What about Alabama? Yeah, the Crimson Tide had a good run, too, but that was before money changed everything.
The running back that Alabama wanted chose Texas. The receiver that Alabama wanted went to Texas, too. Horton, a returning starter at receiver, is off to Texas A&M.
Who’s going to be on Alabama’s offensive line next season? No one knows that either. Everyone left.
Right tackle Wilkin Formby would have been a returning starter, but then he went to … you guessed it … Texas A&M.
Alabama’s offensive line was pretty bad last season, but can it get even worse?
When you’re an underdog like Alabama, it’s best to keep the salaries low and expectations even lower.
MAILBAG SOUND OFF
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