Alabama football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack liked plenty of what he saw from his defense against Western Kentucky. It was a shutout after all.

Wommack liked how the defense played dominant up front, the handling of WKU’s tempo offense, affecting the quarterback, battling in the red zone, and more.

But like any coach, Wommack saw areas for improvement for his defenders.

For the most part, he thought Alabama tackled well. But not completely.

“There was a drive where we had a couple of missed tackles on some critical third downs and we’ve got to get those things cleaned up, particularly some vision coverage where our guys did not have their eyes on the quarterback and so their feet weren’t in the ground to drive on the ball once the ball was thrown,” Wommack said.

Wommack also didn’t like how his defense failed to capitalize more on takeaways. He called Keon Sabb’s two first-quarter interceptions a positive, but he wanted more than that.

“I thought we had opportunities to score on defense multiple times and we did not make the most of those opportunities,” Wommack said. “We also had opportunities in the backfield, sacks are great, but sack fumbles are way better to get the ball back for our offense right there on the spot. So those are things that the guys have really been challenged on.”

Wommack said he didn’t think the defense “met the standard of what we are capable of as a defense there.” He wants to see a response from his players on that front.

“In terms of their intentionality to take the ball away, punching, raking at the ball, all those types of things did not show up to the level that I think we’re capable of,” Wommack said. “So we will make that a huge point of emphasis.”

No. 5 Alabama (1-0) will face South Florida (1-0) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

ATLANTA – After 24 years of investigation, authorities have arrested Clarence George, 63, of Alabama, in connection with the murder of Julie Ann McDonald. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office announced that George has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in McDonald’s death.

George was arrested on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at approximately 11:30 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals Service in Birmingham, Alabama.

The case dates back to June 11, 2000, when the body of Julie McDonald was discovered in her home on Arnold Lane in Lafayette, Georgia. Despite diligent efforts by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI at the time, the case remained unsolved for many years.

Significant progress was made between 2015 and 2016 when a Walker County detective and a GBI Special Agent reviewed the case and resubmitted evidence for testing. Although these tests did not identify a suspect, the investigation continued.

Between 2023 and 2024, renewed efforts by a Walker County Lieutenant and a GBI Special Agent led to the reexamination and retesting of evidence. Their work ultimately resulted in the charges against George.

Clarence George is currently being held at the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, awaiting extradition to Georgia to face the charges.

Kyle Larson is currently leading the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, but he couldn’t do it without his pit crew, which includes front tire changer Blaine Anderson.

Anderson is a former walk-on football player at Alabama, where he was part of a national championship squad.

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!

The USA broadcast highlighted Anderson on Sunday night, putting a spotlight on a guy who normally does a lot of the gritty work behind the scenes for one of NASCAR’s best drivers.

“Blaine was a football player at Alabama, actually walked on for coach (Nick) Saban and these shots are from the 2015 national championship game,” the broadcast noted as it showed pictures of Anderson celebrating a title. “He was a safety and also a special teams player.”

Now he’s a front tire changer for Larson, hauling heavy tires and slinging them around on the track. It’s a job that takes a lot of physical ability.

To that end, Blaine Anderson has been well prepared.

“But he gives credit to Scott Cochran, who he tells me is the most famous strength coach in college football,” the broadcast said. “He said he’s the one who told me try NASCAR after your football career, and he’s still here years later.”

Not only is he still here, he’s competing for one of the top teams in NASCAR. And Kyle Larson will have playoff aspirations following this weekend.

It’s a different kind of playoffs for Blaine Anderson, but he knows a thing or two about preparing to be on the big stage.

Saban made sure of that.

“I asked him the No. 1 lesson you learned from Nick Saban, he said, ‘Honestly, discipline,’” the broadcast said. “I said, ‘With what?’ He said, ‘With everything.’ No doubt about it.”

An Alabama biography for Blaine Anderson online did not list him as recording any statistics for the Crimson Tide. He appeared on the roster in 2015 and 2016.