Almost two decades ago, running back Darren McFadden walked into the Arkansas locker room wearing a clown costume.
That’s how Kane Wommack remembers one Halloween in Fayetteville, back when the future Alabama football defensive coordinator was a member of the Razorbacks football team. And the costume selection for McFadden couldn’t have been more fitting.
“He was like the class clown,” Wommack told AL.com. “He was always cutting it up. He was always making fun of somebody. He was always telling a joke.”
But McFadden was anything but a joke himself. The two-time Doak Walker award winner, two-time SEC offensive player of the year and unanimous All-American dominated for the Razorbacks en route to becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick in 2008.
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“I thought what was always so impressive about him: He could go from the class clown to the standard of work,” Wommack said.
The wild part: McFadden made up only one part of an absurd Arkansas backfield.
It included McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis, all future NFL running backs, and … Wommack, a backup fullback not near the top of the depth chart. There were others in the backfield as well.
“By sophomore year, it was very evident we could be one of the best backfields of all time,” Wommack said.
He quickly corrected himself.
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“… They could be one of the best backfields of all time.”
So no, Wommack wasn’t exactly a staple in the rotation of what became one of the best SEC backfields of all time. But he was in the room. He was around.
Why does that matter for Alabama football, two decades later? Because the two years Wommack spent at Arkansas from 2005-06 provided some of his first lessons in great offense that later informed his defensive coaching; This season, he brings that to Tuscaloosa as the new guy running the defense.
“My offensive experiences as a player and a coach absolutely shaped who I am as a defensive coordinator,” Wommack said.
3/4/24 MFB MFB spring practice day 1
Kane Wommack
Photo by Kent GidleyCrimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics
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The juice guy
Wommack didn’t need to be reminded of his stats. Before a certain reporter sitting in his office at the Mal M. Moore Athletics Facility on Monday could find them on a page of notes, Wommack jumped in.
“Two carries for six yards,” Wommack said.
Then he chuckled. Wommack might not have a plethora of stats, but he’s got plenty of memories.
“I was a tough ass,” he said. “I played hard. I did everything coaches asked me to do. I was on every special teams. As a younger player, I was the scout team juice guy.”
At first, Wommack ran scout team offense for the Razorbacks. He excelled there, so Arkansas coach Houston Nutt moved him to scout team defense. He wanted Wommack to challenge the offense, and Wommack could still work with the offense primarily as a backup fullback. But he was running scout team linebacker.
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“We would go attack the offense,” Wommack said. “We’d bring energy every day. I was going to make all the checks and communications because I knew what defense we were going to be facing that week.”
Wommack might have been an offensive player in title, but he was already showing signs of defensive aptitude.
The Arkansas masterclass in offense
Wommack offered a scouting report of his former Arkansas teammates.
McFadden was the life of the party. Jones was a little bit quieter. Hillis went about his business but would cut up with teammates as well. All different, but they had one big similarity.
“All three of those guys, when it became about the work, they set the standard of what it was supposed to look like,” Wommack said.
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Arkansas running back Darren McFadden runs for a touchdown during an SEC game against LSU on Nov. 23, 2007, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.AP Photo/Alex Brandon
They worked. And worked well. In 2006, McFadden rushed for 1647 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jones ran for 1168 yards and six touchdowns. Hillis added another score in his role as a fullback.
They led the way as Arkansas went 10-4 and won the SEC West.
Consider them Wommack’s teachers in the ways of elite offense. The top takeaway Wommack had: If defenses don’t stop the run, they’re in trouble.
“If you let people bleed you down the field, you’re going to have a really hard day and you’re going to open things in the passing game,” Wommack said. “Play actions come alive. The trick plays and all that kind of stuff. Screens. So on and so forth. So for us, to make sure you’re rooted and grounded in defending the run I think is critical to being a successful defensive coordinator.”
Wommack witnessed plenty of creativity, too. Specifically, the Wildcat formation. The Arkansas coaches wanted to figure out how to best use McFadden, Jones and Hillis at the same time, so Wommack recalled the wildcat offense making the most sense to them. It proved dangerous; McFadden even threw from it. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 205 yards and seven touchdowns over his three seasons with the Razorbacks.
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“For me, getting to see that and getting to see the hard work of some younger players that I got to come up with, and then the success on the field all the way to an SEC championship game was really rewarding,” Wommack said. “It kind of set the tone of how important playmakers are.”
Continuing education
The next couple chapters on offense in Wommack’s football textbook came courtesy of other places. After two seasons with the Razorbacks, Wommack transferred to Southern Miss. Once his playing career was done, he worked as a Southern Miss graduate assistant on the offensive line. His next job, Wommack became quarterbacks coach at UT-Martin.
Wommack learned plenty more over that time. A few examples:
-How the offensive line protects
-How the offensive line identifies things in the run game
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-How a quarterback goes through progressions in the passing game
That time helped him later shape defenses in terms of disguise and anticipating route concepts.
“It has paid huge dividends in my career,” Wommack said.
Wommack took what he learned about offense and soon transformed into a defensive coach. After a few more graduate assistant stints, he got his first defensive coordinator job with Eastern Illinois in 2014. From there, he spent time at South Alabama and Indiana as defensive coordinator. Before Wommack arrived at Indiana, the defense ranked No. 81 nationally. His first season in 2019, it jumped to No. 45. By 2020, it reached No. 20 in the country. After a stint as South Alabama’s head coach the past three seasons, Wommack is now back in the defensive coordinator chair, working for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama.
Sure, Wommack coaching defense might have been viewed as the likely result considering he grew up the son of a longtime defensive coordinator. But for Wommack, at the root of it all is a start in offense. Specifically, as part of one of the best SEC backfields ever.
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“Seeing that probably helped me from a football foundation standpoint,” Wommack said. “Schematically and just philosophically what you’re trying to get accomplished.”
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State beat Bowling Green 38-31 on Thursday night in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. He carried the ball on the last six plays of the drive, gaining 59 yards on the eight-play, 68-yard march. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, nine coming in the last six games.
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Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give Bowling Green a short field. Five plays later, Smith made a 23-yard catch in the end zone to get within 38-31.
Hunter Summers easily recovered the onside kick and Wallace powered through the middle of the defense for a 19-yard gain to seal it.
Corey Rucker added 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Arkansas State (8-5), which won a bowl game for the first time since 2019 — the same year it last won eight games in a season.
Rucker caught a long pass from Raynor and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for a 24-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. Following a fumble recovery by Noah Collins, Raynor found Rucker for a 6-yard TD to make it 31-21 early in the third.
Connor Bazelak threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green (7-6). Harold Fannin Jr. had 17 catches for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown.
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Fannin reached 125-plus yards with a touchdown for the sixth time this season, which leads the FBS.
Bowling Green’s special teams struggled. Zach Long missed his third field goal attempt of the game (one was blocked) with 10:19 left. The Falcons allowed Courtney Jackson to return a punt for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and BGSU also had a fake punt come up short of a first down in the second half.
Record Holder
Fannin made a catch midway through the first quarter to become the single-season record holder for receiving yards by a tight end in the FBS. He entered needing just 11 yards to surpass Jace Amaro’s record of 1,352 in 2013 at Texas Tech. Fannin finished the season with 1,555 yards.
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Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee
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0 Starts for Texas Tech QB Will Hammond, who will open under center for the Red Raiders against Arkansas after No. 1 QB Behren Morton had shoulder surgery. Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 TDs in 2024. Hammond has completed 15-of-23 passes for 191 yards with one TD and no interceptions this season. Hammond won’t have 1,000-yard receiver Josh Kelly to throw to on Friday. The wide receiver has opted out of the game.
1 Previous appearance in the Liberty Bowl for Texas Tech, which defeated Mississippi State 34-7 on Dec. 28, 2021. That kicked off the Red Raiders’ current three-game bowl winning streak that has boosted Texas Tech’s bowl record for 17-23-1.
2 Players in the nation had at least 2,800 passing yards and 500 rushing yards entering the bowl season – Arkansas QB Taylen Green and Washington State QB John Mateer. Green has completed 219-of-360 passes for 2,813 yards with 13 TDs and nine interceptions and run 141 times for 521 yards and seven TDs.
5 2-point conversions have been given up by Arkansas in 2024, tied for the most in the nation entering the bowl season. Texas Tech has scored four 2-point conversions this season.
7 Appearances in the Liberty Bowl for Arkansas when the Razorbacks take the field on Friday, the most in the game’s history (two ahead of Mississippi State). The Razorbacks have a 3-3 record in the Liberty Bowl after winning their past three appearances. Arkansas defeated East Carolina 20-17 in overtime on Jan. 2, 2010, Kansas State 45-23 on Jan. 2, 2016, and Kansas 55-53 in three overtimes on Dec. 28, 2022, and lost to Tennessee 14-13 on Dec. 20, 1971, Auburn 21-15 on Dec. 27, 1984, and Georgia 20-17 on Dec. 29, 1987. Overall, Arkansas has a 17-24-3 bowl record.
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8 Victories and three losses for Arkansas against opponents from the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in bowls. In bowls against other conferences, the Razorbacks have a 9-21-3 record. Overall, Arkansas has a 34-14 record against Big 12 opponents since 1928, when the Big Six formed, including a 39-31 loss in two overtimes to Oklahoma State on Sept. 7.
10 Victories, 19 losses and two ties for Texas Tech against SEC opponents. The Red Raiders played their first game against an SEC opponent on Jan. 1, 1954, when Texas Tech scored a 35-13 victory over Auburn in the Gator Bowl. The Red Raiders have a 4-6-1 record in bowl against SEC opponents.
21 Victories and 11 losses for SEC teams in the Liberty Bowl. The 1965 Liberty Bowl was all-SEC, with Ole Miss beating Auburn 13-7. Big 12 teams have a 4-7 record in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC has a 4-4 record against the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in the Liberty Bowl.
29 Victories for Arkansas and eight victories for Texas Tech in the Razorbacks-Red Raiders series, although Texas Tech won the most recent meeting 35-29 on Sept. 19, 2015, and has victories in three of the past four meetings. Thirty-two of the 37 meetings came when the teams were members of the Southwest Conference together from 1960 through 1991.
34.5 Points per game have been scored against the Texas Tech this season, the highest average yielded by any bowl participant this season. The Red Raiders led the Big 12 in scoring during the regular season with an average of 38.6 points per game.
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97 Third-down snaps were converted into first downs by Texas Texas in 2024, the most in the nation entering the bowl season. The Red Raiders have had 196 third-down snaps, tied for the second-most in the nation and have converted 49.5 percent into first downs, the sixth-best rate in the nation.
103 Yards and two TDs on 20 rushing attempts in 2024 for Rodney Hill, who is listed as the No. 1 running back on Arkansas’ depth chart for Friday’s game. Ja’Quinden Jackson led the Razorbacks with 790 yards and 15 TDs on 149 rushing attempts this season, but he has opted out of the game.
231 Plays from scrimmage gained at least 10 yards for Arkansas in 2024, the second-most in the nation entering the bowl season.
1,140 Receiving yards for Arkansas WR Andrew Armstrong, the most in the SEC this season. But Armstrong has opted out of the bowl, as has No. 2 receiver Isaiah Sategna, leaving WR Isaac TeSlaa as the Razorbacks’ leading receiver entering Friday’s game. TeSlaa has 438 yards and three TDs on 25 receptions in 2024.
1,505 Rushing yards for Texas Tech RB Tahj Brooks this season as he replaced Byron Hanspard as the Red Raiders’ career rushing leader in 2024. By running for at least 109 yards in each of his 11 games this season, Brooks lifted his career total to 4,557 rushing yards, the fourth-most in Big 12 history. Brooks is in Memphis with Texas Tech, but his participation in Friday’s game has not been confirmed by the team.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
A pair of 7-5 teams from the Sun Belt and MAC are set to square off at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, on Dec. 26 as Arkansas State meets Bowling Green in the 2024 68 Ventures Bowl.
The game has existed since 1999 and gone by quite a few names, most recently the LendingTree Bowl, and this year’s iteration pits two teams that finished with winning records in conference play against each other.
Former Tennessee coach Butch Jones leads the Red Wolves in his fourth season, and they finished third in the Sun Belt West but suffered blowout losses to Louisiana and Texas State, which finished ahead of them.
The Falcons, led by sixth-year coach Scot Loeffler, finished tied for third in the MAC as they were predicted before the season. After a 2-4 start, Bowling Green strung five wins together in a row, a streak that ended in the final week of the regular season against Miami (Ohio).
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A victory in the 68 Ventures Bowl would give Bowling Green its first bowl win since 2014 and the first under Loeffler. It would also mark his first eight-win season and the Falcons’ first since 2015. Jones is also looking for his first eight-win season at Arkansas State, a program that boasts four bowl wins since moving up to FBS in 1992 but none since 2019, before Jones took over.
We’ll see which coach can reach eight wins for the first time at their respective programs when Arkansas State and Bowling Green head to Mobile on Boxing Day.
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