On Wednesday, The Athletic previewed Alabama’s offense entering spring practice, which starts on Monday. Today’s spring practice primer takes a deep dive into the defense where the Crimson Tide will have three assistants with a defensive coordinator title: Kane Wommack, Colin Hitschler and Maurice Linguist, with Wommack leading the way as the play caller.
Another person who’s aided Wommack ahead of next week is Nick Saban. The retired coach met with Wommack earlier this month and did so again on Wednesday morning.
“I was promptly early,” Wommack told The Next Round. “I told my wife, it was like cramming for a final the night before, making sure all my cut-ups were ready to go for that meeting.”
Wommack has been closely affiliated with the 4-2-5 defense, a shift from Saban’s 3-4, although over the last several years Alabama evolved into more of a 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 to match up with modern offenses. There is some carryover from Saban’s system to Wommack’s, but there is also new terminology and responsibilities that will highlight spring practice.
Alabama lost 21 players on defense via the NFL Draft and transfer portal, but key pieces remain on all three levels. Plus, several position battles will shape the upcoming season.
Defensive line
The deepest position on…
