Alabama’s late-game loss to Georgia turned on one costly mistake, and Kane Wommack made it clear Monday that Dijon Lee’s role going forward is now tied to how he responds.
With the Crimson Tide one stop away from getting the ball back and a shot to win, Lee committed the kind of error that can’t happen in that spot. He struck a Georgia player after the whistle, drawing a 15-yard penalty that helped the Bulldogs run out the clock in their 20-17 win.
Kalen DeBoer reacted immediately on the sideline, and Wommack said he shared that frustration.
“Obviously, Dijon at the end of the game, and that is not the standard of how we operate,” Wommack said. “You know, I listen to coach DeBoer all year talk about the discipline that we play with in those moments, and showing guys clips of guys playing outside of themselves and playing emotional, and so very disappointing in all the time and effort that we put into that, that showed up in that moment. But he will be held accountable for it, and we will continue to move forward as a football team.”
Lee has started at corner all season for Alabama, but he has had his share of problems with penalties and giving up explosive plays. Still, the flag against Georgia stood out as his toughest moment yet because of when it happened and what it cost.
Wommack was asked what accountability might look like, and he pointed directly to playing time.
“My job is to get the most out of every single player in our defense, right?” Wommack said.
“And so, the things that I need to do to get him to execute at a higher level than what he’s doing from an execution standpoint, that’s one facet, and then the other facet is being held accountable for the penalty there at the end of the game. “
And so you know there’ll be some things that we will do this week, and some things, obviously, moving forward. My job as a coordinator is based upon the production that you put on the field, the role that you have moving forward, and so from a rep-based standpoint, you know that that will be reflective in what guys have done to this point."
Alabama now turns to Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
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