Kane Wommack didn’t say outright that Alabama is changing things at cornerback, but he came awfully close.
After Dijon Lee’s rough night against Georgia - a game that included both coverage problems and a costly mental error in the fourth quarter - Wommack made it clear the freshman won’t simply skate by on talent alone. The Alabama defensive coordinator pointed to accountability, execution and what players have put on film through six games, all of which sounds a lot like a role adjustment could be coming this week against Tennessee.
“Obviously, Dijon at the end of the game, that is not the standard of how we operate,” Wommack said. "I listen to Coach DeBoer talk all year about the discipline that we play with in those moments, and showing guys clips of guys playing outside themselves and playing emotional.
Very disappointing with all the time and effort 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.”
Wommack went further when asked about how he handles production and playing time, making it sound as if rep distribution will reflect what players have earned so far.
“My job is to get the most out of every single player in our defense,” Wommack said. “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. There will be some things that we will do this week, and some things that moving forward - my job as a coordinator is based on the production that you put on the field, the role that you have moving forward.
From a rep-based standpoint, that will be reflected in what guys have done to this point.”
That opens the door for Mercer transfer Carmelo O'Neal, who has already been working as Alabama’s top backup at corner. He has been seeing around 15 to 20 snaps a game, depending on the week, and Wommack even said before addressing Lee’s issues that O'Neal would “continue to elevate his role moving forward.”
Put those comments together, and it’s hard not to see a real chance that O'Neal gets the nod opposite Zabien Brown in Knoxville.
The bigger problem for Alabama is that this isn’t just about one player. The secondary was supposed to be one of the strengths of this team, but through six games it has become a weak spot instead. The Crimson Tide is sitting 105th in the country in yards per pass play allowed, a number that simply doesn’t fit a team with national championship aspirations.
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