As usual, we got a press conference from the head coach and both coordinators yesterday while the team had the day off of practice. Let’s jump right in.
Kane Wommack
On what is preventing from ending quarterback pressures with a sack:
“Honestly, you’ve got to be able to have guys that can finish, and right now we’re not doing that. We’re not doing that well enough. I think angles is a huge piece of that. I think closing space on a quarterback is a huge indicator, right, of having success. But right now we’re letting
quarterbacks — we can flush them out of the pocket, but we’re not doing nearly a good enough job of getting the quarterback on the ground.
“We had 12 TFLs in the game the other day with no sacks. I don’t know if that’s ever happened, at least in my experience. We got to do a better job. I’ve got to find a better way to get the quarterback on the ground, at least in terms of what we’re doing schematically. I need to help our guys out in that regard.”
It was a fairly short presser from Wommack, who usually goes over 10 minutes. All in all, he didn’t say too much, but I’ll be interested to see what, if anything, he can come up with schematically to help with finishing sacks.
Ryan Grubb
On Ty Simpson wanting to be coached harder:
“That’s not surprising. That’s something that Ty certainly shared with me as well. That was something I told him after the first game was, I told you everybody on the team’s got to look inward, what we can own. I thought maybe I wasn’t hard enough on Ty. I didn’t harden him enough for the moment in the first week and I told him I wouldn’t make that mistake again.”
I thought this was an interesting quote from Grubb that he wasn’t coaching Ty Simpson “hard enough” to prepare him for difficult times.
Grubb also was asked about Michael Carroll and was asked if it was a competition between him and Wilkin Formby for the RT spot. Grubb immediately said “100%” and that’s been making the headlines, but he also quickly followed that with “everyone is always in a competition for their job”, so I’m not sure how much to read into it.
In any case, Carroll looked exceptional in a good amount of playing time last week. Of course, Formby was also pretty much flawless against Louisiana-Monroe, so grain of salt and all that. Still, Carroll’s upside as a true freshman is out the roof, and if he can supplant a veteran midseason, that’s pretty much best-case scenario for Alabama.
Kalen DeBoer
Everything Kalen DeBoer said Monday before Alabama hosts Wisconsin
On Lotzeir Brooks’ play against ULM, could that affect where Ryan Williams plays: “I think that’s certainly a really valid question and a thought process that we’re going to continue to go through. Lotty’s built up a lot of momentum. When I say Lotty— Lotzier. Built up a lot of momentum here in the last three or four weeks. He had a nice spring and made some plays on Saturday and so got some confidence in him. Made guys miss, had some big catches on third down. In the first game, he played with some aggression on some special teams plays that we were hoping for, and he came through. As far as how it affects everything, it adds him to the mix, which then moves people around. It doesn’t mean you have to play everyone in the same spot the whole game. I think Germ can play inside and outside. I think Ryan can play inside and outside. We’ve just got to be continually evaluating that throughout the season, and different dynamics will change too that are maybe unknown right now, fortunate or unfortunate. Ryan’s got that versatility. He’s taken a number of snaps inside, but we know what he can do outside, too. He made a lot of nice plays, as we all know, on the outside. I thought Isaiah, Germ, they did some nice things, too. Rico did his thing both inside and outside. We’ve got a lot of versatility with the guys, we’ve just got to continue to hone in on how it all fits together.”
Lotzeir Brooks just looks like he moves differently than the others. I don’t know how the rotation will shake out throughout the season, but it really looks like Brooks needs to be on the field.
Alabama football might be inching closer to the return of its biggest star. Ryan Williams.
DeBoer was asked about the sophomore’s status during his Monday press conference, after the Tide beat Louisiana-Monroe 73-0 on Saturday, along with UA’s other injuries. He didn’t mention Williams by name, but gave a general update.
“We’ve got a number of guys that are day-to-day,” DeBoer said.
That group also could include running back Jam Miller, defensive lineman Tim Keenan and edge rusher Jah-Marien Latham. The only player DeBoer specifically gave an update on was Miller, who is recovering nicely from a dislocated collarbone, and could potentially play against Wisconsin Saturday.
That was about the most non-answer one could give.
Personally, I don’t expect Williams, Miller, Keenan, or Latham back until after the bye week. It just doesn’t make sense with any of their specific injuries to rush them back this week when there’s a bye the very next week. Give them time, then let them return vs UGA if they’re ready.
Speaking of injured players, based on Luke Fickell’s words here, I don’t expect starting QB Billy Edwards Jr. to play this week:
Heading into the week, the biggest question continues to be the health of starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who missed Saturday’s game with the lower-body injury he suffered in Week 1.
What’s the latest on Wisconsin’s starter?
“I don’t know a whole lot about Billy,” head coach Luke Fickell said ahead of the week. “It’s a Monday, so we’ll see as we continue to push forward in the week. But, we’ll obviously get prepared either way.”
“He’s throwing the ball around. He is here constantly, getting treatments and things like that. I think it is really how he feels in terms of later in the week. We’re going to have to protect Billy from himself. I know that at some point in time, [he’ll return]. I don’t know when that is, but he’s a guy that’s going to be prepared [and] always wants to go.”
Of course, Danny O’Neil was quite impressive last week in his stead, so I’m not sure how much it matters. Still, this will probably be two years in a row that Alabama faces Wisconsin’s backup QB.
Alabama defensive end LT Overton said the defense gave the Crimson Tide a “spark” on the sideline, one generated by the Justin Jefferson interception and forced fumbled by QB Reese and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. But it’s not limited to turnovers.
It came from the enthusiasm of a player like James Smith barreling through the line of scrimmage for one of his three tackles-for-loss.
It came from Jefferson’s pass breakup on the third defensive play of the game, one that led to ample celebration on the sideline.
To Overton, that “spark” should stem from “dudes doing their job.”
That’s what carries over, he said. That’s what Overton wants to see continue as the focus turns from ULM to Wisconsin and beyond.
I thought this was a cool article from Colin Gay putting together some player quotes and trying to encapsulate Alabama’s response to the criticism of a lack of effort in week 1. I liked how Overton phrased things here, with a “spark” coming from “doing your job.”
Now let’s just keep doing that, even in away games.
Roll Tide!
