"Breed a sense of urgency": Alabama DC Kane Wommack points out what the Crimson Tide's defense needs to do to take the next step in 2025

Kane Wommack will face a few challenges in his first year at Alabama. The defense was one of the areas where the Crimson Tide encountered difficulty in Kalen DeBoer's first season. This proved costly as the team finished with a 9-4 record and missed out on the College Football Playoff.

However, the program is looking to put the lessons learned in the 2024 season to use in 2025. In his first press conference of the spring practice, Kane Wommack made it known that the team has to foster a “sense of urgency” in taking the next step following the poor outing in 2024.

"When you look at a young group of guys, and this starts with me, right?” Wommack said. “My first year here, I think the biggest experience that we can all gain from last season is there has to be a sense of urgency to do the same high-level job every single day.

“I don't think it was malicious by anybody from the standpoint ofamaybe you have a good day here; you'reofocused here, or walking into this game vs. that game. But when you have success, it should breed a sense of urgency to create more success for you. And I don't think we handled success well as a team.

As Kane Wommack noted, Alabama didn't manage success well last season. Following the big win against Georgia in Week 5, the Tide lost to Vanderbilt for the first time in four decades. The same situation repeated itself at Oklahoma following the big win over LSU.

Kane Wommack cites the area of concern for Alabama defense

There are many things Alabama will correct in its defense ahead of the 2025 college football season to get back to the standard expected of the program. However, Kane Wommack pointed out an area of the defense that currently gives him some concern as the spring ball goes on.

"I don't know if I ever feel like I have enough depth on the interior,” Wommack said. “It's certainly an area I think from a defensive standpoint, it's probably one of our biggest areas of depth concern. Development is the best recipe for that. We'll make sure we address those needs in any way we need to before the season."

Alabama boasts some experienced players in the defense's interior, including Tim Keenan III and James Smith. A host of young players have also been singled out by Kane Wommack, including Edric Hill and Jeremiah Beaman. Nonetheless, the coach wishes the depth to be thicker.