Alabama Football: 3 takeaways from win vs. Tennessee Vols

3 takeaways for Alabama football vs. Tennessee

2. The secondary is the problem on defense

Alabama had a solid game overall on defense, but the secondary let the Volunteers score too often. Credit Hendon Hooker for making plays when he had opportunities, but the secondary did too much to simplify things for Tennessee.

The Vols have been one of the best teams on the ground this year, and Alabama football obviously committed to stopping the run. That put some stress on the secondary, but they should have been able to handle it with the lack of weapons on Tennessee.

Daniel Wright was the first player to struggle in the secondary. He was simply beat down the field. It wasn’t an elusive route or a speedster. He just wasn’t ready. He got benched for DeMarcco Hellams. Hellams was an improvement, but he has been bad in previous games.

Josh Jobe was also beat on another deep shot. These plays can be back-breakers against an elite team, and they need to be fixed.

There were some bright spots, and Alabama football has depth. We’ll see if younger guys get more reps after the bye week, but something has to change for the Tide secondary. If nothing does, the secondary will be torched by the next elite quarterback they face. Things are volatile right now, and that is a bad sign.