The worst way of failing to get off the field on third down is when a defense fails on 3rd-and-long. The 2025 good Alabama football defense's poor performance in that situation must not be repeated in the coming season.
How bad was Alabama on 3rd-and-long last season? The answer is dead last among all SEC teams, allowing opponents to convert on third down 68.6% of the time when 10-plus yards were needed. The Crimson Tide was better but still not great when opposing offenses needed 7-9 yards for a third-down conversion;10th among SEC teams at 56.7%. The same weaknesses also occurred in the 2024 season.
Kane Wommack has ample reason to ensure his defensive fronts don't get pushed around in 2026. What the uber-talented Alabama secondary needs is for the Crimson Tide to frequently pressure opposing quarterbacks with four pass rushers. Even great pass defenders should not be expected to keep good receivers cloaked for too long.
Should Wommack make a scheme change in the Alabama secondary?
Wommack, Mo Linguist, and Jason Jones have an abundance of talented defensive backs to employ. Blake Brockermeyer recently ranked college football's 10 best secondaries. He ranked Alabama No. 4, behind Notre Dame, Miami, and Oregon. A strong argument can be made that Alabama's secondary will be the best. Alabama arguably has the best pair of cornerbacks in Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee Jr., along with two future NFL players at safety in Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard. If Red Morgan is not quite as good, he is no weak link.
The depth behind Wommack's Swarm defensive backfield starters is considerable. Less experienced but not short on talent are Ivan Taylor, Chuck McDonald III, Zavier Mincey, and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. Transfer corner Carmelo O'Neal has gained frequent praise. Freshmen Jordan Edmonds and Jireh Edwards are expected to become future stars.
Kane Wommack's use of dime packages is infrequent. Maybe that should change. With six defensive backs, Bray Hubbard could work from the box, as he sometimes did last season. In Dime, Alabama could use more man coverage, which would please Nick Saban. Dijon Lee Jr. has said that the Crimson Tide has been working more on press coverage.
'Dime' will not supplant 'Nickel' for Kane Wommack, but it could be used more effectively and more often in the coming season.
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