Alabama DC tells what happened on Vanderbilt’s early explosive run plays

Alabama football’s defense has struggled with stopping explosive plays at times this season, and it bit the Crimson Tide early against Vanderbilt.

The Commodores’ running back, Sedrick Alexander exploded for a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put Vanderbilt up 7-0. Diego Pavia ripped off a 36-yard run later in the first. Fortunately for Alabama, Pavia fumbled later in the drive.

The Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack discussed those explosive plays during his Monday Press Conference.

“Obviously, the rushing yards in the first quarter, we had some unacceptable situations,” Wommack said. “We had two errors. One was a misfit, if you will, just not taking the air out of your gap. And another one was we didn’t have a defensive lineman that slanted properly and gave up two explosive runs. We’ve got to create more overlap in the defense in those but certainly a nice job the last three quarters from defending their run game.”

Alabama went on to suffocate the Vanderbilt offense for much of the game, specifically in the second quarter when the Crimson Tide kept the Commodores off the board.

The Tide’s defense and their ability to stop the run will be tested once again when they take on Missouri on the road on Saturday.