Kane Wommack tells what went into fixing Alabama’s early-season tackling issues

Nov 8, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Red Morgan (16) tackles Louisiana State Tigers wide receiver Barion Brown (6) during the fourth quarter of the game at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

According to Pro Football Focus, Alabama football’s defense only missed one tackle against LSU last Saturday. The Crimson Tide have come a long way defensively since the first game of the season.

Alabama missed 14 tackles against Florida State in the season opener, and the criticism rained down on the players and coaches. Now, the defense has become the strength of the team as the offense is in a bit of a rough patch with no reliable running game.

Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack explained why he believes Alabama’s defense is trending in the right direction and why their tackling has improved tremendously.

“Good defenses trend in the right direction from a tackling efficient standpoint,” Wommack said. “As the season goes on, if you’re not efficient in tackling, it’s going to show up. I think we’re getting better and better at that. I think structurally, the way that we play a more of a vision style defense, right, there’s a lot more vice tackles. There’s not a lot of yards after catch or yards after contact. So that structurally kind of helps us as well. I thought our players, going back to the point I made at the beginning, that was probably the fastest I’ve seen us play as a defense to this point in the season, and one of our keys to victory going in because they [LSU] were so dynamic in their receiving core and their athletes was that we really had to swarm the ball, and I think our players played hard and played fast. When you do that, two things tend to be the case: you’re gonna do a good job at tackling and limiting yards after contact, and then you’re also going to create takeaways. Effort always creates takeaways.”

The effort is being put on display for the entire nation to view. Without stout defensive play, the Crimson Tide would likely not be undefeated in SEC play. Swarming the football is something Wommack has preached since he arrived in Tuscaloosa a year ago, and the toughest part is actually doing that.

The Crimson Tide are sharp tacklers and get multiple crimson jerseys to the ball. That will be the key to maintaining a solid defensive presence throughout the season.