Beyond simply becoming the new face of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, Kalen DeBoer is more. He is altering the defensive persona of the program. The contrasts between Alabama’s new defense and that of the previous almost two decades may take some time for the fan base to get used to, but the Tide has the talent to make the transition easy.
Nick Saban’s strategy emphasizes the linebacker play that made his defenses at Alabama famous for 17 years. Reuben Foster, C.J. Mosley, and Reggie Ragland will all play longer on the field. With players like Will Anderson, Dallas Turner, and Henry To’oTo’o, such success has persisted more recently. DeBoer and his new defensive coordinator, Kane Wommack, will bring about a significant schematic change. Using a 4-2-5 base system, Wommack plays five defensive backs, much like teams led by Nick Saban did with a Star in a nickel package.
As Alabama adjusted to the spread offense’s emergence, one of those four linebackers would often go off in favor of the Star under head coach Nick Saban. Saban would occasionally even play six DBs simultaneously in a dime package. A linebacker is also cut in favor of an additional DB in the 4-2-5, although
Leave a Reply