Alabama football: Kalen DeBoer, Kane Wommack talk effort vs. Florida State

Since Alabama football suffered an embarrassing 31-17 loss at Florida State Saturday, the Crimson Tide’s effort was called into question. Film showed players looking lackadaisical on some plays, especially on defense.

On Monday, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was asked about whether he thought effort was a problem.

“I thought we played hesitant,” Wommack said. “I thought we let adversity put us on our heels and we played hesitant at times because of that. And that was, I think, striking for all of us because that’s not the identity of our defense. It’s never been who we are. It’s not who these players are.”

Alabama was favored by two touchdowns entering Saturday’s game. The Seminoles won just two games all of 2024, and were largely rebuilt from the transfer portal.

With the loss, head coach Kalen DeBoer equaled the number of defeats at the hands of unranked opponents that Nick Saban ran up throughout his career. DeBoer also discussed the effort issue on Monday.

“We’re certainly disappointed in some effort situations that happened,” DeBoer said, speaking specifically about the defense. “They came in different ways, and some of it’s just flat out, gotta pursue. Gotta get there. And it surprises you sometimes when it happens, especially with certain guys because of the of effort that they put out.”

The defense wasn’t the only part of the team that saw its effort questioned after the Florida State loss. A look at the wide receiver group also showed moments when players did not seem to be finishing plays.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb pointed at one player he wanted the rest of the group to emulate, effort-wise.

“That’s what it’s supposed to look like,” Grubb said of Germie Bernard’s play. If you’re watching the game, I mean the guy’s running in and blocking their aztec player that’s running down the middle of the field and smoking that due. And he’s running down the sideline catching a play-action pass.

“His desire and passion for the game, you just see how he plays whether it’s a run block or a pass play. And we just set that as the gold standard. If it’s not what Germ’s doing, it’s not good enough.”

Alabama faces Louisiana-Monroe this week, a possible opportunity to recover from the loss with a weaker opponent. DeBoer said moving forward, he wouldn’t expect effort to be an issue.

“These guys are great kids,” DeBoer said. “They’ve got high character. They want it bad. And so it’s just showing them, and a lot of times they already know, and making sure that we continue to be intentional. That’s a word that I use a lot and it’s going to be something I use a lot more this week.”

Alabama and ULM are scheduled to kick off at 6:45 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.