DeBoer Shares Disappointment in Lack of Effort During FSU Game

Florida State dominated Alabama in a 31-17 victory for the Seminoles on Saturday, but Alabama beat itself as much as Florida State beat them with a lack of effort and energy by the Crimson Tide's defense.

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On Monday, Alabama's coaching staff was asked about the lack of effort by the Crimson Tide's defense, and the coaching staff said it was "shocking" and "disappointing."

"We were certainly disappointed in some effort situations that happened. I think they came in different ways. Some of it's just flat out gotta pursue, gotta get there," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "It surprises you sometimes when it happens, especially with certain guys, because of the effort that they put in day in and day out. But I think there were some other things that come across as hesitancy. That's the way I kind of put it. I think after the game, probably would follow that up and say that there was a couple times where we just gotta be quicker to get to a spot and do our job."

"Highly disappointed in the way we played the game the other day," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. "I thought in the midst of adversity, we played hesitant. Which is not the identity of this defense. I think we've got a group of young men that take a lot of pride in the way they play, the effort they play with, and I thought we played too much on our heels on the road. With adversity as a coaching staff, we have to do a better job on the road of creating a sideline environment of making sure our guys are ready to go respond. That starts with me and our coaches and making sure our players know how to respond in a moment of adversity. I have great confidence in our players. I think the level of ownership I've seen from our guys has been really strong the last 48 hours here. I think we're ready to go put a product together on the field on Saturday that our fans, this university can be very proud of. Look forward to doing that this week. "

How will Alabama address the lack of physicality on the defensive side of the ball?

"One of our keys to victory was, when you're playing a team that moves laterally in the one-plus quarterback system, there has to be elements of being patient to let the ball declare. Once the ball declares, one of our keys to victory was to finish with violence and aggressiveness on the ball. I thought we let some of the things they did put us on our heels. We didn't respond well enough when adversity hit. Those things, you can tell them. Sometimes you have to be shown. Once our players were shown, I think they're ready to respond."

"“These guys, they're great kids. They got high character. They wanted it bad," DeBoer said. "And so it's just showing them. 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 gonna be something I use a lot more this week again. Just be intentional on what we're trying to accomplish with quality reps and making sure that every rep is done at a high level, from the effort to the execution.”

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.