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Alabama football has one more game before it has an open week. And finally, it has a game not against a ranked opponent. That has yet to happen in SEC play. Every team the Crimson Tide has faced in the conference so far has been ranked. This week, Alabama will travel to face a South Carolina team that has sputtered this season. On Monday ahead of the matchup, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack held their weekly press conferences. Here’s a recap of some of what they said. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama coaches preview South Carolina Kalen DeBoer, head coach -- DeBoer called the win over Tennessee a “resilient effort.” -- “Just gotta sustain the focus, sustain the edge we have.” -- DeBoer said South Carolina is “very stout” defensively. -- DeBoer said it’s going to take four quarters of great effort to beat South Carolina on the road. -- DeBoer on LaNorris Sellers: “It’s just one play after the other” ... “You can get to him. That’s one thing. But you’ve also now got to get him down ... It’s going to take multiple guys rallying.” -- DeBoer on maintaining an edge against a struggling South Carolina team: “You always draw on experiences ... There is momentum. There are things we’re doing well” ... But he also noted there are still areas to improve. “Tomorrow morning we’ve got to come with the edge that we’ve had.” -- “The world hasn’t seen Bama’s best yet.” -- DeBoer on carrying the energy from the win over Tennessee: “Our guys understand we’re going to get everyone’s best shot.” -- DeBoer on James Smith’s emotions: “I know how much he cares. I see it. ... As soon as he could, he was back there talking to me, owning it, knowing he messed up.” -- DeBoer on losses to unranked opponents on the road: “There are different reasons” ... “I talked about it all offseason: Be great in the critical moments” ... “I feel like when our fight is there as a team, the experiences we’ve been through ... it’s added to a belief.” Ryan Grubb, offensive coordinator -- Ryan Grubb started by giving a shoutout to the fans. He called that “the most electric atmosphere” he’s ever seen. -- Grubb on Daniel Hill and if he sees an increased role: “I do. We’re a production based business. Daniel certainly did that at the end of the game. He brought a spark to the run game.” -- Grubb on Jaeden Roberts: “J-Rob has been getting healthier every week. I thought he played really good the first quarter” and some in the second quarter, too. -- Grubb praised Ty Simpson for making some clean throwaways. “It saved us some negative plays.” Kane Wommack, defensive coordinator -- “I thought there was a good bit of resiliency from our team. Good fight from our guys.” -- Wommack started coughing. He joked that must have been left over from that cigar smoke from Saturday. -- Wommack thought Alabama took “a step in the right direction” rushing the passer. He still wants Alabama to improve at affecting quarterbacks at end of games. -- “Great fight from our guys” Wommack said about fight in the red zone. -- “Make them snap the ball one more time” is something Kalen DeBoer has been saying, and Kane Wommack echoed that. -- “Fundamentally, we have to keep improving.” -- Wommack said there are fundamental issues when Alabama gives up explosive plays, specifically in the run game. He mentioned tackling. -- Wommack on South Carolina: “This is a fantastic gameday environment.” His dad coached at South Carolina for a couple of games. -- Wommack called LaNorris Sellers “a dangerous quarterback.” -- “Winning does not get easier. It’s only going to get harder.” ... Wommack said there’s an “earned confidence” the players get to have moving forward. -- Wommack on coaching against Mike Shula: “Think highly of their staff.” -- “We have developed the maturity to learn from our past adversity.” ... Wommack said Alabama has learned from the mistakes of the past. -- Wommack said letting complacency creep in is like letting rodents into the house. Once they’re in, it’s hard to get them out. -- Wommack on Zabien Brown’s interception: “That was a tremendous play Zabien made.” ... “Zabien was all over it.” -- Wommack on growth in pass rush: “I think we’re still inconsistent.” ... “Very proud of Yhonzae Pierre and some of the things he did.” ... “When you do your job consistently, good things happen.” -- Wommack on James Smith’s contributions: “James flashes. He’s a very athletic player ... Needs to become more consistent.”
