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Alabama media day rolls right along with defensive coordinator Pete Golding up following Nick Sabanās leadoff. Golding enters his third season as defensive coordinator with the bulk of the talent returning from his side of the ball.
Hereās the rundown of Goldingās comments in his annual preseason news conference.
-- Golding said the opportunity to stack spring practices with the preseason in August has a huge impact over last year when spring practices were canceled. āI think thatās kind of the big difference from last year at this point for these young players on defense is that most of these guys had a spring. I think thatās big. I think itās one thing to install on Zoom, slowing that down, from a mental standpoint. But most of these guys are kinesthetic learners; theyāve got to be able to go out and do it.ā
-- On Tennessee transfer Henry Toāo Toāo, Golding said he is āabove and beyondā where transfers normally are at this point in the process. āThe familiarity heās already had with this defense coming from where heās come I think has been good for us,ā Golding said.
-- Alabama needs to do a better job of stopping the run at the linebacker level this fall, Golding said.
-- Thereās more depth this season, Golding said. āWeāve got enough talent, but weāve got to put the work in,ā he said.
-- Among the goals this preseason: eliminating the pre-snap penalties that were an issue last fall.
-- Third downs were also an issue but itās not as simple as that. āWhen youāre living on third-and-three, third-and-four, third-and-five, everything is open and itās tough to defend,ā Golding said. āSo weāve got to do a better job on first and second down from a run standpoint, weāve got to eliminate the mental errors ā thatās year-in and year-out -- and weāve got to do a better job tackling.ā
-- Golding had an interesting perspective on the Alabama football team returning to some of the COVID-19 protocols used last year. āI told our guys the other day that when I put that mask back on in this building, it reminded me of last year; it took me back. Not from a championship standpoint, but just how our kids edited their lives for that personal bubble, all the things they gave up ā going out at night, families coming in, worrying about tickets, all that other stuff. And it allowed them to focus on doing their job. And they gave up all that for one reason, to compete for a championship, and look what happened.ā
-- Golding also had some good insight into sophomore linebacker Will Andersonās development. He said Anderson showed flashes last year in pass-rush situations but he will show the most improvement on running downs. Itās about mastering all phases to get the consistency to play four downs.
-- On Anderson: āI think obviously when you have a young player like that thatās really talented, heās so focused on āHey, whatās my alignment and whatās my assignmentā to where from a pre-snap scan, the anticipation of whatās coming. I look at the demeanor of the tackle. Hey, is this gonna be run or pass? Hey hereās the backfield set right itās gonna be run. What run are you getting? Whoās blocking me? How am I gonna defeat the block? The stimulus and the response.ā
-- Asked about five-star freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry, Golding said the thing that stands out most is his willingness to play aggressively with physicality. Most cornerbacks with his recruiting profile donāt like to hit as much as the Pinson Valley grad does, Golding said. āHe understands the game so again thatās a big piece,ā Golding said. āSo heās got the ability, he has the ability to process and put his face on you. So if we can get that consistent, heās going to be a really good player.ā
-- Offenses have evolved and improved but the standard for Alabama defenses have not. The goal remains to allow fewer than 13 points. The biggest improvement Golden wants to see is increasing turnover production. Alabama had 22 last year and each translated to 4.7 points on subsequent offensive possessions, Golding said.
-- Alabama runs a nickel defense about 90% of the time, Golding estimated.
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Hereās the rundown of Goldingās comments in his annual preseason news conference.
-- Golding said the opportunity to stack spring practices with the preseason in August has a huge impact over last year when spring practices were canceled. āI think thatās kind of the big difference from last year at this point for these young players on defense is that most of these guys had a spring. I think thatās big. I think itās one thing to install on Zoom, slowing that down, from a mental standpoint. But most of these guys are kinesthetic learners; theyāve got to be able to go out and do it.ā
-- On Tennessee transfer Henry Toāo Toāo, Golding said he is āabove and beyondā where transfers normally are at this point in the process. āThe familiarity heās already had with this defense coming from where heās come I think has been good for us,ā Golding said.
-- Alabama needs to do a better job of stopping the run at the linebacker level this fall, Golding said.
-- Thereās more depth this season, Golding said. āWeāve got enough talent, but weāve got to put the work in,ā he said.
-- Among the goals this preseason: eliminating the pre-snap penalties that were an issue last fall.
-- Third downs were also an issue but itās not as simple as that. āWhen youāre living on third-and-three, third-and-four, third-and-five, everything is open and itās tough to defend,ā Golding said. āSo weāve got to do a better job on first and second down from a run standpoint, weāve got to eliminate the mental errors ā thatās year-in and year-out -- and weāve got to do a better job tackling.ā
-- Golding had an interesting perspective on the Alabama football team returning to some of the COVID-19 protocols used last year. āI told our guys the other day that when I put that mask back on in this building, it reminded me of last year; it took me back. Not from a championship standpoint, but just how our kids edited their lives for that personal bubble, all the things they gave up ā going out at night, families coming in, worrying about tickets, all that other stuff. And it allowed them to focus on doing their job. And they gave up all that for one reason, to compete for a championship, and look what happened.ā
-- Golding also had some good insight into sophomore linebacker Will Andersonās development. He said Anderson showed flashes last year in pass-rush situations but he will show the most improvement on running downs. Itās about mastering all phases to get the consistency to play four downs.
-- On Anderson: āI think obviously when you have a young player like that thatās really talented, heās so focused on āHey, whatās my alignment and whatās my assignmentā to where from a pre-snap scan, the anticipation of whatās coming. I look at the demeanor of the tackle. Hey, is this gonna be run or pass? Hey hereās the backfield set right itās gonna be run. What run are you getting? Whoās blocking me? How am I gonna defeat the block? The stimulus and the response.ā
-- Asked about five-star freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry, Golding said the thing that stands out most is his willingness to play aggressively with physicality. Most cornerbacks with his recruiting profile donāt like to hit as much as the Pinson Valley grad does, Golding said. āHe understands the game so again thatās a big piece,ā Golding said. āSo heās got the ability, he has the ability to process and put his face on you. So if we can get that consistent, heās going to be a really good player.ā
-- Offenses have evolved and improved but the standard for Alabama defenses have not. The goal remains to allow fewer than 13 points. The biggest improvement Golden wants to see is increasing turnover production. Alabama had 22 last year and each translated to 4.7 points on subsequent offensive possessions, Golding said.
-- Alabama runs a nickel defense about 90% of the time, Golding estimated.
What Pete Golding said about Henry Toāo Toāo, defensive progress, star freshman DB
Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding gave his annual preseason comments as Alabama opens its 2021 practice schedule.
