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Alabama media day rolls right along with defensive coordinator Pete Golding up following Nick Saban’s leadoff. Golding enters his third season as defensive coordinator with the bulk of the talent returning from his side of the ball.
Here’s the rundown of Golding’s 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. “I think that’s 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 that’s big. I think it’s one thing to install on Zoom, slowing that down, from a mental standpoint. But most of these guys are kinesthetic learners; they’ve got to be able to go out and do it.”
-- On Tennessee transfer Henry To’o To’o, Golding said he is “above and beyond” where transfers normally are at this point in the process. “The familiarity he’s already had with this defense coming from where he’s come I think has been good for us,” Golding said.
-- Alabama needs to do a better job of stopping the run at the linebacker level this fall, Golding said.
-- There’s more depth this season, Golding said. “We’ve got enough talent, but we’ve got to put the work in,” 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 it’s not as simple as that. “When you’re living on third-and-three, third-and-four, third-and-five, everything is open and it’s tough to defend,” Golding said. “So we’ve got to do a better job on first and second down from a run standpoint, we’ve got to eliminate the mental errors – that’s year-in and year-out -- and we’ve got to do a better job tackling.”
-- Golding had an interesting perspective on the Alabama football team returning to some of the COVID-19 protocols used last year. “I 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 – 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.”
-- Golding also had some good insight into sophomore linebacker Will Anderson’s development. He said Anderson showed flashes last year in pass-rush situations but he will show the most improvement on running downs. It’s about mastering all phases to get the consistency to play four downs.
-- On Anderson: “I think obviously when you have a young player like that that’s really talented, he’s so focused on ‘Hey, what’s my alignment and what’s my assignment’ to where from a pre-snap scan, the anticipation of what’s coming. I look at the demeanor of the tackle. Hey, is this gonna be run or pass? Hey here’s the backfield set right it’s gonna be run. What run are you getting? Who’s blocking me? How am I gonna defeat the block? The stimulus and the response.”
-- 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 don’t like to hit as much as the Pinson Valley grad does, Golding said. “He understands the game so again that’s a big piece,” Golding said. “So he’s got the ability, he has the ability to process and put his face on you. So if we can get that consistent, he’s going to be a really good player.”
-- 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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Here’s the rundown of Golding’s 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. “I think that’s 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 that’s big. I think it’s one thing to install on Zoom, slowing that down, from a mental standpoint. But most of these guys are kinesthetic learners; they’ve got to be able to go out and do it.”
-- On Tennessee transfer Henry To’o To’o, Golding said he is “above and beyond” where transfers normally are at this point in the process. “The familiarity he’s already had with this defense coming from where he’s come I think has been good for us,” Golding said.
-- Alabama needs to do a better job of stopping the run at the linebacker level this fall, Golding said.
-- There’s more depth this season, Golding said. “We’ve got enough talent, but we’ve got to put the work in,” 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 it’s not as simple as that. “When you’re living on third-and-three, third-and-four, third-and-five, everything is open and it’s tough to defend,” Golding said. “So we’ve got to do a better job on first and second down from a run standpoint, we’ve got to eliminate the mental errors – that’s year-in and year-out -- and we’ve got to do a better job tackling.”
-- Golding had an interesting perspective on the Alabama football team returning to some of the COVID-19 protocols used last year. “I 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 – 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.”
-- Golding also had some good insight into sophomore linebacker Will Anderson’s development. He said Anderson showed flashes last year in pass-rush situations but he will show the most improvement on running downs. It’s about mastering all phases to get the consistency to play four downs.
-- On Anderson: “I think obviously when you have a young player like that that’s really talented, he’s so focused on ‘Hey, what’s my alignment and what’s my assignment’ to where from a pre-snap scan, the anticipation of what’s coming. I look at the demeanor of the tackle. Hey, is this gonna be run or pass? Hey here’s the backfield set right it’s gonna be run. What run are you getting? Who’s blocking me? How am I gonna defeat the block? The stimulus and the response.”
-- 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 don’t like to hit as much as the Pinson Valley grad does, Golding said. “He understands the game so again that’s a big piece,” Golding said. “So he’s got the ability, he has the ability to process and put his face on you. So if we can get that consistent, he’s going to be a really good player.”
-- 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 Alabama defense, newcomers
Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding gave his annual preseason comments as Alabama opens its 2021 practice schedule.
