Kane Wommack breaks down importance, options at Husky position
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama’s defense will feature a few new terms this fall. One of them will be what was known as the Star position, or the nickel defensive back. Now under new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, that role is known as the Husky. And it’s important.
“The Husky position is such a critical spot for us because you’re really asking a guy with a dynamic skill set to do a lot of different things,” Wommack explained. “He’s got to play man, he’s got to play zone, he’s got to be able to rush off the edge, he’s got to be able to fit in the box from time to time. So there are a lot of things at play there.”
Last season, Malachi Moore lined up in the slot as the Star in Nick Saban’s defensive scheme. It’s a role the Alabama veteran has occupied for most of his college career as he enters his fifth and final season. But this spring – and carrying over into fall camp – Moore made the switch to safety, where he and Keon Sabb and manned the back end of the defense.
That leaves the Husky position up for grabs, and Wommack provided some possible options.
“I’ve been pleased with a number of those guys so far,” Wommack said.
“I think DeVonta Smith has done a really good job. Red Morgan has really impressed me. It’s always fun to watch freshmen from where they were in the spring to where they are headed and that jump that they make through the summertime. I think he’s probably made a huge jump in that regard.
“I’ve been pleased with some of the things I’ve seen from King Mack, as well. Coming from another institution, learning all the things that he needed to learn. He’s made a step here in the summertime here to be able to do that so he can execute at the level we need him to.”
Smith is the oldest player of that trio as a redshirt junior. Early on in fall camp, he has been the first player at the Husky position when Alabama has had its entire secondary on the field. To this point in his Crimson Tide career, Smith has been a reserve, although he appeared to be on his way to carving out a meaningful role last preseason before suffering an injury that sidelined him for nine games. In early August, he’s at the front of the line of Huskies.
A Phenix City, Alabama native, Morgan enrolled early and was a pleasant surprise in the spring. With Smith still recovering from his 2023 injury, Morgan received reps at the Husky position with the first-team defense. He was with the twos in the A-Day Game, and that was what reporters saw at Tuesday’s practice. Meanwhile, Mack was third in line. A transfer from Penn State, Mack is a former top-100 recruit who was a freshman reserve on special teams.
Dating back to the spring, the Husky position has been primarily manned by safety types. But do Alabama cornerbacks or any of its deep safeties cross-train in the slot in practice?
“Nowadays, you really see this in the NFL – Brian Branch is a great example of that – people are really trying to get a nickel, a Husky-nickel-type player down in and down out,” Wommack said. “And you almost have to recruit or draft to that position specifically. But I think the same way in the NFL, probably even more so than us, you always have to have the next best guy out of that room that can step in anywhere.
“If it’s at the Husky position, if it’s at the Rover, safety, field or boundary, whatever it may be, you’ve got to have crossover work out of that whole safety group.”
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