To say that Kane Wommack’s new Alabama defense will see a lot of offensive variety early is an understatement. Western Kentucky and South Florida are offensive-minded teams. Wisconsin, with Air Raid alum Phil Longo, who is in his second season, also likes to play fast.

Last season, Western Kentucky was No. 15 among FBS teams in passing yards with 296.4 yards per game. South Florida was No. 32 with the same statistic with 268.8 yards. The Badgers were No. 71 with 220.2 yards. In total offense, Wisconsin was No. 92 with a meager 23.5 points per game. Wisconsin wasn’t effective enough on offense last season playing fast to be anything but self-destructive. Longo looks for balanced efficiency in his Air Raid schemes and doesn’t neglect running the ball. Last season, the pass-run mix was nearly even for the Badgers.

At Western Kentucky, Tyson Helton is entering his sixth season as head coach, all with the Hilltoppers. Helton was at Western Kentucky as the OC/QB coach during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He left to join his brother at USC as the Trojans’ passing game coordinator and QB coach. Helton spent one season at Tennessee as the OC/QB coach before landing his first head coaching job with the Hilltoppers.

Helton describes his offensive philosophy as a mix of tempo-based Air Raid and West Coast. Helton credits Lincoln Riley for his awareness that the best offenses are diverse and should include an effective rushing attack.

At South Florida, Alex Golesh is not your average speed guy. His offensive style has been described as “go-go-go,” meaning super fast. Golesh successfully ran Tennessee’s offenses in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The idea of ​​playing fast has always been pretty simple. Golesh describes it this way: “When you play fast offensively, the defense may be unprepared or confused. That can lead to fatigue, mistakes, botched assignments or mismatches.” In the second week of the season, Golesh and USF will try to do just that with the Alabama Crimson Tide’s secondary.

Against the Hilltoppers and the Bulls, and to some extent the Badgers, the new Crimson Tide secondary will be put to the test. It will be a challenge that some of the Tide’s defensive backs have never experienced before. Expect some missed calls; maybe even some miscues that lead to explosive touchdowns. Such mistakes will not determine the outcome of the three games. The Crimson Tide will win, and importantly, Alabama’s defense will gain valuable experience.

Note: Team data provided by cfbstats.com