Kane Wommack Details Longtime Relationship With Florida State OC

But another reason to watch this matchup in Tallahassee came on Saturday morning following Alabama's third day of fall camp. Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is set to plan out how his unit will shadow Florida State's offense, which is run by new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Oftentimes, it's beneficial to have a past history with an opposing coach, as it can give you a general idea of their style and how to prepare for it. But Wommack's relationship with Malzahn started when the Alabama DC was in eighth grade.

“I was at Fayetteville High School and Gus was the head coach at Springdale High School," Wommack said. "So you had Fayetteville Purple Dogs and the Springdale Red Dogs, and so we went up against each other.

“But my dad and Gus had been really close for years, and so I kind of knew him through that connection. And then he coached me, he was our offensive coordinator at Arkansas my sophomore year."

Gathering all of this information about Malzahn for over 20 years, the 38-year-old shared what sets the Seminoles play-caller apart from other coaches.

"Gus is relentless in the details," Wommack said. "He does a really great job of just constantly holding people accountable to the details. He had great teams at Springdale High School when he was a head coach back then.

"I just remember how disciplined those football teams were and how hard they were to beat, because I really think those guys, those players, took on and embodied the personality of their head coach.

“And if you look at his career, I think that's a point that you can continue to kind of acknowledge, right? The discipline that his guys play with, the physicality they play with and then simply the tempo that they play with. They've always done a great job of that."

Nevertheless, this is a new group of players for Malzahn to work with as he was hired for his current job this offseason following his resignation from UCF after four seasons as the Knights head coach. Not only that, but Florida State added the aforementioned former Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos from the transfer portal.

So, how does Wommack scout the Seminoles offense that features changes to perhaps the two most important positions on the field and staff for that side of the ball?

"When you're preparing for an offensive coordinator that just took over a job, maybe a new quarterback, some new personnel things, you try to gather a whole picture," Wommack said. "What did the quarterback do at his previous institution? How was [Castellanos] used under this staff or that staff?

"The evolution of [Malzahn's] offense and the things he's done, what might he do based off this personnel? When you're looking at all those things, you try and gauge what you anticipate they're going to be, then at the same time, you know you've got to have answers if they go down this pathway or down that pathway.

"Naturally, you're going to carry a pretty heavy catalog of defense going into a game."

Malzahn also has a past history with Alabama as he was Auburn's head coach from 2013-20. He went 3-5 in eight meetings against former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban during that span.

Wommack and Alabama will face Malzahn and Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium on Aug. 30 with a kickoff time set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.