As Alabama and Ohio State prepare for Monday’s national championship game, both sides are likely turning over every stone to find an edge in preparation. For Alabama, that comes in the form of a former Big Ten defensive coordinator.

New South Alabama coach, and former Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, has shared intel with Alabama about the Buckeyes after his Hoosiers defense gave the Buckeyes fits during the 2020 regular season. Ohio State beat Indiana 42-35 but the Justin Fields-led team was shutout in the final quarter.

The IU defense held the Buckeyes scoreless in the last 28 minutes of the game, forced three Fields interceptions and sacked the quarterback five times.

“Those things are taking place. I’m doing my part to help the state of Alabama,” Wommack said on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile, per AL.com. “Ohio State, I played those guys and been on the field with them. In the coaching world, you always want to hear from guys who have been on the field with the team you’re about to face.”

While the Hoosiers bottled up Fields plenty, the quarterback had plenty of times where he escaped further trouble.

“Unfortunately, there were eight other sacks where we had him truly wrapped up, and Justin Fields got away from us,” he said. “That’s the challenge when you play a dynamic player like Justin Fields that can do so much.”

Wommack added that any offense runs into trouble when it becomes one-dimensional.

“Think about how aggressive they are pushing the ball down the field,” he said. “If you call first and second down just to stop the run, they’re going to tear you apart. You have to find creative ways to get pressure on the quarterback on what we call ‘base downs.’ Not third down. Not red zone but open-field base downs.

“That’s what we were able to do in the game and gave us a chance to win, along with stopping the run.”

They key remains affecting Fields, because he said that Ohio State’s receivers match up well with Alabama’s.

“Frankly, up front, we’re not as dynamic as Alabama, so I think they can do some of those things and still take care of business in the pass game,” he said.